Insectoid

Every time a 32er has been featured in an article, at least a handful of people has said snarkily they're holding out for 30.5. Now they've gotten what they asked for.

@BenPea: Out of curiosity, which levers do you use? Lever choice makes a huge difference, too! Plus of course compressionless housing, Yokozuna being my favorite.

@BenPea: I replaced Klampers with Growtacs- the routing was the same and the lever feel is very different.

@totaltoads: Mechanical brakes not being enough for anything tougher than XC has not been my experience with the Growtac Equals. They are in a league of their own in terms of power and modulation. The friction is so much lower than with other cable brakes (on par with many hydraulic brakes in fact) and the cam (think Servo Wave inside the brake instead of the lever) gives the brakes a ton of power.

@villyZ: I have used Klampers, BB7s, and Growtac Equals, plus a few other brakes like Hayes CX Pro. I have not tried the TRP dual piston brakes. BB7 and Klamper are pretty similar in stopping power, which raises the question of why anyone would spend 3x for a Klamper, but there are two differences. First, BB7s have plastic pad adjuster knobs. These can conceivably melt on long descents, and like any plastic part they at some point dry up and fall apart (although I've had mine since 2004 and they're fine). The Klampers on the other hand have metals adjuster knobs and they last forever. Second, the BB7s are a bear to rebuild. SRAM's online instructions on how to do it are woefully inadequate. Fortunately there is a good YouTube video on the topic. The Klampers on the other hand can be rebuilt entirely by hand and it is dead easy to do it. The Growtac Equals have a totally different design and are in a class of their own. They have a lot less internal friction, and if run with good levers the feel is on part with many hydraulic brakes- no exaggeration. They also have an internal cam, which means you can have big pad clearance and good power at the same time, no need to choose one over the other. Also because of the cam, the stopping power is awesome. BB7s and Klampers are good, but this is a different level entirely. If you combine them with a lever that also has a cam, then you will have really, really awesome stopping power, better than a lot of hydraulic brakes. There are two things to beware of. First, the Equals are pretty dainty and are rated at most for trail use. They are not recommended for use with 32" wheels, if you're into that kind of thing. Second, the sealing is a bit questionable- it's unclear how easily water and grit will enter the internals and mess them up.

Not three-way obviously! Five-way.

Wow, Diacompe Speedcheck... I remember Mountain Bike Action Magazine included that brake in a three-way disc brake shootout in 1994. The other brakes were Tri-Cruiser (?), Mountain Cycles, Sachs Powerdisc, AMP Research proto,and Hope mechanical. As I recall, the article concluded that the disc brakes on test were okay, but that they couldn't yet challenge cantilevers in raw stopping power. 😂😂😂

It's a shame that this thing's weight is in the same league as an e-bike. I realize these guys built the bikes for themselves, but for me the weight penalty is just too much.

I was thinking the same thing!

Under four percent of people on the most popular MTB site, the place where people come to talk about tech, clearly place function over fashion. FOR SHAME! (as I fantasize about eeWings cranks)