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I knew about the groove being angled, but kinda ignored it here, obviously for the worse
Thanks for the in-depth, hands-on info!
As for lever throw, there is still the option of swing links and the like. But yeah, we are fairly limited with available lever throw and force due to the overall system - the fingers have a finite length and strength. The envelope mtb brake designers work in are fairly limited while the users want more power and more pad clearance. And a low cost. Now pick two.
Decreasing MC size gives you higher brake line pressures. Code levers hit 3000 psi easily as is. I would be hesitant to increase that further considering there's another upside to larger calipers... heat. More fluid volume and more caliper surface area helps a fair bit when it comes to dealing with heat. I don't think the unsprung mass is a big hit considering our calipers are only 7g heavier than Code calipers. I think you could go even larger and not take a huge hit on weight.
Increasing power does have some unavoidable consequences with either lever feel or pad retract. If you decrease pad retract the lever feel can stay where you want it, but your rotors have to be absolutely true to not ping off the pads. I tried super small pad retract like that and couldn't get the pads to never rub. It didn't create significant drag, but the rubbing sound is annoying. If you add too much more ramp to the lever early in it's stroke you can get a funny sticky feeling in the early stroke. I messed around with cam geometry a fair bit to try and find the point where ramp is increased without running into that sensation. If you go to crazy with the ramp you definitely run into hand fatigue issues when trailing the brakes. At the end of the day I think a combination of the two is the way to go. I think It would be possible to add another 15% at least and still have the levers feel good.
Cars and motorcycles get the super high braking power they need without feeling like absolute mush by having negligible pad retract and having the rotor or caliper float side to side. The drag is minimal, but that's relative the power put out by a motor. Plus you can't hear rotors rubbing over all the other noise.
Increasing the power by 15 % by fiddling with the cams, is it impacted by the tolerances (i.e. do they have to be really tight, so the mechanism would be expensive to make)?
Cams are super easy to do with really tight tolerances. It's all in the same set up.
BTW, I have the North Forks, really loving them, just have one piston that is slightly wet, but I will, for the moment, just monitor that...
Oh and if you need to replace that seal let us know. Every now and then defective seals pop up and we'll gladly send out a fresh set.
I see there's a replacement cam for the RSC brakes available too, didn't see that one before!
https://cascadecomponents.bike/products/brake-cams
Speaking of Gustavs, you mean the sliding caliper? Cars use those calipers because it means you have a single-sided caliper. Wheel fitment is easier (the caliper doesn't protrude out as much), all the hydraulics are single sided, etc. The issue is that the pins where the caliper slides on notoriously seize up. And cars usually have enough side-to-side space to have it properly supported to not bind, could be an issue on bikes too. I really wouldn't want that on my bike to be honest, what we have works plenty fine compared tot he potential problems (and marginal gains) the Gustav approach would bring.
Also, why the downvotes on the booster comment on the last page? o.O
There's literally nothing downvote worthy in it, it's all correct.
Pit bits 3 from Leogang, pic 26 (i think): Is this a proto Hayes D-series 220mm rotor? O_o
ONTOPIC - really interested in the possibility of a 220mm D-series rotor. Does someone know someone in Hayes that can unofficially confirm it’s gonna happen for us regular folks and it’s not just a proto for the Gamux racing team? 😁
New Marzocchi Bomber Air shock.
It seems to be very similar to a Fox Float X, but mirrored side to side and with a slightly offset and tilted reservoir. Found it in Marzocchi Germany's web shop.
https://www.marzocchi.de/collections/shocks/products/bomber-air?variant=42154242670745
Anybody else not that excited? All I want from Marzocchi is a long-travel coil fork, preferrably in an upside-down arrangement.
In a world of $700+ shocks, it would be awesome to see a decent air shock that can take some abuse at a significantly lower price