which brakes?

granda

which brakes would you chose ultegra http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=67225
or planet x
http://www.planet-x-bikes.co.uk/i/q/BCPXFOR/planet_x_ultra_light_forged_brake_calipers

Icyseanfitz

i really would love to get a set of those planet x brakes to see what there like, they weigh nothing, but out of the two your safest bet is ultegra

youtheman

The Planet x brakes are 'crap', if fact I would go so far as to say that there is a fundamental design flaw with them. I've made some observations about them in another thread.

I had a scenario where I had break failure (with the Planet x brakes ) while cycling at the back of a social group. Heading for a roundabout, shouting 'brake failure' and trying to avoid the cyclists in front of me was a bit of a eye opener. I swore that I would get rid of those **** brakes ASAP.

Rocketpocket

do not buy those planet x brakes.They are awful.

granda

youtheman wrote: »

The Planet x brakes are 'crap', if fact I would go so far as to say that there is a fundamental design flaw with them. I've made some observations about them in another thread.

I had a scenario where I had break failure (with the Planet x brakes ) while cycling at the back of a social group. Heading for a roundabout, shouting 'brake failure' and trying to avoid the cyclists in front of me was a bit of a eye opener. I swore that I would get rid of those **** brakes ASAP.

decision made then i think

youtheman

The group I cycle with has a professional mechanic amongst our ranks. When I showed him my lovely new Planet X bike he told me those brakes were crap, then he had to bite his lip as he realised he was in danger of hurting my feelings.

The first thing you'll note about those brakes is that there is no adjustment (like you have with normal brakes, for example if you brake a spoke and have to allow for a slight buckle in the wheel).

Then if you allow the brake pads to wear excessively you might be unfortunate enough to witness their major flaw: the cam arm can flip and the brakes are stuck on.

colm_gti

I've had them for a season and think they're fine, the planet x ones....

Would be interested to hear what you all think is so bad about them...

Coronal

I've had my Planet-X brakes for two years with no issues. They've managed to survive several Alpine descents as well. Surely one should replace the pads before they become excessively worn? For, you know, the brakes to actually work?

feck sake lads

shimano have a proven track record but the shimano.;)

Lumen

Coronal wrote: »

I've had my Planet-X brakes for two years with no issues. They've managed to survive several Alpine descents as well. Surely one should replace the pads before they become excessively worn? For, you know, the brakes to actually work?

Similar experience to mine.

I ran them with no issues for a couple of years (including up and down mountains) until eventually binning them because one of the grub screws seized and I couldn't be bothered to drill it out.

They're very light, and cheapish, and look good.

Less practical than Shimano due to the lack of quick release, but then they're light for a reason.

Horses for courses.

full gas

The plant x are fine if your planning on not taken your bike off the turbo , now don't be silly ultegra all the way , seen far to many problems with plant x

Icyseanfitz

well a few of the posters above seem to think there grand, so would you mind giving a few examples of "too many problems", i cant really see how they wont work if set up right with a good set of pads

Ryath

youtheman wrote: »

Then if you allow the brake pads to wear excessively you might be unfortunate enough to witness their major flaw: the cam arm can flip and the brakes are stuck on.

Similar to the others I have them over two years and about 10,000k with no problems. Unfortunately no alpine descents though. Just had a good look at mine my back brake pads don't even have 1mm left on them and I can't see how the brakes could move in far enough to let the cam arm lock if they are set up properly. You're brakes must have been set up well off the rim or the cable stretched a lot. This still something that should be checked and adjusted for before pad wear is even an issue.

Yes they are a bit fiddly to set up and the lack of quick release is a bit of a pain but as Lumen said they are very light and comparatively cheap

youtheman

Icyseanfitz wrote: »

well a few of the posters above seem to think there grand, so would you mind giving a few examples of "too many problems", i cant really see how they wont work if set up right with a good set of pads

See above for my explanation where they will fail and leave you down with a bang.

In summary (my opinion):

PROS
1. They are light

CONS
2. There is no adjustment
3. Ther quick release consists of disconnecting the brake cable via a small 'cylinder' type connection which is slotted into the brake cam (as opposed to a normal brake where you turn a cam to open the brake). The problem comes when you want to reconnect. There is a possibility that you won't put the cylinder back into the slot corerctly, thereby rendering the brakes useless. Now you might say this is a small risk, but the risk is there evertime you disconnect the cable to take off the wheel, so it quickly becomes a bigger risk.
4. No other brakes (that I know off) can stick in the on position due to worn brake pads. This happended to me and it literally scared the 5hit out of me (thankfully it was on the flat). But it was enough for me to decide to bin them there and then.

niceonetom

"literally"?

