Campagnolo brakes opinions please!
rolf_f
Posts: 16,015
OK folks, I don't often need to ask for thoughts on here but I am now so you'd better come up with some helpful answers!
The Campag Centaur front brake on my Ribble is getting a bit ropey. The caliper tends to stick. I can dunk it in the ultrasonic cleaner a few times and I can take out the off centre nut (the other refuses to budge) and clean things to my hearts content but the result is still a bit sticky and any fresh muck on it tends to result in the same cleaning process being needed.
So, assuming the bushes are a bit past it (and if they aren't, how to improve them would be appreciated), I need to think about replacements. My options so far are (targeting a sub £50 price bracket):
1) 2010ish Campag Centaur. Still available - exact replacement of what I already have.
2) 2015 non groupset skeleton brakes (http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/campagnolo-skeleton-dual-pivot-brakeset/rp-prod127564?gs=1&gclid=CJDK-_z758cCFQIcGwodQFIKlg&gclsrc=aw.ds). These are interesting. Only a little heavier than Chorus, new castings, new shoes with screw fixing. Part of me thinks that given the weight, they are probably superior to the old Centaurs, part of me thinks 'when did Campagnolo last actually improve the quality of a product for a given price' rather than make it a lot crappier? Why do these brakes not even own up to a specific groupset?
3) Find some shabby looking Record brakes on Ebay. These would have bearings rather than bushes so might reasonably be expected to have a much longer life even if already well used.
Not in much of a hurry so I can wait for the Records to show up at the right price but I find myself for once not sure what is the right solution. Thoughts appreciated?
The Campag Centaur front brake on my Ribble is getting a bit ropey. The caliper tends to stick. I can dunk it in the ultrasonic cleaner a few times and I can take out the off centre nut (the other refuses to budge) and clean things to my hearts content but the result is still a bit sticky and any fresh muck on it tends to result in the same cleaning process being needed.
So, assuming the bushes are a bit past it (and if they aren't, how to improve them would be appreciated), I need to think about replacements. My options so far are (targeting a sub £50 price bracket):
1) 2010ish Campag Centaur. Still available - exact replacement of what I already have.
2) 2015 non groupset skeleton brakes (http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/campagnolo-skeleton-dual-pivot-brakeset/rp-prod127564?gs=1&gclid=CJDK-_z758cCFQIcGwodQFIKlg&gclsrc=aw.ds). These are interesting. Only a little heavier than Chorus, new castings, new shoes with screw fixing. Part of me thinks that given the weight, they are probably superior to the old Centaurs, part of me thinks 'when did Campagnolo last actually improve the quality of a product for a given price' rather than make it a lot crappier? Why do these brakes not even own up to a specific groupset?
3) Find some shabby looking Record brakes on Ebay. These would have bearings rather than bushes so might reasonably be expected to have a much longer life even if already well used.
Not in much of a hurry so I can wait for the Records to show up at the right price but I find myself for once not sure what is the right solution. Thoughts appreciated?
Faster than a tent.......
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Comments
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OK folks, I don't often need to ask for thoughts on here but I am now so you'd better come up with some helpful answers!
The Campag Centaur front brake on my Ribble is getting a bit ropey. The caliper tends to stick. I can dunk it in the ultrasonic cleaner a few times and I can take out the off centre nut (the other refuses to budge) and clean things to my hearts content but the result is still a bit sticky and any fresh muck on it tends to result in the same cleaning process being needed.
So, assuming the bushes are a bit past it (and if they aren't, how to improve them would be appreciated), I need to think about replacements. My options so far are (targeting a sub £50 price bracket):
1) 2010ish Campag Centaur. Still available - exact replacement of what I already have.
2) 2015 non groupset skeleton brakes (http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/campagnolo-skeleton-dual-pivot-brakeset/rp-prod127564?gs=1&gclid=CJDK-_z758cCFQIcGwodQFIKlg&gclsrc=aw.ds). These are interesting. Only a little heavier than Chorus, new castings, new shoes with screw fixing. Part of me thinks that given the weight, they are probably superior to the old Centaurs, part of me thinks 'when did Campagnolo last actually improve the quality of a product for a given price' rather than make it a lot crappier? Why do these brakes not even own up to a specific groupset?
3) Find some shabby looking Record brakes on Ebay. These would have bearings rather than bushes so might reasonably be expected to have a much longer life even if already well used.
Not in much of a hurry so I can wait for the Records to show up at the right price but I find myself for once not sure what is the right solution. Thoughts appreciated?
Have you replaced both inner and outer cables and checked the run on the bars?0 -
OK folks, I don't often need to ask for thoughts on here but I am now so you'd better come up with some helpful answers!
