Cyclocross - Are Brake Boosters Useful and/or Common on Cyclocross Bikes?

The recent brake shudder thread reminded me of this question that I've had rattling around in my head.

Are brake boosters useful and/or common on cyclocross bikes? I have one on my old mountain bike. It doesn't weigh much; greatly improves braking, and I've never known it to collect much mud. Heck, it was even cheap.

If disk brakes are not legal, then I'm guessing that having better brakes is a great advantage. Well, common sense tells me that, too.

no one runs brake boosters, frames and forks are strong enough not to allow a significant amount of flex without the use of a brake booster. It is a solution for a problem that doesnt exist, like disc brakes or v brakes. lastly, disc brakes are legal so long as youre not in a UCI event (the minority in the USA).

take it easy
jeremy

I've never seen them on a 'cross bike, and I doubt they would be needed at all. 'Cross riders don't need to do the death-grip braking that MTBers need to do, and the sensativity of braking on a 'cross bike is determined by the style of brakes, usually either the low-slung "mafac" style brakes for greater mud clearence, or the high-slung Shimano-style cantilevers.

no one runs brake boosters ..... It is a solution for a problem that doesnt exist.....


I've never seen them on a 'cross bike, and I doubt they would be needed at all. 'Cross riders don't need to do the death-grip braking that MTBers need to do, and the sensativity of braking on a 'cross bike is determined by the style of brakes.....

Thanks for the information. I can understand how the ability to modulate braking is far more important than maximum stopping power, especially when riding on relatively narrow tires in sloppy conditions.

BTW, jeremyb, your blog is awesome! I just visited "Plus One Lap" and found it insightful and informative, plus the CX bike porn was great. I'm rocking a relatively stock Cannondale CX 2005, and while it is probably quite a few pounds and about $1000 away from qualifying from your blog, I did shave 40 grams off the bike by swapping out the stock Hutchinson Pro Gold clinchers (330 grams each) for the far superior and cheaper Ritchey Speedmax Pros (310 grams each). I'm not sure what I'll be shaving next, but I like the suggestion of getting rid of the steel bolts. I don't use the bolts for the rear rack or the water bottle bolts for that matter, so I'm thinking about just removing them and placing electric tape over the holes.

hey thanks man, yeah, its pretty new, but its getting a good amount of attention out there. Tell all your friends about it. My next project ill be tackling and talking about on plus one lap is making my own carbon/kevlar saddle.

Also, if anyone has a CX bike under 18 lbs email it to me and ill get it up there. I love looking at light cross bikes, and what some of those guys has done is pretty cool to me.

take care
jeremy