Fabien Barel On-board Testing for Brake Authority
On-board tests have always been important at Brake Authority. We have been doing them for five years now and, within the MTB brake industry, this innovative practice has made our brand a real pioneer.
![Fabien Barel on-board testing with Brake Authority]()
The aim of these test sessions, organized at least twice a year, is to link the feedback from the riders to our lab testing and simulations. Because of this approach, our pads are continuously evolving, often by small touches that we believe in the end makes all the difference.
Under the watchful eye of the double World Champion (and our R&D Manager) Fabien Barel, our most recent test session took place in Peille in the south of France. Over two days our engineers worked with our technical partners, motorbike telemetry specialists, Tecmas to evaluate a dozen prototypes pads of different potential evolutions. They all had different compounds – mixtures of sintered metal ores. The one thing they all had in common was that they don’t contain nickel as we believe it causes too much damage to the environment.
![Fabien Barels Mondraker test bike.]()
![Close-ups up Fabien Barels Mondraker test bike.]()
It was a blind-test and we used three different riders of different levels – a recreational rider, an occasional racer and, well, Fabien Barel. The onboard equipment measured temperatures, pressure on the master cylinder lever, on the caliper pistons, the length and the power of the braking sequences. The testers completed a form at the end of each run to give us accurate and as detailed feedback as possible. We asked them to focus on five areas : power, feel, braking progressiveness and control, comfort and eventually noise and vibrations.
![Examing the data.]()
![Manuo Gauzy giving feedback about the compounds.]()
Once again this test session allowed us to close off a few ideas that didn’t work so well and put forward new directions we can follow to improve further the performances of our products.
Our Burly, Aggressive or Aggressive Ceramic pads are designed to be universal and suit every type of riding but with noticeable differences between models. So if your riding is essentially XC, there’s no point in getting the Aggressive Ceramic, and on the extreme, if you’re a DH rider at an international level, we designed our Aggressive Ceramic with you in mind.
![Fabien Barel on-board testing with Brake Authority]()
![Fabien Barel on-board testing with Brake Authority]()
The next on board test session is already booked for next autumn.
Brake Authority, Performance and Respect.
www.brake-authority.com
Fabien, "testing." Photo courtesy of Greg Germain.
The aim of these test sessions, organized at least twice a year, is to link the feedback from the riders to our lab testing and simulations. Because of this approach, our pads are continuously evolving, often by small touches that we believe in the end makes all the difference.
Under the watchful eye of the double World Champion (and our R&D Manager) Fabien Barel, our most recent test session took place in Peille in the south of France. Over two days our engineers worked with our technical partners, motorbike telemetry specialists, Tecmas to evaluate a dozen prototypes pads of different potential evolutions. They all had different compounds – mixtures of sintered metal ores. The one thing they all had in common was that they don’t contain nickel as we believe it causes too much damage to the environment.
Fabien's Mondraker bike with the test equipment mounted on it.Photos courtesy of Greg Germain.
It was a blind-test and we used three different riders of different levels – a recreational rider, an occasional racer and, well, Fabien Barel. The onboard equipment measured temperatures, pressure on the master cylinder lever, on the caliper pistons, the length and the power of the braking sequences. The testers completed a form at the end of each run to give us accurate and as detailed feedback as possible. We asked them to focus on five areas : power, feel, braking progressiveness and control, comfort and eventually noise and vibrations.
Examining the data and taking feedback from the riders. Photos courtesy of Greg Germain.
Once again this test session allowed us to close off a few ideas that didn’t work so well and put forward new directions we can follow to improve further the performances of our products.
Our Burly, Aggressive or Aggressive Ceramic pads are designed to be universal and suit every type of riding but with noticeable differences between models. So if your riding is essentially XC, there’s no point in getting the Aggressive Ceramic, and on the extreme, if you’re a DH rider at an international level, we designed our Aggressive Ceramic with you in mind.
Photos courtesy of Greg Germain.
The next on board test session is already booked for next autumn.
Brake Authority, Performance and Respect.
www.brake-authority.com
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www.mojostore.co.uk/acatalog/Dfender-Mudgaurd.html
Fabien Barel it top bloke and great person to put brakes to the test
The Mucky Nutz mudgaurd is less than £10 and it looks as if it would perform just as well as the DFender. It's probably less likely to get damaged in a crash too seeing as it is more flexible.
www.pinkbike.com/photo/7984486