cyccommute 

You don’t seem to be getting it. I have no need for compressionless housing because I don’t need an “increase in stopping power” nor do I feel any “sponginess in the levers”. I live in the mountains, am heavy, do off-road bike packing on those mountains, and even have Klampers on a tandem which are short pull with really, really long cables. My brakes have never been hot because I know how to brake to keep from heating brakes, even on fast, steep, rocky downhills.

With all my gear including water and tools in a Camelbak, this bike was carrying 67 lbs in addition to my 230 lbs.



56 lbs plus me.



I’ve never even gotten my brakes warm despite some 30+ mph downhills.

But, and I’ll stress this again, I’ve done the similar rides with similar loads with BB7s and never had any issues either. I like the Klampers and I’m glad I have them but if you can’t afford them, you aren’t going to die using something else.

stratman

Be aware that there is a difference in Shimano STI levers, starting with models introduced after 2008 IIRC. It's SLR vs NSSLR (at least, I think those are the acronyms Shimano use). What basically happened was that the amount of brake cable pull changed to slightly greater, at the STIs, after 2008, but with less mechanical advantage. That's my understanding.

Now my actual experience:

On a new build, in 2018, I installed Avid BB7s with Shimano Sora STIs. The brakes stopped the bike, but I was underwhelmed by the performance. I accept the slightly sub-optimal nature of breaking from the hoods, of course. Nevertheless, they didn't seem that much better than the cantilevers on another bike (with STIs).

So I went backwards in model generations, and installed a pair of Shimano Ultegra nine speed STIs, ST-6510, which are pre 2008. There was a substantial difference. I could now, for instance, lock up the back wheel and induce a skid, even on dry tarmac, braking from the hoods.

BB7s and "old" Shimano STIs are a very good combination, in my experience. I've bought several NOS spare shifters, for the future. BB7s are simple and robust, allegedly a lot more than the TRPs.

I quite like the look of the Paul Klampers, and if I have money to spare may well buy a pair. The 3 different actuation arms is an attractive feature, I assume the "C" ones, for Campagnolo, are the right ones for my current shifters.

Rick

I am not getting it at all. This is about seeing if somebody has set up the brakes the way that I and the reviewer have done for a comparison or opinion on how the brakes work. I contacted Paul about the heatsink KoolStop sintered brake pads. He seemed interested in them. I have had no negative feedback from Paul on using the compressionless housing. Paul also sent me four of the newer KLAMPER ADJUST DETENT KITS. They are three pieces. 1 Ball, 1 Spring, 1 Set Screw. I weigh more than you and actually need the 12 to 14 percent more braking power that some people estimate you get from compressionless housing. You having the Klampers on four of your bicycles tells me that you do like dependable american made parts. I got rid of the squalling from the front brake by replacing the TRP rotor with a Magura ebike rotor. I enjoy some of these back and forth interactions and have learned alot from you and others on the forum. Well it is veteran's day and I am heading out to eat for free!

cyccommute 

I know you aren’t getting it. You are trying to address a problem that I simply don’t have. You don’t weigh more than me and a stoker. That’s another whole human being on the bike. The bike and two people are probably dragging 400 lbs. I question if you weigh more than me and a touring load which is close enough to 300 lbs as to not make much difference. I’ve never had any problem with the brakes…well, any brake really…being weak or needing more stopping power than they have nor with any kind of squealing. I use 203mm rotors on the front of all my bikes and the tandem has 203mm rotors front and rear.

Yes, I appreciate that Klampers are US made. I have a number of bikes with Paul parts and other US made parts. But if someone can’t afford US parts, there is nothing wrong with less expensive alternatives.

Rick

I am back from the senior center veterans day breakfast and also hit juice it up for the free smoothie. I was 376 lbs and am now 314 lbs. Most of the weight off in the last three months. My Pangea Rohloff due to space in the fork, only allows a 180mm rotor in the front. I have a 203 in the rear. I haven't been on the bike in over a year. I will be finished with new brake handles and the Rohloff shifter on the Thorn accessory bar in a few days. Again this wasn't about what you need. I just wanted to know anybody else's experience with Klampers setup like mine. You obviously don't know or care to know this info.

Eric F 

At that price range, you're not likely to find anything new that is decent quality. IMO, your best bet is to keep an eye on the local used market and hope to find a frame that might serve your needs.

joejack951

I came to this thread to make the same point. I forget when exactly Shimano made the change to 'long pull' for their STI levers (definitely by 5800 but possibly at 5700) but calipers that work well with 5600 won't play as nicely with 5800 and vice versa. The oft-recommended (in this thread) TRP Spyre is one of those calipers. With a short pull lever, you are going to be nearly bottoming out on the handlebars at max braking force (or actually bottoming depending on bar/lever combo and setup). The TRP HY/RD is similarly designed for long pull Shimano road levers).

The BB7 road caliper is designed for short pull levers and I've been using an Ultegra 6500 lever (front only) with one since 2008. My more recent disc brake bike paired short pull Campagnolo road levers with TRP HY/RDs but I had to make custom arms to get that combo to perform well. Campagnolo and SRAM road levers all pull about the same as short pull Shimano road levers for reference.