The Campag Centaur front brake on my Ribble is getting a bit ropey. The caliper tends to stick. I can dunk it in the ultrasonic cleaner a few times and I can take out the off centre nut (the other refuses to budge) and clean things to my hearts content but the result is still a bit sticky and any fresh muck on it tends to result in the same cleaning process being needed.
So, assuming the bushes are a bit past it (and if they aren't, how to improve them would be appreciated), I need to think about replacements. My options so far are (targeting a sub £50 price bracket):
1) 2010ish Campag Centaur. Still available - exact replacement of what I already have.
2) 2015 non groupset skeleton brakes (http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/campagnolo-skeleton-dual-pivot-brakeset/rp-prod127564?gs=1&gclid=CJDK-_z758cCFQIcGwodQFIKlg&gclsrc=aw.ds). These are interesting. Only a little heavier than Chorus, new castings, new shoes with screw fixing. Part of me thinks that given the weight, they are probably superior to the old Centaurs, part of me thinks 'when did Campagnolo last actually improve the quality of a product for a given price' rather than make it a lot crappier? Why do these brakes not even own up to a specific groupset?
3) Find some shabby looking Record brakes on Ebay. These would have bearings rather than bushes so might reasonably be expected to have a much longer life even if already well used.
Not in much of a hurry so I can wait for the Records to show up at the right price but I find myself for once not sure what is the right solution. Thoughts appreciated?
Have you replaced both inner and outer cables and checked the run on the bars?
It's not anything to do with that. It's the caliper (behaves the same when not connected to the cables etc).Faster than a tent.......0 -
I think when you manage to take the brake apart completely, you'll find out that nothing is wrong with it, except dirt/stain.
I own 15 years old heavily used Campa dual pivots which still are fine due to annual cleaning /greasing of the bushings/pivots.
Recently picked up some really shabby Records (2005ish) for 15€ , arms did hardley move, but after overhaul work and look like new and I put them on my best (titanium ) bike.
Brake pivots do not wear much because they hardley move, but as moisture creeps in they can seize in years.
To keep them working a long period you need to get grease in.0 -
I think when you manage to take the brake apart completely, you'll find out that nothing is wrong with it, except dirt/stain.
I own 15 years old heavily used Campa dual pivots which still are fine due to annual cleaning /greasing of the bushings/pivots.
Recently picked up some really shabby Records (2005ish) for 15€ , arms did hardley move, but after overhaul work and look like new and I put them on my best (titanium ) bike.
Brake pivots do not wear much because they hardley move, but as moisture creeps in they can seize in years.
To keep them working a long period you need to get grease in.
Not quite sure how to tackle the central bolt. I'm pretty sure the torx nut on the front won't survive any attempt to shift it. Caliper has done over 25000 miles of all weather riding. As it stands, I can get them to work but need to put more slack in than need be (the spring retracts the pads from the rim but doesn't take up all the cable so it isn't great to operate. If you adjust the slack out, the calipers don't retract far enough!)Faster than a tent.......0 -
I think when you manage to take the brake apart completely, you'll find out that nothing is wrong with it, except dirt/stain.
I own 15 years old heavily used Campa dual pivots which still are fine due to annual cleaning /greasing of the bushings/pivots.
Recently picked up some really shabby Records (2005ish) for 15€ , arms did hardley move, but after overhaul work and look like new and I put them on my best (titanium ) bike.
Brake pivots do not wear much because they hardley move, but as moisture creeps in they can seize in years.
To keep them working a long period you need to get grease in.
Not quite sure how to tackle the central bolt. I'm pretty sure the torx nut on the front won't survive any attempt to shift it. Caliper has done over 25000 miles of all weather riding. As it stands, I can get them to work but need to put more slack in than need be (the spring retracts the pads from the rim but doesn't take up all the cable so it isn't great to operate. If you adjust the slack out, the calipers don't retract far enough!)
Send them down to Doctor D. See if he can get them working again.
http://doctord.co.uk/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Doctor-D/151367174964293?sk=timeline
He worked wonders on some Egro levers I had problems with0 -
I have got a set of day to a brakes which when I got them were quite sticky. I took them to pieces and they work fine now. Yet to use them though. The centre bolt will come out. If I remember there are grub screws on the locking nut to remove first but once you do it a comes to pieces fairly easily took apart some old da 7700 brakes recently they are buttery smooth now.
If you replace the brakes cheap veloce brake are excellent. Mine continually try to lock the front wheel up so they bite alright.http://www.thecycleclinic.co.uk -wheel building and other stuff.0 -
Rolf get the new 2015 11 speed chrous, my God I almost went over the handlebars the first time I used mine, having replaced a set of ultra light CNC ti with swissstops the difference is night and day, even compared with both my newer and old centaurs and new/old shimaNO 105.