Ew.

Lumen

youtheman wrote: »

The problem comes when you want to reconnect. There is a possibility that you won't put the cylinder back into the slot corerctly, thereby rendering the brakes useless. Now you might say this is a small risk, but the risk is there evertime you disconnect the cable to take off the wheel, so it quickly becomes a bigger risk.

I agree that they're slightly less idiot-proof than Shimano brakes, but that's what you get for a 30% or whatever weight saving.

If you apply a small bit of common sense and mechanical competence (which is required for anyone doing brake maintenance) then there's no risk at all.

Icyseanfitz

so mostly it comes down to not being able to open the brakes without disconnecting the cable? wouldnt be a major issue for me personally

Lumen

Icyseanfitz wrote: »

so mostly it comes down to not being able to open the brakes without disconnecting the cable? wouldnt be a major issue for me personally

It's a bit more complicated than that.

In theory you can open the brakes just by popping the cylinder out of the forky bit it sits in. In practice, you have to push the pads together in order to create enough leeway to do this. If your pads are already close to the rim, you have to open the brakes using the barrel adjuster, then push the pads together and pop the cylinder out.

"Quick" release it isn't.

AstraMonti

The P-x brakes are fine, yes it's a bit annoying that they don't have a quick release but i don't care (I run campag) and they are a bit fiddly to setup. They are way lighter than the more expensive competition and with the correct pads they have adequate stopping power. If you don't care about weight and/or looks get the ultegra.

Edit: Btw I am talking about the CNC not the forged ones, I have no experience with the latter.

FirstinLastout

In summary (my opinion):

PROS
1. They are light

CONS
2. There is no adjustment
3. Ther quick release consists of disconnecting the brake cable via a small 'cylinder' type connection which is slotted into the brake cam (as opposed to a normal brake where you turn a cam to open the brake). The problem comes when you want to reconnect. There is a possibility that you won't put the cylinder back into the slot corerctly, thereby rendering the brakes useless. Now you might say this is a small risk, but the risk is there evertime you disconnect the cable to take off the wheel, so it quickly becomes a bigger risk.

In my mind the most obvious & important thing to do, having just replaced a wheel or carried out any kind brake related work, is to test the brakes.
Best to find you ain't replaced the giggling pin into the whats'it while standing in your workshop or the side of the road rather than barrelling downhill giving it the berries.:eek:
I test my brakes everytime I grab my bike for spin it's just good practise, crazy not to!

Can't say I have any experience with the PX brakes though!

youtheman

FirstinLastout wrote: »

In my mind the most obvious & important thing to do, having just replaced a wheel or carried out any kind brake related work, is to test the brakes.
Best to find you ain't replaced the giggling pin into the whats'it while standing in your workshop or the side of the road rather than barrelling downhill giving it the berries.:eek:
I test my brakes everytime I grab my bike for spin it's just good practise, crazy not to!

Can't say I have any experience with the PX brakes though!

I totally agree BUT ...... with normal brakes you don't have to disconnect the cable to release the wheel. And with normal brakes if you forget to close the cam after refitting the wheel then the brakes will still work.

When I disconnect the cable on the Planet X brakes then the conduit can pop out of the barrell adjuster. So when I go to reconnect I have to check that the conduit is back in the right position, and then put the barrel clamp (or whatever it's called) into the brake cam. And believe me every time I do it I say to myself "make sure you get this right, cause it's important". Brakes are the most important component on a bike (with steering), and the fact that you have to disconnect them every time you want to take off the wheel goes againt my engineering brain. And there is a risk that you might not do it right (eventhough you check it afterwards), and the overall risk increases everytime you do it.

Coronal

I think that you may be overstating the difficulty involved here. Like FirstinLastout, the first thing I do after touching the brakes is to squeeze the brake lever a few times to make sure everything is seated. I do this for the px brakes as well as every other type of brake on my bikes.

As Lumen said, horses for courses, but I wouldn't include this as a disadvantage of the brakes. Fiddly they are, but dangerous - I'm not so convinced. Maybe I'll eat my words at some point in the future.

Lumen

Coronal wrote: »

I think that you may be overstating the difficulty involved here. Like FirstinLastout, the first thing I do after touching the brakes is to squeeze the brake lever a few times to make sure everything is seated. I do this for the px brakes as well as every other type of brake on my bikes.

Actually, now that I think of it, there was an incident before the ROK last year where I got my bike out of the car, put the wheels on, and cycled off with both brakes completely disengaged.

Stopping a bike with no brakes whilst wearing cleated cycling shoes is not dignified.