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Ask Nick: Prescription lenses in the rain, Roubaix tire options, and more

03.12.11

Marc, whoever told you that was clearly confusing the speed at which the pads move, with the time it takes to actually stop. Nick states above that the new levers pull more cable (for a given amount of lever travel) so the pads would travel faster and hit the rim a split second sooner as you apply the brake, when compared to the old levers. Unfortunately, this increased cable pull (and corresponding increased pad speed) comes at the expense of leverage, so once the pads hit the rim, you will have less mechanical advantage and ultimately less total power that can be applied. In practice, it probably doesn’t matter at all, as we are talking a fraction of a fraction of a second and either setup could probably lock the wheels, making ultimate power less of a concern.

Incidentally, I think Nick is wrong in his assessment of the new lever old caliper setup feeling spongy. If the leverage changes he mentions are indeed correct, then a lower leverage/lower power caliper, combined with a lower leverage/lower power lever would give you a very firm feeling brake with tons of pad/rim clearance, but less mechanical advantage and so less ultimate braking force.

Source: velonews.competitor.com