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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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. ????
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.
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.