Ciamillo Brakes - Warning!

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eurostar
Posts: 465
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 7:19 pm
Location: London

by eurostar

joeeboh wrote:
Fri Oct 15, 2021 7:14 am
Clicked through and saw that it's still the 140g version. Where did you see that it's 158g?
Keep scrolling down...they are "Style B"
Style B

Features:
Double-pivot bicycle calipers has fine performance and fine braking effect, which make your riding safer.
Made of premium alloy and carbon fiber, it is strong and wear-resistant, not easy to rust, and has a long service time.
Lightweight brake calipers will not bring burden to riding and give you a better riding experience.
Easy to install and remove, compatible with 28mm wide wheels and 32C tires.
Delivery includes 2 bicycle calipers, one for front wheel and one for rear wheel.

Specifications:
Caliper Color: Black
Brake Pad Color: Blue/ Brown(optional)
Material: Titanium Alloy + Aluminum Alloy + Carbon Fiber
Item Weight: 158.7g/ 5.6oz
Here are photos from this listing of the narrow ones, then the wider, heavier Style B ones:
Image
Image

They look the same to me. The Style B ones on the scale have pads fitted...no wonder they are heavier!

WorkonSunday
Posts: 540
Joined: Tue Jan 16, 2018 4:39 pm

by WorkonSunday

joeeboh wrote:
Fri Oct 15, 2021 7:14 am
dlj2119 wrote:This seller is advertising a slightly wider version (and heavier 158.7g vs 140g) that fit 28 rims and 32c tires.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003 ... GXSl0&mp=1
Clicked through and saw that it's still the 140g version. Where did you see that it's 158g?

Sent from my Pixel 3a XL using Tapatalk
further down there is a description of style B and Style c (aluminium version).

i notice style b has ZTTO logo on it (ZTTO is one of the bigger cassette manufacturer in china).

with regards to 140 vs 158.7g, i think it'st just difference between with pads and without pads.
Some say pour 10ml water out of your bottle to save that last bit of the weight. Sorry, i go one step further, i tend to the rider off my bikes. :thumbup:
n+1...14 last time i checked, but i lost count :mrgreen:

by Weenie


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PatrickJGrant
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Joined: Tue Jun 16, 2020 10:39 pm

by PatrickJGrant

I also bought these a few weeks back and have just gotten round to fitting them today.
20211014_173358.jpg
My AX lightness rims are 26mm wide and I'm running brand new black Prince pads, I have sufficient clearance.
20211014_173300.jpg
As others have said the calipers have a lot of flex and it makes the levers feel quite mushy. The spring is also in my opinion not stiff enough so you need low friction cables to allow the brakes to open up properly.

As for riding, braking power is surprising good once you learn learn trust them a bit.
Modulation is also good.
Ive found that you don't need to pull the lever very hard to achieve max braking power.

There is also a definite point past that in the lever travel where you can feel the caliper flexing a lot. I haven't pulled my levers past this point in fear of damaging them but its definitely a little concerning.
20211014_172416.jpg
I'd be super interested to know if anyone else has dared to pull the lever as hard as they can. Mine really feel like something will snap.

I'm going to continue to use them for now.

Butcher
Shop Owner
Posts: 1917
Joined: Sun Jan 03, 2010 4:58 am

by Butcher

That seems weird. You purchase a brake system so you can stop, but the ones you installed, make you feel that the brakes will break when you may need them the most.

That's when you've gone over the edge with being a weight weenie.

Another thing that's weird if you get an email from Ted saying he's coming out with another brake system that is lighter. With his reputation, that email is in the same catagory as the large sum of money that some billionaire left me. Just send money to release the funds. With today's computing power, how does that email pass your spam filters?

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PatrickJGrant
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Joined: Tue Jun 16, 2020 10:39 pm

by PatrickJGrant

I should explain that by "continue to use" I really don't ride that bike much. A few 10 minute rides to work and back is the most use its had in months. As I said, you seem to get all the power they offer without pulling the lever especially hard anyway, more than enough performace to get me down the road to work. I'm not offering the advice that others should use them, they can evaluate that risk for themselves.

eurostar
Posts: 465
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 7:19 pm
Location: London

by eurostar

Just the same experience as me. We're all puzzled by the flexing, but it doesn't prevent the brakes from working well. One thing is certain - if they ever crack or snap, people like Butcher will be delighted.

