EE brakes and wider rims

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1415chris
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by 1415chris

Cycleworks web says that they will work with 23mm rims.
How about 27.5mm? I found one build with the combo I'm after, but just wanted to be sure before pulling the trigger on these brakes. The rims are zipp 303 fc, 27.5 that's the widest point of the brake track.

The other question, how easy you can adjust these brakes between 27.5mm, if it’s OK for them, and 23mm?
With the, let’s say, classic solution brakes, I use open/close option with a bit of help of cable tension adjusters.
My understanding is that you can't "open" EE brakes and use them in that setting.
Is the cable adjuster enough to accommodate 4mm rim's difference?

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eric
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by eric

I can go between standard width rims and 23mm wide rims with the cable adjustment. To fit 27mm rims you will probably need to use the thin washer between the pad holders and brake arms.

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sugarkane
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by sugarkane

I use evne 6.7s ( 26mm) and evne 45s (23mm) with just the adjusters..
Your at the end if the range to get the 45s working. Just set em up with the wide rims first and not using much adjuster.
I think I'm using one black washer on each holder.

Basically it'll work if you set it up right :mrgreen:

tetonrider
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by tetonrider

1415chris wrote:Cycleworks web says that they will work with 23mm rims.
How about 27.5mm? I found one build with the combo I'm after, but just wanted to be sure before pulling the trigger on these brakes. The rims are zipp 303 fc, 27.5 that's the widest point of the brake track.


i'll chime in here to confirm what the others have said -- except that i have specifically used eebrakes with many zipp wheels (firecrest) as well as normal-width rims. i use the thin washer and have no trouble with the range of adjustment. a few turns of the dial in either direction is all it takes, and i have more than enough range on the barrel adjuster.

they are fantastic brakes.

i have used them with 101s, 202s, 404s, and 808s (as well as narrower rims) without any adjustment other than at the barrel. the 808s are 27.5 max width at the brake track.

note: zipp 303s are listed as 28.5mm max width, not 27.5.
see the specs here: http://www.zipp.com/wheels/303-firecrest---carbon-clincher/#

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mr_tim
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by mr_tim

I tried swapping between firecrest 404 & ambrosio excellight (which is a pretty narrow rim) & it was too big a jump - the adjuster barrel wasn't going to get anywhere near.. Even then with pads spaced to suit the firecrest rim, the top arm mechanism was running virtually flat & still about 2mm short of actually closing onto the narrower rims so for me it wasn't a goer...

FWIW I usually find the brake tracks don't match up adequately even when swapping say between 404 & alpha340, so if swapping wheels I bite the bullet & re-set pads & cable length to properly set up for the proposed wheel. Its not such a big deal, maybe 15mins for both sets & that way I know there will be no marring of the brake track or pad fouling into the tire.

1415chris
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by 1415chris

Thanks for your comments.
mr_tim tha's something I was kind of afraid off. But your rims' width difference is about 2mm bigger than mine.
Do you think these 2mm will make difference?
Obviously I'm not going to change the wheels on daily basis, but I would like to stay with PC cables. And if cabling adjustment is necessary to accommodate these rims' width drop, that would mean, some compromises must be made.
Probably steel cables.

mnmasotto
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by mnmasotto

Mine work well with both the older narrow Edge/Enve Carbon Clinchers and the new Smart "Wider" Enve Carbon Clinchers. No issues whatsoever.

Dammit
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by Dammit

Anyone running HED Stingers with EE Brakes?

28mm wide, so functionally the same as Firecrest I imagine, but I thought I'd check just to be on the safe side.

1415chris
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by 1415chris

Email I received from Craig (EE)

"The current eebrake works very well the FC 303."

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CharlesM
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by CharlesM

No problem with 303...

I think expecting any brake to be a simple adjustment between the widest rims and the narrowest is a little silly. Complaining about adjusting the cable between wheels that are 4-5-6-7mm different width is petty.

1415chris
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by 1415chris

As far as I'm concern nobody expressed expectations that switching between quite big rim width difference with these brakes would be a piece of cake and I can't really see any complaints either.
There was just a simple question, whether they would work with particular rims and the width drop.
So I'm really struggling to understand your "petty".
Some people use PC cables.

xrs2
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by xrs2

I haven't read through all the responses since I have only a second, but I use eeBrakes on Zipp 303s and Enve 3.4s, no problem. There is not enough adjustment range to switch out to a 21 mm rim though.

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djconnel
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by djconnel

CharlesM wrote:No problem with 303...

I think expecting any brake to be a simple adjustment between the widest rims and the narrowest is a little silly. Complaining about adjusting the cable between wheels that are 4-5-6-7mm different width is petty.


Indeed, the whole design philosophy of brakes is that you want them to move quickly initially, then slow down just before contacting the rim. This is because force is directly proportional to the ratio of cable motion to pad motion. So you can design a brake with very little pad motion and high force, but then it will have little clearance. Or you can go for a lot of clearance, but then will get little force. Or you can set it to have non-uniform motion: a lot for approaching the rim then change to low motion, high force. This sweet spot needs to be retuned if you switch rims.

1415chris
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by 1415chris

For those who my be interested:
It's absolutely no problem with adjustment between 23mm (Archetype) and 27mm(303FC) wide rims.
It takes less than a half of the cable adjuster length and still within "14-22mm" setup recommendation and 0.4mm shoe spacers on.

Bingomck
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by Bingomck

Great, thanks for the follow up Chris.

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