Chinertown
Other Resources => Component Deals & Selection => Topic started by: s3si1u on September 16, 2022, 06:25:43 PM
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Oh Aliexpress...it's like you're always reading my mind. Look at what I saw earlier today: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3256804206370295.html?spm=a2g0o.ppclist.product.14.6a719ofP9ofPRJ&pdp_npi=2%40dis%21USD%21US%20%2445.00%21US%20%2445.00%21%21%21%21%21%402101c84a16633692840361885e4ea8%2112000029019108399%21btf&_t=pvid:35417b01-aae9-49ea-ba7d-8fad668d4c26&afTraceInfo=1005004392685047__pc__pcBridgePPC__xxxxxx__1663369284
I've always wanted to try the Paul Klampers...are they as magical as the tales tell? At $200+ a pop that would be a very expensive experiment.
But now that I've found these...oh man. Time to build a new gravel bike? ;D
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Are they a straight Paul Klamper knock off?
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Link is dead.
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Link is dead.
Works fine here... Opeens in the app.
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Works fine here... Opeens in the app.
Seems it won't list it if you have DE selected as location - per original link. I changed it and it does.
Machining of external surfaces definitely looks a little bit rougher than the original.
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The question is do they work as good as or better than the hybrid options like Juintech?
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Or as good as Klampers in general.
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So I ended up pulling the trigger after thinking about it for way too long and they just arrived. Just a quick look for now.
I have a build idea in mind and will be sure to post updates once I get try them out.
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I really thought these brakes would look/match so well with the Rene herse derailleur and xpedo pedals.
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I'll be keeping en eye out for update on this thread. Let us know!
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Keen to hear how they are.
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Hi y'all,
Slow day at work so I have a bit more time to give some first impressions.
I've never seen real Klampers out in the wild, but I would imagine the machining would be generally better than these Ali knockoffs. It's not concerning by any stretch, but there's some definite rough spots that I can point out later. They feel nice and solid and I expect they'll function well. I'm curious about the brake pads, though. The real ones come with Kool Stop pads and I wonder about the quality of the included pads, I'll inspect them later.
No accessories are included, just like the real Klampers. No adapters, cables, tools, spare parts, etc. Only comes with the installed pads. I'll be sourcing 160mm adapters and I have some Growtac brake housing on the way, both compressionless and the floppy kind to see what works best.
Time to build my gravel bike back up! Hope it's not too long before I have some miles on them.
Btw, speaking of Growtac...I came up on the Growtac Equal brakes on Youtube a while back and word on the street is their performance is on par with the Klampers. The price is right up there as well, lol. Anyone familiar/any experience with this Japanese brand?
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How do you think they stop/compare to Juin Tech GT-P 4 calipers? Being all cable driven, I wonder if they are as smooth, or how well they modulate.
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I read a review on the the Growtacs that said they have no modulation, and that all cable actuated brakes are the same. I wouldn't know having never used cable actuated disc brakes. Are hybrids the same?
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They definitely offer modulation. My experience with TRP HY/RD has been fantastic. The modulation may be not as good as full hydro types but they do feel much better than Spyre and Aries (Tektro) that I have on other bikes. The Zrace/Onirii cable hydros are very very close to HY/RDs too. Don’t have many miles yet but their bite is improving day by day. It’s taking surprisingly long for them to sit.
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They definitely offer modulation. My experience with TRP HY/RD has been fantastic. The modulation may be not as good as full hydro types but they do feel much better than Spyre and Aries (Tektro) that I have on other bikes. The Zrace/Onirii cable hydros are very very close to HY/RDs too. Don’t have many miles yet but their bite is improving day by day. It’s taking surprisingly long for them to sit.
Which Zrace/Onirii are you referring to?
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Which Zrace/Onirii are you referring to?
BR-05 or BR-005 model.
https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256803891651369.html
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Hello again :)
Small update regarding these calipers.
It took me a while to get around to using them. Build issues, then the weather got nasty, then I sold the bike, then I put them on a new bike, etc...
I got a few miles in on them when I installed them on my old Poseidon X. I installed them with floppy housing and old Deckas rotors and they worked well, braking power wasn't amazing but it was definitely enough for my kind of riding and better than the stock Poseidon calipers or the Juin Techs I had on my road bike. I'm confident braking power would have significantly improved with time, I barely broke them in before tearing the bike down and selling it to my cousin. He fell in love with the X after his first gravel ride, so we put a GRX groupset on it and it's now his (and I made a new riding buddy ;D ;D).
I've since built a new gravel bike with AXS XPLR and thought this was a perfect time to test the Klamper knockoffs for real. Rather than buying AXS shifters, I bought wireless Blips, TRP brake levers (https://trpcycling.com/product/rrl-sr/), and paired them up with these calipers. I began with compressionless housing and immediately ran into issues. The cable exit and brake mounts on this frame are built in such a way that will give mechanical brake cables some really strange bends that these calipers really don't like. Rear brake cable exit in particular creates a crazy tight bend into the caliper, making compressionless housing almost impossible too install (almost). I moved forward with floppy housing, installation was a breeze but unfortunately braking power was straight trash. I put some blame on the cheap Amazon rotors with improper bedding, so I ordered some nice TRP rotors, fancy polished slick cables and gave compressionless housing another shot.
I pre-bent the housing into just the perfect size and shape to ensure access to the caliper cable entry, but it was only possible by installing without a ferrule. After all this trial and error (and $), braking power has improved, but not so much that I'm comfortable with big descents or very technical trails. Next step is changing out the pads to the Paul recommended Kool Stop metal pads. At this point, though, I think I'm ready to call it quits and switch to something fully hydraulic, as this frame is obviously meant to have. No fault to the calipers honestly, they worked great on the old X and I have no doubt they would have gotten better. Maybe I shouldn't have sold it ;D I think I'll retire these calipers for now. Maybe sell them or pull them back out for a steel frame build in the future.