Butcher
Shop Owner
Posts: 1917
Joined: Sun Jan 03, 2010 4:58 am

by Butcher

Nothing to be delighted about. I just have a real problem of people knowingly sell junk or even worst, take your money knowing that they will never send you anything.

I run a small business and any new client has those fears. Why? because of people like Ted. People should trust others and there are enough people around that ruin that trust for everyone.

eurostar
Posts: 465
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 7:19 pm
Location: London

by eurostar

Well you should be happy that Ted isn't getting the money that people are spending on aliexpress, and happy that his product is on aliexpress, because that shows he's ruined his relationships with suppliers and will have great difficulty continuing. But instead you keep attacking the people in this thread who just want to take a chance on these brakes. I suppose you're just jealous because we're enjoying this experiment.

eurostar
Posts: 465
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 7:19 pm
Location: London

by eurostar

There's one, i.e. half a set, second hand Lekki8 on eBay UK. What's the betting it fetches the price of 2 new sets of mystery Lekkis? I'd like to buy it to make a comparison but the price has already exceeded my limit, with 5 days to go.

flybywire
Posts: 5
Joined: Tue Oct 19, 2021 5:39 am

by flybywire

Have been lurking the forum for a few years every now and then, but I just got a set of ali-lekki's in the mail today and decided to finally chime in. Will be posting about them once I properly get to try them out.

First impressions though is that both these and the lekki8's are definitely cool looking carbon components, the weight is less than half of the calipers I had setup beforehand, and did I mention they look cool?

On the other hand, I'm curious to see how these will actually perform on the road. From a perspective of mechanical design, both these and the lekki8's are in some areas great, in others fairly stupid. For instance, the adjustable cam is nice, but the carbon fiber sandwich on a barbeque skewer design is inherently asking for flexing and maybe even failure. And yes they definitely have quite a bit of lateral flex in terms of flex on the axis normal to the face of the brake body plates. In my case, the rear brake flexes more than the front from what I've noticed. Just putting the bike up on a stand and pedaling quickly then squeezing the brake lever, you can see (when viewing the bike from the side as opposed to head on) the brakes get pulled slightly in the direction of the wheel when any braking force is applied. When you do this really quickly and pull the brake lever hard, the brake very slightly albeit quickly flexes in the direction of the wheel until the wheel stops and the brake can release back to its neutral position. I believe this is a design flaw inherent in both the lekki8's and the ali-lekki's, NOT a matter of "cheap knock-offs". The reason for this is simple. Due to the nature of the carbon plate sandwich design, the bolt attaching the brakes to the frame is also the bolt that keeps the center of the brake body together, and also serves as the axle for the main pivot of the brake. Soooo, tightening the bolt to prevent any looseness and to minimize flex, also hightens friction between the moving parts. This is a big issue, because when the brake body is tightened enough (continuing to talk about the main central bolt) the plates and the metal piece sandwiched between them now struggle to move freely. The spring on these is also nowhere near strong enough to accomodate that kind of friction, and it shouldn't be, as this is the kind of design flaw that you shouldn't need to work around to begin with because no *f##k* brakes on the planet are made from a sandwich of plates lol. :lol: What was Ciamillo thinking?

Secondly, the springs are very okay. That's about it. They function, but they could be better. I would imagine sourcing a stronger spring would make these brakes better in a lot of ways, and if you can manage to find one, it would probably be a sweet upgrade. Possibly this is where the official lekki8's differ in construction, other than the aforementioned max width as others have noted.

Then there's the matter of setting them up, and since they're a "floating" caliper brake, they take a lot of fiddling. A LOT. I needed to trim my brake cable housing as it was pushing the brakes off center and causing brake rub. My wheels are also in need of truing so I can't get them as close to the rim as I would like, so my setup is probably a little more sloppy than ideal, but they seem to work atm.

