Late to the game on this one but I specifically came back to this group because I have always had problems with the braking performance with my Sam and 559 brakes. To put it bluntly this is the worst braking setup I have ever had, though my Brompton is a close second. I have tried almost everything to get the brakes to work, new cables, new housing, new salmon pads, brass ferrules. The only thing I haven't tried is machined sidewall rims which cyclist1959 suggested above. I think the solution for me is a new frame with V brakes.
Eric said it best "Those long reach calipers are a bad design concept." I agree 100%. On Tuesday, December 21, 2021 at 3:58:45 PM UTC-5 cycli...@gmail.com wrote: > I've found that rims with machined sidewalls (Velocity Dyads and Quills) > provide much better breaking than rims that do not have machined sidewalls > (VO Voyagers, Grand Bois Papillon). FWIW. > > > On Tuesday, December 21, 2021 at 6:22:21 AM UTC-8 bjmi...@gmail.com wrote: > >> Again, thanks to everyone who chimed in on this thread. I actually >> particularly love when people start talking about their own >> situations/solutions, even if they don't apply to me...just because they >> don't apply now doesn't mean they never will. >> >> Semi-resolution of my original question... >> >> I went ahead and ripped off the tape, installed Sliver2 shifters/pods, >> new housing and cables, retaped and retwined... >> [image: sambars.jpg] >> >> I definitely see some little mistakes in the wrap, but this is my first >> attempt at a drop bar and I'm pleased as punch. I might redo the drive side >> tape before I shellac (there are two little gaps on the inside drop and I >> have the tiniest bit of bar showing under the hood. I also think that dark >> blue is THE move on this sage green bike. I hated undoing Mark's work, but >> I think for my first time doing it, it went as well as it could have. Pro >> tip...if you're not buying the hemp twine Rivendell sells to finish your >> bar tape, throw away your current twine and order some. Night and day >> difference in quality and uniformity of thickness on the twine. >> >> >> So...did it make a difference in braking? >> While I'm still a far cry from the power of V-brakes, I think new >> cables/housing and freshly set up brakes gave me a little more grab on my >> ride this morning. I did carefully decrease the pad/rim distance gap to >> about 1/8" and things are definitely feeling sungger/more secure. I'm still >> going to replace the Kool Stop with the Yokozuna salmons, though. The kind >> of riding I generally do with this bike requires VERY little braking power >> in the first place. If I were going to make this a daily commuter, I'd >> probably go searching for some Paul's or even try the VO Grand Cru. But...I >> have a daily commuter that stops on a dime. >> >> At the end of the day, maybe the changes I made gave me a marginal >> improvement. Even if so, I have the satisfaction of doing this kind of work >> on a bike for the first time and the peace of mind knowing that my housing >> and cables are fresh...and that ain't nothing! >> >> Thanks again for all your thoughts and feedback! >> >> Ben in Omaha >> >> On Tue, Dec 21, 2021 at 6:29 AM ascpgh <asc...@gmail.com> wrote: >> >>> Not of the reach of your Sam but my Rambouillet was considered to be a >>> pretty far reach bike, specified for the longest reach caliper out there at >>> the time which was a non-group Shimano part. They were fine and I replaced >>> stock pads with something similar when necessary but I was alarmed by a >>> long descent in pouring rain that came up during a local charity ride. It >>> was like there was no braking at all. >>> >>> I went beyond different pads and got a set of Paul Racer center pulls >>> center mount version with the salmon pads and all is well. I have to admit >>> I was in the market for more clearance around the tires so I could better >>> size fenders to cover the 32mm tires that I found made the bike handle its >>> best. Midlife crisis for my Ram: new calipers, 32mm RH EL tires and fenders >>> that covered them with adequate clearance and didn't rattle during braking. >>> >>> I didn't undo the bars either, just modified the housing run and stop at >>> the seat tube lug and replaced the cable. There's some Rambouillet in the >>> Sam's blood. >>> >>> Andy Cheatham >>> Pittsburgh >>> >>> On Monday, December 20, 2021 at 10:02:43 AM UTC-5 bjmi...@gmail.com >>> wrote: >>> >>>> Good morning! >>>> I picked up a 2013 Sam in late October and LOVE it for a billion >>>> different reasons. >>>> >>>> However...one area where I really prefer my Atlantis is braking. I have >>>> the Shimano DXR MX70 levers and v-brakes on the Atlantis and I feel like >>>> the stopping power is incredible. This is my commuter bike, set up with >>>> chocos for upright riding with lots of stops. >>>> >>>> Sam has Shimano Tiagra levers and the Tektro r559 brakes. They just >>>> feel a million times weaker. I can stop, but it's a much more gradual >>>> experience than the v-brakes. The braking feels squishy. Like...I pull the >>>> levers and the pads hit the rims, but I can keep pulling the levers and >>>> there's just not much that happens in terms of stopping. It's almost as if >>>> not enough force gets transferred into the pads. >>>> >>>> The brakes are set up correctly, slight toe-in, arm that moves up >>>> toward the rim has pad touching at bottom of braking surface, arm that >>>> moves down toward rim has pad at top of braking surface. I think they >>>> contact the rim with the appropriate amount of movement of the lever, too. >>>> >>>> I'm about to re-do all cables and housings (even though it kind of >>>> kills me to undo one of Mark's bar wrap jobs). Any tips on getting a >>>> little >>>> better braking out of this setup, or are the r559s just going to not be as >>>> good as v-brakes no matter how nicely they're set up? >>>> >>>> Thanks for any and all thoughts! >>>> >>>> Ben in Omaha >>>> >>> -- >>> >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >>> "RBW Owners Bunch" group. >>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send >>> an email to rbw-owners-bun...@googlegroups.com. >>> >> To view this discussion on the web visit >>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/9fba8402-e50d-4ffc-95af-cafeca8afe4en%40googlegroups.com >>> >>> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/9fba8402-e50d-4ffc-95af-cafeca8afe4en%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >>> . >>> >> -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/aaa58c28-2cd0-46af-b673-160632dc9fafn%40googlegroups.com.