In the meantime, I'm looking for a decently priced TRP Hylex brakeset or maybe even the LTwoo hydraulic set with the shifting guts removed. What do y'all think? Tbh selling the AXS XPLR groupset isn't out of the question, maybe start from scratch with a GRX, LTwoo or SRAM 22 hydraulic groupset. We'll see, bike building is fun! ;)
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Interesting. I would like to know more once those brakes are on a frame more suited for cable brakes. I have had a pair of them in my cart forever! That problem of crazy bend could have been alleviated if the exit port was on top of the arm rather than on the side. Any reason why manufacturers place the exit port on the inside? I have somewhat similar situation (not as extreme) on my Salsa Journeyer frame though I am using hydraulic brakes on it so it doesn't matter but cabled brakes would surely suffer. Besides the way that exit is designed, the hose comes really close to spokes :-X
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Hello again :)
Small update regarding these calipers.
It took me a while to get around to using them. Build issues, then the weather got nasty, then I sold the bike, then I put them on a new bike, etc...
I got a few miles in on them when I installed them on my old Poseidon X. I installed them with floppy housing and old Deckas rotors and they worked well, braking power wasn't amazing but it was definitely enough for my kind of riding and better than the stock Poseidon calipers or the Juin Techs I had on my road bike. I'm confident braking power would have significantly improved with time, I barely broke them in before tearing the bike down and selling it to my cousin. He fell in love with the X after his first gravel ride, so we put a GRX groupset on it and it's now his (and I made a new riding buddy ;D ;D).
I've since built a new gravel bike with AXS XPLR and thought this was a perfect time to test the Klamper knockoffs for real. Rather than buying AXS shifters, I bought wireless Blips, TRP brake levers (https://trpcycling.com/product/rrl-sr/), and paired them up with these calipers. I began with compressionless housing and immediately ran into issues. The cable exit and brake mounts on this frame are built in such a way that will give mechanical brake cables some really strange bends that these calipers really don't like. Rear brake cable exit in particular creates a crazy tight bend into the caliper, making compressionless housing almost impossible too install (almost). I moved forward with floppy housing, installation was a breeze but unfortunately braking power was straight trash. I put some blame on the cheap Amazon rotors with improper bedding, so I ordered some nice TRP rotors, fancy polished slick cables and gave compressionless housing another shot.
I pre-bent the housing into just the perfect size and shape to ensure access to the caliper cable entry, but it was only possible by installing without a ferrule. After all this trial and error (and $), braking power has improved, but not so much that I'm comfortable with big descents or very technical trails. Next step is changing out the pads to the Paul recommended Kool Stop metal pads. At this point, though, I think I'm ready to call it quits and switch to something fully hydraulic, as this frame is obviously meant to have. No fault to the calipers honestly, they worked great on the old X and I have no doubt they would have gotten better. Maybe I shouldn't have sold it ;D I think I'll retire these calipers for now. Maybe sell them or pull them back out for a steel frame build in the future.
In the meantime, I'm looking for a decently priced TRP Hylex brakeset or maybe even the LTwoo hydraulic set with the shifting guts removed. What do y'all think? Tbh selling the AXS XPLR groupset isn't out of the question, maybe start from scratch with a GRX, LTwoo or SRAM 22 hydraulic groupset. We'll see, bike building is fun! ;)
What compressionless cables did you use? I need another one to complete a build with Juin Tech calipers.
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What compressionless cables did you use? I need another one to complete a build with Juin Tech calipers.
I'm using Jagwire KEB-SL in the front, Growtac compressionless in the back.
Mixed housing because I had that old section of Jagwire laying around from old projects, it was already cut to the perfect length for the front brake, and the diameter of the housing is a little smaller than the Growtac, which sits better in the retention clip on the Whisky fork I'm using. I got the Growtac housing on ebay for less than the Jagwire, it's the pack of housing/ferrules/bits and bobs that comes with the purchase a set of Growtac mechanical brakes. This housing is super, super stiff. Definitely stiffer than the Jagwire, harder to work with if you're working with tight bends.
Where are you located? I have about 140cm or so of the Growtac compressionless housing. Probably a hair too short for a rear brake (unless your frame is like a 45), but more than enough for a front. You can have it if you need it! PM me.
I think I'm about to pull the trigger on a new brake set for my gravel bike. In between the Growtac Equal, TRP Hylex, or LTwoo hydro shifters (with shifting guts removed). Probably going for the Hylex as they're much cheaper than the Growtac and just a hair more than the LTwoo but time tested. If anyone was looking at purchasing some Klamper knockoffs from AliX, I think mine are going up for sale! ;D
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If anyone was looking at purchasing some Klamper knockoffs from AliX, I think mine are going up for sale! ;D
I will take them.
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Just went for a 30ish mile road ride on the gravel bike, longest ride I've done on these brakes. They've now got near ~150 miles on them and wouldn't you know it, braking power suddenly feels noticeably better! It's much closer to what I felt when they were on the old Poseidon X. I wonder how much of that has to do with the new TRP rotors with proper bedding. There's a definite "bite" to these, the front in particular.
All that being said, I still hate how these look on my frame due to the cable routing. It looks ugly and this is totally unacceptable. :D I've pulled the trigger on a new hydraulic brake set and decided to sell these on. They'll be great for someone's new build. I'd love to use these again in the future (because n+1), but who knows when that would be. A new TRP Hylex set has been ordered, can't wait. :D :D
Anyone have any real world experience with the Hylex brakes?