Thomas, I second the recommendation for compressionless housing (Jagwire Pro or Yokozuna). The longer the housing the greater the compression effect of standard spiral wrapped housings. I've been using Jagwire Pro on a disc brake Ritchey with full length housings and Paul Klampers for a number of years now and have been consistently impressed by the performance of the set up. (Squishiness is the standard complaint regarding cable actuated disc brakes). Replacing your brake housing would also likely be the least expensive first step in your quest for improved stopping performance.
Steve in AVL On Thursday, August 14, 2025 at 3:43:22 PM UTC-4 Garth wrote: > Besides compression and/or drag somewhere in the line, do the brake > unattached rotate freely on the cant posts ? > > I ask because on my Bomabdil one of the canti posts is more draggy that > the other three, so with some canti's I've tried the canti-lever doesn't > rotate freely when tightened at the post. Yes, it's a real drag ... hah hah > ! The post drag totally diminishes the spring response, rendering > inadequate spring action, and thus crappy braking. The drag on the post > felt like a squish at the lever though, as there was no springyness > present. I swap out the brake for another model, and whaddaya know, that > brake rotates freely and the brake lever has a positive, strong response. > Excellent braking. > > On Thursday, August 14, 2025 at 2:57:15 PM UTC-4 [email protected] wrote: > >> Subscribed on the housing question as I run both Jagwire Sport and Pro >> housing on many bikes and have never had issues such that I noticed the >> difference. If it truly helps for tough runs, just good to know. >> >> On quick search and assuming this is correct, found a post from a few >> years ago stating: >> >> "There's a bigger difference between the Pro and Sport kits when it >> comes to brakes: The Pro kits include compressionless KEB-SL housing, the >> Sport kits include the coiled-wire CGX-SL housing. I always, always spring >> for the compressionless housing." >> >> Did not realize the Sport and Pro were that different. Perhaps some >> gains to still be had with housing, if the above is correct. >> >> -Justus >> Mpls, MN >> >> On Thursday, August 14, 2025 at 1:17:33 PM UTC-5 Eric Daume wrote: >> >>> Yeah, I had the same thought. Try some non compression brake housing. >>> Both of my BF have decent rear brake feel, so it’s possible. >>> >>> Am I using non compression housing? I’m not sure! I can check when I’m >>> home. >>> >>> Eric >>> >>> >>> On Thursday, August 14, 2025, Joe Bernard <[email protected]> wrote: >>> >>>> I've owned several Fridays, v-brake and road caliper, they all had that >>>> squish at the rear. There's a lot of cable housing running a circuitous >>>> route on these frames, I think you've pretty much got whatcha got. >>>> >>>> Joe Bernard >>>> Clearlake CA >>>> >>>> On Thursday, August 14, 2025 at 9:15:53 AM UTC-7 [email protected] >>>> wrote: >>>> >>>>> Hi, all. >>>>> >>>>> Here's a chance to join me in over-thinking something. And a chance >>>>> for those-who-know-stuff to help one-who-doesn't. >>>>> >>>>> To me, "squishy" means the braking action doesn't seem as closely >>>>> linked to my squeeze of the lever as I feel it could be. Definitely >>>>> subjective, definitely "I know it when I see it", and definitely "YMMV" >>>>> territory. >>>>> >>>>> The context is a diamond-frame (i.e. heavy rider edition) Bike Friday >>>>> 2014 New World Tourist (has canti-/v-brake posts). It's only the rear >>>>> brake >>>>> (posts on the chainstays). The brake has always worked, just not with the >>>>> solid feel of, say, the Paul Love&Motolite combination on my Hillbornes >>>>> front and rear, nor even of the Paul Canti&MiniMoto front on the Bike >>>>> Friday itself. (So maybe this isn't just "over-thinking" but also >>>>> "whining".) >>>>> >>>>> Squish had been substantial from the beginning and through a couple >>>>> each of pad-changes, brake-changes and lever-changes. The changes were >>>>> "lateral" in the sense that the new stuff wasn't purchased as generally >>>>> better, just different. The squish did vary some over those changes, but >>>>> not much. Finally the squish moved from "substantial" into "moderate" >>>>> territory when I moved to Paul Canti Levers; clearly the levers accounted >>>>> for some squish. >>>>> >>>>> So... >>>>> >>>>> I have thoughts below on what might be the remaining squish reasons >>>>> (to be ignored by those who know better): >>>>> >>>>> Do I just accept that the brake will have squish because >>>>> >>>>> 1. a brake with 2ish meters of 100% housed brake cable needs >>>>> better-than-Jagwire-Sport housing *- perhaps mitigated by better >>>>> housing* >>>>> 2. the chainstays are flexing *- perhaps mitigated by some kind of >>>>> stiffener ("brake booster"?)* >>>>> 3. the posts are flexing *- (no idea what one could do here)* >>>>> 4. the brakes I've tried so far (nothing special, not super-cheap >>>>> but defintely not expensive) flex(ed) too much *- perhaps >>>>> mitigated by getting a Paul brake to work (I just assume a Paul would >>>>> introduce less squish) or find some low-squish brake which just works >>>>> as is* >>>>> >>>>> 5. something else entirely *- (?)* >>>>> >>>>> Can anyone rank likely causes so that I could prioritize mitigation >>>>> efforts? And I would definitely appreciate any suggestions for any >>>>> mitigation choices (e.g. Which "better housing"? What "low-squishy >>>>> brake"?). >>>>> >>>>> Yours, >>>>> Thomas Lynn Skean >>>>> who does like himself a stiff drink... uh, brake >>>>> >>>>> -- >>>> 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 [email protected]. >>> >>> >>>> To view this discussion visit >>>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/55b9f3ca-c160-4bf0-8395-da017c92b3dan%40googlegroups.com >>>> >>>> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/55b9f3ca-c160-4bf0-8395-da017c92b3dan%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 [email protected]. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/3012a169-ac44-4d04-9d49-87adfa72aa39n%40googlegroups.com.
