my logic with cable disc brakes and why they don't work well on drop bar levers, am i right?

[novocaine]

I really like Spyres, so much so i've just had cable disc brake specific frame made for me.

I like cable discs because i like to ride with cross top levers but i don't like the shape and action of shimano shifters (the only option for hydraulic cross tops apart from those converter gizmos), plus i like the simplicity and adjustability of cable discs.

The downside i have found is that the cross top lever contributes to making the brakes feel a little mushy. I have them set up without the top lever on my tourer and they feel really snappy.

Spyres do need a bit of periodic love to keep them feeling good. Annual clean and grease has kept these calipers going for about seven years.

I am not a lightweight and i do like riding fast. I have not found the Spyres wanting but i would say there is a difference in feel between cable and hydraulics. It bothers some people, but not me.
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that is rather yummy, I do like a pink frame.

realised that my latest build is on Tektro cable pulls, I'll change them at some point but can't say I've had an issue with them, yes have a long lever but definitely stop fine.

 

[tagnut69]

The Shimano road cable callipers are great, I have them on one bike matched to some old sora 9s brifters with standard housing and really cant fault them in anyway so much better than the shitty old tektro IO ones they replaced.

 

[cyberknight]

running tektro version of the spyres on the commuter and they are pants for stopping power, the only bonus to rim brakes is they are consistent in all weathers .

 

[Blacktopdisciple]

Ive never had much success setting up Tektro Spyres with drop bar levers. My go to would be the Avid BB7 for drop bars with compassionless housing and die drawn stainless steel cables.

 

[jonnyboy666]

ok so i spoke to Ison Distribution today, asked about the Problem solver parts as they are the importer, they didn't have the inline version, but that wouldn't have worked anyway as it's supposed to be mounted on a redundant canti mount but they did have the V brake version, i have ordered a pair and i'm gonna have a play with them on a Rocky Mountain gravel bike i have in stock, it's running Sram levers on Spyre calipers and it's all spongey as hell!

this is what i have ordered and i'll report back once set up, might be a bit ugly but i'll be curious if it works

 

[hamster]

There are a couple of things to understand: the first is the cable pull effect. The work done is the same but you can either get there by:
1) Lots of pull, low force
2) Short pull lots of force.
This is all about cable tension (less is good, less squish of outers, less lost to friction) vs. enough travel at the brake end to close the pads and have something left over. The critical thing is that the force necessary at the caliper needs to suit that available down the cable.

Least pull was needed by calipers and wide pull cantis, especially if the straddle cable was kept short.
Low-pro cantis needed a bit more pull (DiaCompe made a special road lever, the 287)
V's need lots of pull (DiaCompe again helped with the 287V along with Tektro / Cane Creek)

Long pull levers (like V's) will not give enough cable force at the brake end, will feel very firm but that's because they can't apply enough force to do anything useful.
Short pull levers give lots of force at the brake, but may lose over the cable run. They can feel squishy as the high cable tension means they can squeeze hard on everything down the line - but they often run out of travel.

Shimano has been fiddling round with pull ratios for its road calipers, which means later ones need longer pull. This is for 10-11-12 speed, so beware, the levers have subtle differences. These may not work as a result with Avid BB5/7 road brakes.

 

[d8mok]

My winter bike has these (pic below). They are paired with sram levers. They work brilliantly even in the wet and I haven’t adjusted them in 2 years since the initial set up. Bike does around 100-120 miles a week from Oct - March apart from the odd sunny day.

For context my other drop bikes are on Hope rx4 with grx levers and New ultegra. Yes those are much better but for a bike that cost £700 new these are way better than expected.

 

[reindeer]

Install new cable. Pull lever. Tighten caliper. It’s simple.

 

[jonnyboy666]

@d8mok hmm those riderever brakes, i'd not seen them, but today i popped in to a friends shop, apparently Orro had specced those brakes during the shortage of shimano, my friend said he removed all of those brakes as he felt no matter what he did he couldn't get any reasonable power out of them, this is someone who has an engineering level of mechanical ability and 40 years experience in the trade, 35ish owning a shop, and is the go to guy for in house carbon repair/frame alignment and sometimes brazing repairs on steel frames in my area, and i'd say is the best wheel builder i have ever met who also builds motorbike wheels etc, basically someone i very much trust, if he says they suck, i believe him, but this also backs up my point of how inconsistent these types of brakes can be, he says the suck, you say they are great, which person do you believe? annoying isn't it?!

@reindeer nope, very much not that simple with some of these brakes.

 

[d8mok]

I’ve no axe to grind either way - and if they were terrible I’d say so.

They came from Planet X on a built bike and were simply terrible when I got it. I expected to swap them out as I had a spare set of GRX at that time. However once adjusted they’ve been great and I’ve not touched since. I didn’t even wash the bike last winter let alone mess about with brakes etc and it’s still stopping well. Bearing in mind it’s only ridden in the wet.

This bike is a bike I truly hate riding as it’s so harsh and slow but I can’t fault the brakes or drivetrain for what it is.