I'll report back within some time on how they're holding up, as long as the carbon fiber matrix of the plates is strong enough to withstand the forces exerted on the brakes, these should be fine even with the flexing.

Of course, the real versions of these brakes have been given a mixed bag of good and bad reviews, and many have used them extensively without qualms, so there's a chance these are decent AND super light brakes.

I paid $173 USD for mine taxed and shipped. There's a handful of aliexpress sellers selling them, so if you're interested in experimenting with your mortality, just lurk around and get whichever ones have the lowest price and use the coupons that pop up. They're all the same, just different brands. :D

Jimmyrn85
Posts: 68
Joined: Sun Dec 22, 2019 12:01 pm

by Jimmyrn85

Flybywire... Interesting write up thanks.

I have a set of Lekki8's from Ciamillo, I tested the rear before sending my bike away to be resprayed so I don't have extensive testing here... But they did flex alot.

Eurostar where are you roughly in London? I am there quite a bit, next time I come up to do some Surrey Hills and once my bike is back from being resprayed we could meet up and you can see how the ones from Ciamillo differ from yours.

Butcher
Shop Owner
Posts: 1917
Joined: Sun Jan 03, 2010 4:58 am

by Butcher

Attacking? Better look up a definition. Here I will help. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/attack

I'm not a fan of a thief. I believe I'm pretty clear about that. What anyone does with their money, that is their decision. If someone is justifying the tactics that Ted uses, I will share my opinion. I believe that is what we do here. Opinions are not facts.

eurostar
Posts: 465
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 7:19 pm
Location: London

by eurostar

Oh grow up. This thread isn't about Ted any more. It's obvious to everyone that he's a delusional crook. We've moved on, we're reviewing a product which he doesn't sell. But you just keep repeating yourself, and you gave a nasty welcome to PatrickJGrant after his very first post here. Please have a word with yourself. Try to be an asset to this forum.

flybywire
Posts: 5
Joined: Tue Oct 19, 2021 5:39 am

by flybywire

Maybe it would be a good idea to start a new thread just on the ali-lekki brakes and keep the discussion on Ted and the official Ciamillos in here.

Edit instead of double posting:

Took the bike out for a spin today with the china-millo brakes and can say I'm satisfied so far. To preface, I rode up and down some steep climbs and descents, max speed at 56 mph on one descent, so not just riding up and down the street to the grocery store. With the way I have them setup, the brifters definitely do travel a bit more prior to actuating than my previous brakes. However... they feel suprisingly, or maybe I should say unsurprisingly considering they were nearly $200 for the set, good. The point at which the brake engages with the rim is very smooth feeling and the brakes have a soft grab as opposed to a harsh contact with the rim. You can certainly modulate the amount that you brake, and the softness in the levers is actually kinda nice. They definitely have a nice progressive curve to how much force they apply, and the flexing might actually be what's giving this feeling. Overall, they currently feel like a definite step up from what I had prior, but I'm just curious to see whether or not they will last. My biggest concern surprisingly is the back brake, as due to the nature of how it's mounted and the direction of rim travel when moving forward, it certainly flexes much more than the front which barely flexes.

I do not plan on testing emergency stops or anything like that with them unless I ever need to. I don't see why they should fail completely or at all in one go if you slam the brakes really hard, but it would be like using a fire extinguisher in your room just to test it out without any fire... Will definitely be eyeing them for any hairline cracks or anything unsettling like that.

Also, about the floating, self-centering nature of the brakes. It's actually plenty good when set-up correctly, and on the road I had virtually no brake rub unless my wheels flexed.

by Weenie


Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

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eurostar
Posts: 465
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 7:19 pm
Location: London

by eurostar

Jimmyrn85 wrote:
Wed Oct 20, 2021 9:11 am
Flybywire... Interesting write up thanks.

I have a set of Lekki8's from Ciamillo, I tested the rear before sending my bike away to be resprayed so I don't have extensive testing here... But they did flex alot.

Eurostar where are you roughly in London? I am there quite a bit, next time I come up to do some Surrey Hills and once my bike is back from being resprayed we could meet up and you can see how the ones from Ciamillo differ from yours.
Great idea. I'm in Brixton.

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