Sadly 100g heavier than the CNC's
Rule #5 // Harden The Feck Up.
Rule #9 // If you are out riding in bad weather, it means you are a badass. Period.
Rule #12 // The correct number of bikes to own is n+1.
Rule #42 // A bike race shall never be preceded with a swim and/or followed by a run.0 -
Send them down to Doctor D. See if he can get them working again.
http://doctord.co.uk/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Doctor-D/151367174964293?sk=timeline
He worked wonders on some Egro levers I had problems with
If I went down that route I'd go to Graeme at Velotech but I'm not sending something off just because I'm too crap to get a bolt undone!I have got a set of day to a brakes which when I got them were quite sticky. I took them to pieces and they work fine now. Yet to use them though. The centre bolt will come out. If I remember there are grub screws on the locking nut to remove first but once you do it a comes to pieces fairly easily took apart some old da 7700 brakes recently they are buttery smooth now.
If you replace the brakes cheap veloce brake are excellent. Mine continually try to lock the front wheel up so they bite alright.
Ahh, well - all a bit of an anti-climax really. I found the grub screw you mentioned and extracted that (surprisingly) with no bother at all. But the centre bolt still refused to budge. So I went back to the outer arm and removed that again (I've already had that off earlier this year to no great gain). Oddly enough, given that it has been apart recently, I discovered that the inside face of the outer caliper arm was heavily cacked up and corroded. So I cleaned and scraped all the crap away and regreased it all and it seems about 98% now. I suspect it will deteriorate again more quickly than a new one since the cleaned up surface is still badly pitted but hopefully the grease will keep that issue away for a good while.Rolf get the new 2015 11 speed chrous, my God I almost went over the handlebars the first time I used mine, having replaced a set of ultra light CNC ti with swissstops the difference is night and day, even compared with both my newer and old centaurs and new/old shimaNO 105.
Sadly 100g heavier than the CNC's
I admire your restraint in not advising a new bike! Anyway, problem solved at zero cost. I'm always sceptical of perceptions of fantastically different performance between brakes. If the metal is reasonably rigid, then it really shouldn't make much difference assuming same pads/rims (a caliper is, after all, just a lever). Obviously, the mechanical advantage can vary which will bias a brake between modulation and overall power (and one must come at the expense of the other) but I suspect that the manufacturers just tweak them a little so people feel that they are more powerful. What counts is stopping distance. As it happens, I nearly went over the handlebars when I was testing the brakes (2010 Centaur) on my Look for the first time. After that I got used to them and it didn't happen again.
I replaced the 2010 Centaurs with 2015 Super Record (visually the same as 2010 SR) and apart from the fact that they make the bike even unbelievably cooler than it already was, I notice no difference in performance.Faster than a tent.......0 -
I think when you manage to take the brake apart completely, you'll find out that nothing is wrong with it, except dirt/stain.
I own 15 years old heavily used Campa dual pivots which still are fine due to annual cleaning /greasing of the bushings/pivots.
Recently picked up some really shabby Records (2005ish) for 15€ , arms did hardley move, but after overhaul work and look like new and I put them on my best (titanium ) bike.
Brake pivots do not wear much because they hardley move, but as moisture creeps in they can seize in years.
To keep them working a long period you need to get grease in.
Not quite sure how to tackle the central bolt. I'm pretty sure the torx nut on the front won't survive any attempt to shift it. Caliper has done over 25000 miles of all weather riding. As it stands, I can get them to work but need to put more slack in than need be (the spring retracts the pads from the rim but doesn't take up all the cable so it isn't great to operate. If you adjust the slack out, the calipers don't retract far enough!)
Send them down to Doctor D. See if he can get them working again.
http://doctord.co.uk/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Doctor-D/151367174964293?sk=timeline
He worked wonders on some Egro levers I had problems with
Is he as good as he thinks he is - any views on the bike fit? it seems old school0 -
[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19699708#p19699708]Surrey Commuter[/url] wrote:I think when you manage to take the brake apart completely, you'll find out that nothing is wrong with it, except dirt/stain.
I own 15 years old heavily used Campa dual pivots which still are fine due to annual cleaning /greasing of the bushings/pivots.
Recently picked up some really shabby Records (2005ish) for 15€ , arms did hardley move, but after overhaul work and look like new and I put them on my best (titanium ) bike.
Brake pivots do not wear much because they hardley move, but as moisture creeps in they can seize in years.
To keep them working a long period you need to get grease in.
