Braking News from Taiwan - Taipei Cycle Show 2018

Nov 3, 2018
by Mike Levy  
Taipei Cycle Show


Promax's stand at the Taipei Cycle Show was mostly full of cable-operated disc brakes, but they also had a GT Sanction on display with a set of their new Lucid E4 stoppers bolted onto it. Although they're better known for their original-equipment parts that are often found on entry to mid-level bikes, the four-piston Lucid E4 will also be available in the aftermarket at some point in the near future. Pricing is still undecided, though.


Taipei Cycle Show


Up top, the lever is ambidextrous to make riding either moto-style or North American a cinch, and the only adjustment option is the lever reach via a micro-sized hex key.

There are two lever options, too, with a normal looking two-finger blade or a moto-esque four-finger version that'll probably see more use on the e-bike version of the Lucid E4. At the bottom, the four-piston caliper is a two-piece design that's bolted together, and Promax made the smart move to use Shimano-style pads; M755 or M756 pads will slot right in. One nice touch is the four-way adjustable banjo bolt setup down at the caliper to make hose routing a cinch.

The system runs on mineral oil, and you can use a Shimano bleed kit when the time comes to give them some love. Rotor sizes include 180mm and 200mm.
Taipei Cycle Show



Taipei Cycle Show

Taipei Cycle Show
Taipei Cycle Show


Magura didn't have anything previously unseen in their booth, but this blacked-out and very European hardtail sure is a beauty. The Open ONE+ is a full-on cross-country frame that weighs under 900-grams, or about the same as a decent all-mountain tire. Magura had it built-up with their eLECT-equipped cross-country fork that uses a wireless, electronic remote to control its lock-out function. It also had their mega-light, two piston MT8 SL brakes in neon yellow that sure do pop on the black ONE+.

Magura also does a load of motorbike stuff, including clutch assemblies and, of course, brakes. They had some of those out for people to tinker with as well.


Taipei Cycle Show


Taipei Cycle Show 2018

photo
photo


Zeno's booth was about 2ft by 2ft square, but it was full of colorful and clever brake solutions, including their reusable steel SpeedLink fittings that do away with the disposable olive and barb setup that's found on pretty much every brand's stoppers. They also had their Reaction floating rotor that uses a leaf-spring connection to allow the braking surface to, well, float. At the center is an aluminum carrier, and a small, flat steel spring sandwiches the outer section of the rotor up against the aluminum carrier, thereby allowing it to easily be pushed to one side by whichever brake pad makes contact first.

Zeno says that this really helps when one piston isn't moving quite as well as the other, which is pretty common, and that it provides a firmer, more positive feel. I haven't the faintest clue if it works well or if it's different just to be different, but it is a neat idea.



photo


Carbon rotors have been tried many times over the years, but the end result is usually low weight and even lower braking. Instead, Brakeco has gone with a carbon fiber carrier at the center that they've combined with a grooved aluminum braking surface that has something called a 'MOA finish' applied to it. These things are seriously light, with the 160mm version weighing just 72-grams.

Is 72-grams way too heavy for you? Good thing there's a 140mm, 49-gram rotor... Because safety third, right?

Author Info:
mikelevy avatar

Member since Oct 18, 2005
2,032 articles

67 Comments
  • 78 5
 I opened this page hoping to see some really innovative new tech, but nothing really ground braking here.
  • 37 4
 your comment is going to cause some serious friction with other riders
  • 21 4
 Those brakes can’t slow down the amount of puns used on this site.
  • 34 3
 @DonkeyTeeth: these brake puns are piston me off
  • 24 2
 @mixmastamikey: This has to stop....
  • 9 2
 These wont brake the bank though
  • 8 4
 I am no english expert but ... recently i am not sure the usage of "brake" and "break" anymore..
  • 9 2
 OH, STOP IT!
  • 11 1
 @cikudh: Neither are many of our native English-speaking commenters!
  • 3 1
 I see what you did there. Gimme a "brake". Lol.
  • 18 0
 The puns seems to be at a boiling point. I think we might see them fade.
  • 10 0
 I'm bleeding this thread for as many puns as possible but maybe it should just stop.
  • 1 4
 All you got to find was a set of PIA brakes that you hope you dont have to be the poor SOB to work on them... lol magura
  • 1 0
 I always think of Taiwan as like, "bicycle mecca".
  • 3 0
 @cikudh: I hate to brake it to you but its faded to us too.
  • 1 0
 @eastsideride: if it wasn’t crappy enough you’d think Magura was trying to intentionally bankrupt itself with the puke flourescent green color scheme.
  • 3 0
 These puns are grinding to a halt.
  • 4 0
 the rest of these comments aren't the same caliper as yours.
  • 6 0
 Then why don't we just put a hose to this topic. These puns are just a carbon copy of all the other recent posts floating around here and we don't have the leverage modulate this discussion. It's fair that some people vented their frustrations about lack of innovation, but some of these products do pack some bite, it's not like manifacturers have endles reservoirs of un-used tech laying around in their pads. Would be a shame to see someone bleed over a silly topic like this..
  • 37 1
 I expected a better caliper of article than this.....
  • 4 0
 Stop the press!
  • 23 0
 Came here to comment, but I've been stopped in my tracks.
  • 19 2
 Instead of that 160mm Rotor you can just take off your brakes completely and stick your foot in the fork arch to slow down. Save a whole handful of grams that way.
  • 13 0
 Great idea to name a new brake caliper "E4". Not like the name is already taken by any other brake manufacturer.
  • 2 0
 How do yo like Avid Elixir looks and i bet internals on it?
  • 14 1
 That Open frame is dead sexy but at 900 grams I would be afraid of braking it...
  • 12 0
 As each article hits the www I’m left wondering ‘why is Mike even at the Taipei Cycle Show?’
  • 36 0
 Same
  • 10 0
 dude he touched the rotor
  • 9 0
 clearly he’s the salesman not the mechanic
  • 7 1
 Question..
Being a Brit and having all moto and bicycle levers on the same side.
How confusing is it jumping from a bicycle to a moto?
Do people crash alot? I know I would.
  • 3 0
 It's not that confusing at all. You ride the same you've always ridden.
  • 1 0
 .......
  • 2 0
 @pigman65 After riding motorbikes forever I started mountain biking 8 years ago. After a moto ride, I immediately jumped from my KTM 950SM to my mountain bike and the first brake grab was a massive OTB and a broken hand. Smile Since then I'm running moto style brakes on all my bikes... But I have friends who can run them opposite without any problems.
  • 5 1
 So on your bicycle you put the clutch lever on the left and have a foot pedal for the rear brake?

