AERO brakes

[TriRig]

The pre-order discount is $149.99 per brake, which will go up to $174.99 after the pre-order. Details here:
http://www.tririg.com/store.php?c=omega

[carbon2329]

Simpkins Design: Egg brakes

http://www.simkinsdesigns.com

Never used them but thought they looked interesting.

http://velonews.competitor.com/2011/05/ ... g-stoppers

[ironmanrex]

The pre-order discount is $149.99 per brake, which will go up to $174.99 after the pre-order. Details here:
http://www.tririg.com/store.php?c=omega" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Nice brakes. What style of brake pads does it use Campy or Shimano?

[Dalai]

Talking of brake pads. Can anyone confirm if shimano pad holders can be fitted to the Campagnolo rear centrepull brake. It looks like a TRP/Tektro R725 -even has R725 stamped on the back.

Or if people know where to source a TRP/Tektro caliper...

I've just fitted the Simkins front and back, but the rear brake is wider than the seat stays. So thinking a rear centre pull brake might be a good option.

[TriRig]

Nice brakes. What style of brake pads does it use Campy or Shimano?

Thanks! The Omega pad holders use Shimano-compatible pads. It comes stock with Kool Stop Salmon.

[quattrings]

What do you lot think of the new magura aero brakes?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wc76WldW ... _embedded#!

I'm currently building an aero bike and have been doing some searching, came across these brakes.
Don't think I'll be running these as my frame isn't omtimized for centre pull. However they look pretty aero to me.

[TriRig]

Are you asking me? Because my answer will obviously be a bit biased - I'm selling a product that is more or less competitive with the Maguras.

Nevertheless, I can say somethings about them that are objective. They seem to have very low frontal area, which is a good thing. However, they don't seem to present as smooth a shape as the Omega - there are lots of holes and gaps for the wind to get caught in, especially at higher yaw angles. In terms of performance, I have no reason to doubt it works well, but it does require users to use hydraulic levers, which aren't really on the market. It means you can't (as of now) use the Di2 TT levers, which is a huge downside in my opinion.

Ad of course, they're much more expensive at $500 for the complete system. And although they make lots of claims to be the "world's lightest" it's simply not true. A pair of Omegas with a reasonably light brake lever would be lighter, and cheaper. Even with Di2 TT levers, which aren't particularly light, the Omegas are a lighter system.

In the end, I'm glad to see more manufacturers looking after this corner of the market, which has been too long ignored.

[kavitator]

Omega are really compact. i like that. What is their stopping power? compared against others (duraace , record....)

[TriRig]

I've been asked that quite a bit, and just posted this answer to the Omega Brake F.A.Q.:

The Omega brakes have passed the world's most rigorous safety standards tests, from both CEN and CPSC, with flying colors. They are proven performers in both dry and wet conditions, both on the front and rear of a bicycle. They have been ridden down the steep descents of the Rocky Mountains successfully and without issue. Unfortunately, there are no commercial tools available for testing objective "braking power" levels. But we can say these have plenty of stopping power, and from a subjective standpoint we believe these are every bit as strong the best brakes on the market today.

[BmanX]

The Omega's are on their way. YES. 124g each with the option to tune them down to around 115g so aero brakes at 230g per pair when tuned will be pretty nice. I will be tuning one set for sure.

I have been told that they are the fastest mechanical brakes in production. Slower than the Hooker SL but also cheaper, available and can be used with wider rims. They might be the fastest brakes period but the tester was not able to get the new Magura hydraulic aero brakes to test. I doubt they are more aero and since you can not use them with standard brake levers, why bother.

[refthimos]

They might be the fastest brakes period but the tester was not able to get the new Magura hydraulic aero brakes to test.

Since this is a post on aero brakes, and everyone keeps mentioning the Hooker, it's worth mentioning 2 others:

First the Modolo Kronos. The original aero brake, these things were so tiny that they really existed only to satisfy the rules of the governing bodies that a TT bike had to have a front and rear brake. True "speed modulators," you did not want these on a technical descent. They are exceedingly rare and belong in a collector's case and not on a bike (particularly with alternatives like the TriRig now available). The last NOS pair that I saw sell on eBay went for $1200. Here is a photo:



Second, the MRC (McMahon Racing Components) aero brake. These were produced in the 90's IIRC, and basically came out of all the CNC shops that jumped into the cycling scene at the time. Definitely more power than the Kronos, but still more of a "speed modulator." But at least they used normal brake pads (the Kronos used its own proprietary short/stubby pads). Here is a photo (they are on the left, with the Kronos second from the right for comparison):



I am sure TriRig's Omega brake will beat these brakes silly, but any discussion of aero brakes is incomplete without them.

[Cyco]

The MRC brakes look a lot like the brakes that Zipp used to ship with the old 2001 frames, though they had a slightly pointier carbon cover on them

[llhh]

I'm using Simkins Egg and am super happy with them - very solid, good braking power, reasonable weight, easy adjustment etc and last but not least they look business.

[BmanX]

There is some independant testing going on and the results are posting on FB (well sort of) and it clearly shows the Omega as the fastest mechanical aero brake available in the market today. The only thing faster was the Hooker SL which of course is not available, damn expensive if you do find one and you have to shave the brake pad to fit with wider rims.

It might in fact be the fastest aero brake on the market but the tester (Andy Coggan) was not able to get the Magura Hydraulic brakes for the test. Was in contact with them but they did not come through in their promise.

Also the Omega was tested with bare cable and with housing and the difference was almost nil in the testing so even with the standard cable housing it is faster.

There is a lot of thought that went into these brakes and they were used last weekend or the weekend before in a race by someone that borrowed a pre production one and the brakes is said to be extremely good.

[acoggan]

Like many things areo brakes need some independent wind tunnel testing to validate claims.

I agree.

I would be very curious to see the time difference between the Omega and Simkins.

Using our validated model of the power requirements of cycling (1) and assuming:

1) total (i.e., cyclist + bicycle) mass = 85 kg,
2) coefficient of rolling resistance = 0.004,
3) drivetrain efficiency = 97.5%,
4) air density = 1.185 g/L,
5) CdA = 0.225 m2, and
6) power = 300 W

I calculate that using an Omega instead of a Simkins would save you 1.9 s in a 40 km TT.

With the same assumptions as #1-4 above and assuming:

5) CdA =0.250 m2, and
6) power = 225 W

I calculate that using an Omega instead of a Simkins would save you 7.9 s in a 180 km Ironman bike segment.

1. Martin JC, Milliken DL, Cobb JE, McFadden KL, Coggan AR. Validation of a mathematical model for road cycling power. J Appl Biomech 1998; 14: 276-291.