Yeah, I'm convinced that there's not much I can do to make the braking better. I think the biggest issue for me is that I have the v-brakes as a comparison and it's not even close. I remember going from an old bike with Tektro side pulls to the Atlantis with v-brakes and nearly going over the handlebars the first time I stopped.
However...it's all a matter of perspective and I think the new cables and housing and such made a small difference. I also did get Yokozuna pads and they absolutely blow the doors off of the Kool Stops I was using. All in all, I'm satisfied with how the bike brakes. Maybe years from now I can get a fork with canti posts and at least run v-brakes on the front wheel...but I have no plans on doing anything like that any time soon. Ben in Omaha On Tuesday, January 4, 2022 at 1:30:46 PM UTC-6 Thomas Blak wrote: > 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. 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