My point is that there are fundamental differences between the two (independent of how you configure your mtb brake levers), so you have to adapt between the two regardless; the two different activities become ingrained as separate. I am a long-time mtb'er, and had no problem taking up motos in my 40's.
  • 2 0
 Ridden mtn bikes since 1990 and before that BMX, had my first dirt bike in 1985. never once have I screwed up, They are totally different deals, Throttle with the front brake and clutch on the other side. Rear brake on right foot and shift on left. None of my friends ever screwed it up either.
  • 2 0
 @MtbSince84: Personally, I rode moto all my life up to age 42. My right pointing finger was used to the modulation of two 320mm 4 piston Brembos and I did most of the braking with the front, while my left was used to pulling the clutch lever to bar. Switching to bicycles it turned out it's more convenient for me to keep the front brake lever on the right as on my motorbike. I don't think there is a right or wrong way it's just personal preference...
  • 7 0
 Oh stop it...
  • 2 14
flag chillrider199 (Nov 3, 2018 at 8:52) (Below Threshold)
 The puns? Yeah theyre getting really old.
  • 2 1
 Those Zeno rotors look sketchy. It’s just a thin piece of metal holding the rotor on. It’s a nice feature to know the rotor is floating but I’d be worried about that little clip flying off. There’s a lot of forces being applied to such a small area Eek
  • 3 0
 The forces are applied to the alloy carrier, not the little bent piece.
  • 1 0
 @scottzg: stil scares me too though... If anything flexes/bends even a little...
Although it might be counterintuitive, having some play/float on your discs works pretty ok.
Source:Managed to warp a couple of real stiff Magura rotors, cant seem to break floating Hopes. ????
  • 2 0
 @segunda: This is the real benefit of floating rotors. It's got nothing to do with the rotor being able to move side to side to allow for badly set up brakes, as they seem to claim in the article. Floating rotors are designed to allow the braking surface to expand and contract when it goes through heat cycles, without warping.

This design looks pretty neat, and probably very cheap to produce. Should imagine it runs a lot noisier than the Hope design though. Cool product if its suitably affordable.
  • 1 0
 What's wrong with 140mm rotors? I've been running that on the back of my Rocky Mountain Element since 2012. For the terrain I'm riding (Netherlands) it's more than sufficient. Even going to the more hilly Belgian regions this setup is fine. I wouldn't go to the Alps with it though.
  • 4 0
 Buddys gonna have to blowtorch his finger grease off that rotor. tsk tsk.
  • 4 0
 This article quickly faded into memory.
  • 4 2
 "two lever options, too, with a normal looking two-finger blade" ... right, because people normally use two fingers on their mtb brakes...
  • 7 1
 Uh huh... Most levers are designed to accommodate two fingers, not just one, and certainly not four since the early 1990s. I never said that people normally use two fingers Wink
  • 3 0
 ZENO going for the thousand rattles and ding sounds approach I see
  • 5 3
 Guys, brake me off a piece of that kit kat bar. Wait.........what??
  • 2 1
 Quaxar floating rotors weight 69gr in 160mm, brake really well and cost about 20£.
  • 2 0
 May try a pair
  • 3 0
 Looks like the same braking surface as the Ashima Airrotor, and while they're great, hell I ride them, you'd be seriously mistaken in saying they brake well. They're very notorious for lacking power.
  • 1 0
 @sherbet: I changed from Hope floating rotors to Quaxar, and didn't notice less power. Bear in mind, I use Formula's The One,maybe with a less powerful brake or a heavy rider it isn't enough.
  • 1 0
 @sherbet: I’ve been using Ashima rotors for years and I’ve found them to be more than adequate for the short local tracks but I’m also not a big guy so that works in my favour. Have you tried the AiNEON rotor?
  • 1 0
 @nozes: The Hope rotors have a much more uninterrupted braking surface. The power on those rotors is absolutely more substantial than on the AirRotor style surface.

I have not tried any Ashima floating rotors yet. Part of me wants to, but we just don't really have a huge need here for them.
  • 1 0
 @sherbet: yep, same here
  • 2 0
 For those who always wanted PooMax quality to match their Yetis.
  • 1 1
 Is the new trend the Kung Fu four finger grip brake lever? ????I guess they can double as handguards, though.
  • 1 0
 Put it all in a box and I will tell you how I like it. Thanks
  • 2 0
 I want to brake free Smile
  • 1 0
 Pump the promax bro
  • 1 0
 so promax still exist
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