I’ve got it on my Felt DA. It’s hard to argue for it in terms of functionality. I perceive less stopping power. It’s much less convenient to adjust. And it’s in the ideal spot to get clogged up w/ road grime.
So, what are we saving here compared to a traditional setup (like on the P3, or the newer design on the Argon 18 aero bikes)? 50 g drag? 20? 15?
I really like my DA. But I’m about to have to take the rear brake apart to clean it out so it can function properly again. I’m not looking forward to that.
I would gladly give back the potential of 10ish grams of drag (~1 watt) and stiffness (really) and a few grams of weight (I mean…it’s TT bike) for the functionality of a traditional rear brake placement.
I won’t be buying another TT bike for the foreseeable future. But I think manufacturers should consider this moving forward. Or go with something like Argon has done. It’d be hard to imagine that’s costing a significant difference in aero than my current setup.
For the record, this is on their road bike, the Nitrogen, but it’s expected to move to their TT bike, too.
On a TT bike I would take the pain of a wonky brake for just 0.5 seconds saved.
On a road bike I would need ~25grams drag
heh
I would gladly give back the potential of 10ish grams of drag (~1 watt) and stiffness (really) and a few grams of weight (I mean…it’s TT bike) for the functionality of a traditional rear brake placement.
I won’t be buying another TT bike for the foreseeable future. But I think manufacturers should consider this moving forward. Or go with something like Argon has done. It’d be hard to imagine that’s costing a significant difference in aero than my current setup.
For the record, this is on their road bike, the Nitrogen, but it’s expected to move to their TT bike, too.
On a TT bike I would take the pain of a wonky brake for just 0.5 seconds saved.
That makes sense, actually. I guess I just have my doubts that there’s anything being saved, at least on my setup. Those individual arms seem to end up sticking out a couple millimeters, at least on one side if not both.
And just because we don’t see how air might flow over it, doesn’t mean it isn’t. If that was on the top tube where we could see it, I think people would be a lot less likely to consider it more aerodynamic. But, since it removes an unsightly rear brake, it’s gotta be faster!
Or, maybe I should just stop bitchin’ and get to work on my once-a-year job of cleaning that facker out.
I can easily lock the rear brake on my DA. The stock brake lever feels soft but it has as much stopping power as my P2.
jaretj
Yea, me too. That’s why I wrote I perceived it. I do think it doesn’t modulate as well as a traditional brake. But, that doesn’t bother me that much because, you know, it’s a TT bike.
Like I said, I need to just spend an afternoon and get it done…
I’ve always thought you could have a tube profile similar to the seat tube of the SC (but much larger), have a seat post cut to length, and then run a straight-pull brake between the seat stays with the cable going right into the back of the seat tube and then through the top tube.
Regarding brakes mounted under the bb, I take really good care of my bike (never ride in rain etc), have the “speed fin” cover over my rear brake… don’t brake much relative to how far I ride… and I still have to clean the brake out monthly or before every race to ensure proper function.
