Brakes - what do gears have to do with it?

[Kermit power]

Hi all,

My faithful old rear Shimano 105 caliper has seized up. I've taken it apart, cleaned it and greased it, but for some reason it's still refusing to play.

So, I've just toddled off to Wiggle to see what else was on offer and discovered that the Campag entry level stuff - which is more than enough for my purposes - is amongst the most affordable stuff on there. Oddly, however, it is marked up as either 10 or 11 speed.

How can the number of gears affect a rim brake caliper set?

[Markp13]

I'm just removing my 105 calipers to be replaced with planet x stuff. They've only done about 500 miles. They can be yours for a reasonable sum if you like?

[itsnotarace]

No quick release on Campag brake calipers so it depends how often you change wheels and whether you like letting the air out of your tyres when you do

[Doofus]

Kermit power said:

How can the number of gears affect a rim brake caliper set?

Is it to do with the spacing of the seat stays, and therefore the gap between the caliper pivots?

[Paul Drawmer]

itsnotarace said:

No quick release on Campag brake calipers so it depends how often you change wheels and whether you like letting the air out of your tyres when you do

I bought a pair - really bloody irritating! The Tektro I put on the other bike are very good.

[ratbane]

I think it's simply to do with the gear numbers in the groupset corresponding to the brake calipers' serial number. Doesn't make any difference to the operation of the caliper.

[Rouleur]

ratbane said:

I think it's simply to do with the gear numbers in the groupset corresponding to the brake calipers' serial number. Doesn't make any difference to the operation of the caliper.

Correct

[deadtom]

sounds like you were looking at complete sets of campag stuff, so that will include brakes and drivetrain

[Kermit power]

deadtom said:

sounds like you were looking at complete sets of campag stuff, so that will include brakes and drivetrain

Not at 32 quid I wasn't!

[Kermit power]

deadtom said:

sounds like you were looking at complete sets of campag stuff, so that will include brakes and drivetrain

Not at 32 quid I wasn't!

[shalmaneser]

side pull brakes are fairly universal. The non- QR thing does make campy brakes fairly annoying if you don't have campy levers though.

[Kermit power]

shalmaneser said:

side pull brakes are fairly universal. The non- QR thing does make campy brakes fairly annoying if you don't have campy levers though.

Ah... Does that mean the levers do have a QR mechanism? My new bike (bloody hurry up, CTW voucher so I can liberate it from the front window of Cycles Dauphin in Box Hill) has Campag kit on it, so I was wondering. Less worried on this one, as it's just my sorely abused commuter bike.

[deadtom]

Kermit power said:

Not at 32 quid I wasn't!

ah.

well now i feel silly

[shalmaneser]

Kermit power said:

Ah... Does that mean the levers do have a QR mechanism? My new bike (bloody hurry up, CTW voucher so I can liberate it from the front window of Cycles Dauphin in Box Hill) has Campag kit on it, so I was wondering. Less worried on this one, as it's just my sorely abused commuter bike.

yeah, campy levers have a little button you push that makes them retract further into the hood. Quite clever actually, and much simpler than the Shimano cam system.

[itsnotarace]

shalmaneser said:

much simpler than the Shimano cam system.

oh yer that's really hard to use, I have problems all the time

[Chris993C4]

itsnotarace said:

shalmaneser said:

much simpler than the Shimano cam system.

oh yer that's really hard to use, I have problems all the time

Campag brakes still work even in the QR position...

[shalmaneser]

itsnotarace said:

shalmaneser said:

much simpler than the Shimano cam system.

oh yer that's really hard to use, I have problems all the time

I meant from a design/manufacturing point of view. It's also more reliable, I've seen plenty of shimano style brakes seized in position.