Not quite sure how to tackle the central bolt. I'm pretty sure the torx nut on the front won't survive any attempt to shift it. Caliper has done over 25000 miles of all weather riding. As it stands, I can get them to work but need to put more slack in than need be (the spring retracts the pads from the rim but doesn't take up all the cable so it isn't great to operate. If you adjust the slack out, the calipers don't retract far enough!)
Send them down to Doctor D. See if he can get them working again.
http://doctord.co.uk/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Doctor-D/151367174964293?sk=timeline
He worked wonders on some Egro levers I had problems with
Is he as good as he thinks he is - any views on the bike fit? it seems old school
yes he is good. He has a massive store of hard to get Campag spares. I don't know about his own fittings, but I do know he works closely with Giuseppe Giannecchini. And when you say 'old school' if you mean he doesn't use fancy lasers then no he doesn't. Giuseppe relies on experience and a good eye.0 -
[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19699708#p19699708]Surrey Commuter[/url] wrote:I think when you manage to take the brake apart completely, you'll find out that nothing is wrong with it, except dirt/stain.
I own 15 years old heavily used Campa dual pivots which still are fine due to annual cleaning /greasing of the bushings/pivots.
Recently picked up some really shabby Records (2005ish) for 15€ , arms did hardley move, but after overhaul work and look like new and I put them on my best (titanium ) bike.
Brake pivots do not wear much because they hardley move, but as moisture creeps in they can seize in years.
To keep them working a long period you need to get grease in.
Not quite sure how to tackle the central bolt. I'm pretty sure the torx nut on the front won't survive any attempt to shift it. Caliper has done over 25000 miles of all weather riding. As it stands, I can get them to work but need to put more slack in than need be (the spring retracts the pads from the rim but doesn't take up all the cable so it isn't great to operate. If you adjust the slack out, the calipers don't retract far enough!)
Send them down to Doctor D. See if he can get them working again.
http://doctord.co.uk/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Doctor-D/151367174964293?sk=timeline
He worked wonders on some Egro levers I had problems with
Is he as good as he thinks he is - any views on the bike fit? it seems old school
yes he is good. He has a massive store of hard to get Campag spares. I don't know about his own fittings, but I do know he works closely with Giuseppe Giannecchini. And when you say 'old school' if you mean he doesn't use fancy lasers then no he doesn't. Giuseppe relies on experience and a good eye.
yep I mean no fancy machines - maybe I should have clarified that it quite appeals to me. Have just moved to Epsom so he is down the road.0 -
[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19700607#p19700607]Surrey Commuter[/url] wrote:[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19699708#p19699708]Surrey Commuter[/url] wrote:I think when you manage to take the brake apart completely, you'll find out that nothing is wrong with it, except dirt/stain.
I own 15 years old heavily used Campa dual pivots which still are fine due to annual cleaning /greasing of the bushings/pivots.
Recently picked up some really shabby Records (2005ish) for 15€ , arms did hardley move, but after overhaul work and look like new and I put them on my best (titanium ) bike.
Brake pivots do not wear much because they hardley move, but as moisture creeps in they can seize in years.
To keep them working a long period you need to get grease in.
Not quite sure how to tackle the central bolt. I'm pretty sure the torx nut on the front won't survive any attempt to shift it. Caliper has done over 25000 miles of all weather riding. As it stands, I can get them to work but need to put more slack in than need be (the spring retracts the pads from the rim but doesn't take up all the cable so it isn't great to operate. If you adjust the slack out, the calipers don't retract far enough!)
Send them down to Doctor D. See if he can get them working again.
http://doctord.co.uk/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Doctor-D/151367174964293?sk=timeline
He worked wonders on some Egro levers I had problems with
Is he as good as he thinks he is - any views on the bike fit? it seems old school
yes he is good. He has a massive store of hard to get Campag spares. I don't know about his own fittings, but I do know he works closely with Giuseppe Giannecchini. And when you say 'old school' if you mean he doesn't use fancy lasers then no he doesn't. Giuseppe relies on experience and a good eye.
yep I mean no fancy machines - maybe I should have clarified that it quite appeals to me. Have just moved to Epsom so he is down the road.
I'm jealous. I wish I lived very close to him. Although people do send him bikes to work on. I'd love to get my bikes fully serviced by him.
Regarding bike fitting, I would recommend going to see Giuseppe. He has clinics at Artisan Cycles up in Much Hadham. I think they're having a free no obligation assessment evening with him soon.
https://www.facebook.com/events/500072870146668/0 -
When my old Record rear failed I replaced it with a grey Shimano 6700 for £20 (new). Might not match but it works better than the originalM.Rushton0
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When my old Record rear failed I replaced it with a grey Shimano 6700 for £20 (new). Might not match but it works better than the original
I overcooked my rice the other night but it was still OK.Faster than a tent.......0
