Just done a regular MTB ride on the new crosser.

[Globalti]

Nice, I've already drooled over that one. However the brakes are a compromise with that cable to hydro adaptor. My wife's MTB has some Avis Juicys fitted, which are really minimal and excellent brakes so I'm wondering if those would work with whatever levers Shimano eventually launch, unless they launch with an equally light and tasty caliper. I'm a bit out of date on discs as my original Hope Minis are still doing a fine job on my mountain bike.

Out of interest I emailed Hope to ask if they had any plans for a hydraulic road brake but they replied that their adaptor already does a good enough job.

 

[Moss]

Nice plan Globalti.
In case you get tired of waiting (has anyone announced plans to make a hydraulic road brake lever?) this might be a good alternative http://road.cc/content/news/46405-first-ride-kinesis-crosslight-pro6

I am liking the Kinesis approach to cross bikes a lot! In fact my next racer is going to be the CSix 2 - canti brakes of course

Love that bike! just signed up to the site. Vamp, what's your opinion on V-Brakes for a Cyclo Cross Bike? I have them on my new to be delivered tomorrow Ridley X Ride Bike!

 

[VamP]

Love that bike! just signed up to the site. Vamp, what's your opinion on V-Brakes for a Cyclo Cross Bike? I have them on my new to be delivered tomorrow Ridley X Ride Bike!

I don't really have an opinion - don't see a lot of them racing, though I am not really sure why...

The V brakes on my MTB work pretty well, but then so do the cantis on my race bike. Mud clearance shouldn't be an issue, weight shouldn't really be an issue... let me know how you get on with them

And post pics!

 

[Andrew Br]

Prompted partly by this thread and partly by the mechanic at my LBS saying how impressed he was with the TRP Parabox, I've just tried to compare the weights of BB7 cable calipers, the Parabox + calipers and the Hope V Twin +calipers.
Heaviest is the Parabox at 451g/wheel, BB7s are 329g/wheel and the Hope is (if I've been given the correct info) 240g/wheel*

I think these adaptors are going to prove to be very popular for a few years. I can't realistically see Shimano bringing out their proposed hydraulic drop levers until 2013 at the earliest and the initial versions will, presumably, be at the top end of the range so ££££ (they might even be Di2 so a new drive-train will be needed).
This is an expensive option for those of us with perfectly serviceable cable levers especially if, like me, they're Campag (on the light bike or non- integrated (on the Rohloffed tourer).

At £250 including the calipers, the Hope system looks to be very good value. I can't believe I've just said that............




* I'm a little sceptical about the Hope; it sounds too light and I'm not sure that I understood the info from them; I phoned to find out the weight of a caliper and the master cylinder since the on-line info is for a complete system including the MTB levers and rotors. The weight of the master cylinder is 92g without fluid.

** I was only interested in the weight of the calipers and master cylinders since I already have rotors and levers on my bike.



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[Globalti]

Adaptors and cable disc brakes are an evolutionary halfway house, which will become obsolete as soon as a full hydraulic system hits the shops. I've just read on the Singletrack forum that SRAM are about to announce something big for 2012, can't link you to it because I can only go there during lunch hour. However the writer seemed to think that a SRAM brake/gear unit doesn't have enough internal space for a hydraulic cylinder and reservoir whereas a Shimano STI lever does. Professional road race teams won't waste any time in moving over to hydraulic discs and it's likely that the actual discs will be big, 180mm or more in order to dissipate the heat of a long Alpine descent.

 

[Andrew Br]

I've just read the article.

I can see the sense in the bigger rotors even if I was sceptical at first. (My reasoning was that they won't want the greater weight and, while the descents on TdeF, Vuelta etc are long, those riders are aren't carrying as much weight as we would be ie fat and panniers and they're not going to be dragging the brakes much, again as we would. Then I remembered the UCI weight limit so they'll use the extra weight for the brakes rather than sticking lead onto the frame.)

The anticipated SRAM announcement is for the Red groupset. So that's about £350 for new levers only based on current pricing. But of course they'll jack the price up if they're introducing significantly new technology.
Again according to, the article Shimano are looking at disc-compatible Di2. So ~£750-£1500 depending whether it's Ultegra or DA and then there's the cost of the calipers and rotors !

No, I think the adaptors will be around for a good few years although I agree that fully integrated systems will become more popular when the price comes down significantly.
It'll be interesting to see how Campag and SRAM fit hydraulic cylinders into their levers. Or maybe they'll use remote master cylinders ;-)



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[VamP]

I am not sure how sound that prediction is TBH. It's kind of sandwiched between Hushovd for the Olympic Gold, and the Dutch building a mountain, with underwater bobsled run.

If, and that's a big if, it comes to pass, there will be a two speed impact, as not only will the technology itself be expensive, but the knock-on effects of related gear replacement will be huger still. Can we really see tens of thousands of amateur racers getting rid of frames and wheelsets running into thousands and tens of thousands of pounds?

Would be good news for those of us who don't find rim brakes to be a limiting factor I suppose. Somehow, I just don't think that the scope for improvement that we saw with MTBs is there. I could be wrong, I often am

 

[Globalti]

The rim of the wheel is the perfect disc brake and the technology for applying friction material has been developed to a high level. The only factor, which spoils the rim as a brake is its susceptibility to wetting and contamination so perhaps discs will only become popular on road bikes ridden in wet climates? Why would you need to worry about dirty wet rims if you lived in the south of France, Spain or California?