Yokozuna ultimo disc brake calipers

[zap]

Looking for user feedback. I'm thinking of replacing the BB7's on our travel tandem with Ultimo calipers.

[d_douglas]

I use the Juintechs after a decade of Avids and they’re better. I think the yokos are another step up in performance.

[mistermo]

I use the Juintechs after a decade of Avids and they’re better. I think the yokos are another step up in performance.

User here. Have them on my Ritchey Breakaway. They definitely have better feel than the BB7s on my tandem, though with the hydro factor, they'll never be as easy to maintain.

And since the BB7s are on the tandem, could the diff in feel be because of longer cable travel? Dunno.

[Bici-Sonora]

Soma is having a 20% off sale on all their Japanese parts including the Yokozuna disc brakes. I'm not sure if it is the best deal out there, but I thought I'd mention it if you're looking.


Looking for user feedback. I'm thinking of replacing the BB7's on our travel tandem with Ultimo calipers.

[Gummee]

I use the Juintechs after a decade of Avids and they’re better. I think the yokos are another step up in performance.

I set up my buddy's Boone with the Juin Tech brakes. Easy to set up, seem to be good stopping power. Not quite fully hydro, but better than pure mechanical

M

[NHAero]

Are the Yokozuna actually a different product than the Juin Tech? They look awfully similar.

[donevwil]

Are the Yokozuna actually a different product than the Juin Tech? They look awfully similar.

I believe and have read the Yokos are made by Juin Tech (or whomever makes them for Juin Tech) and are indeed identical. I run the Motokos and bought them because they came with Yokozuna cables (which I needed) and got the everyday 15% off at Universal, ended up cheaper than the Juin route (and didn't need the color).

[Hakkalugi]

Same product, different silkscreen. The Yokozuna’s ship with rotors and housing, and the housing is great. Cut it with a Dremel- it’s tough stuff.

I’m running the 2 piston on my road & gravel bikes, and the 4-piston on my fatbike. The brakes are great: easy setup, very good performance, and both use easy-to-find Shimano pads.

[NHAero]

What are the differences between the 2 and 4 piston calipers - why would one choose one over the other?
Thanks

Same product, different silkscreen. The Yokozuna’s ship with rotors and housing, and the housing is great. Cut it with a Dremel- it’s tough stuff.

I’m running the 2 piston on my road & gravel bikes, and the 4-piston on my fatbike. The brakes are great: easy setup, very good performance, and both use easy-to-find Shimano pads.

[zap]

In the automotive world, more pistons in calipers = more braking power. Porsche's and MB AMG's have as many as 8 pistons/caliper.

In the cycling world, I recall seeing some dh specific calipers with 6 pistons.

Our disc equipped tandem needs better braking performance. So I'm hoping for improvements with hybrid calipers and compressionless cables. Plus easier setup with Campy Record ergo levers would be really nice.

[marciero]

In the automotive world, more pistons in calipers = more braking power. Porsche's and MB AMG's have as many as 8 pistons/caliper.

In the cycling world, I recall seeing some dh specific calipers with 6 pistons.

Our disc equipped tandem needs better braking performance. So I'm hoping for improvements with hybrid calipers and compressionless cables. Plus easier setup with Campy Record ergo levers would be really nice.

Me too. The Spyres we have are mostly adequate but in the mountains something better would be nice. From reports the TRP cable-hydraulic seemed only very marginally better. But if these are mo' better then maybe worth considering.

[binouye]

Looking for user feedback. I'm thinking of replacing the BB7's on our travel tandem with Ultimo calipers.
Do it.

I'm using the Juin Tech R1s on a tandem, with Chorus 11 ergos. They are very good.
For comparison, I have BB7s on another tandem, and XT hydros on a flatbar tandem. I've used TRP HyRd on a single, and test ridden Spyres and some others. I like the Juin Techs better than the BB7s, and have been seriously thinking about trying out the 4 piston Ultimos (same as Juin Tech GP) -- just because 4 is better than 2 pistons I guess, since I'm pretty happy with the braking from the R1/Mokoto version.
The XT brakes are the most powerful (using a Jagwire long hose for the rear, stock Shimano for the front), but for a road setup with Campy I think the JuinTech/Yokozuna brakes are the nicest. They are also lighter than either the BB7s or the HyRd brakes, but of course the extra ounce on a tandem would be hard to notice.

The only other brake I'd be tempted to try (other than the GP/Ultimo) would be to get Campy H11 ergos and the Hope RX4 calipers for them (because the tandem has postmount instead of flatmount discs), but that would be a much more expensive experiment.

[binouye]

What are the differences between the 2 and 4 piston calipers - why would one choose one over the other?
Thanks
The 4 piston version is also a little bit lighter, which may not be relevant on a tandem.

[zap]

Soma is having a 20% off sale on all their Japanese parts including the Yokozuna disc brakes. I'm not sure if it is the best deal out there, but I thought I'd mention it if you're looking.

Thanks. But appears the Ultimo's are not available.

[macaroon]

I use the Juin Tech 2 piston calipers with Campagnolo levers. They're pretty good, certainly better than TRP Spyres. I use the stock pads, but I imagine Shimano aftermarket pads would increase performance.

As with any disc brakes, setup and bedding them in properly is key to good performance.

I bought them due to the price and low weight. But, if I was to be buying brakes for a tandem, where weight doesn't really matter, I'd get the TRP HY/RD, as there's a mod you can do to the actuating arm that makes them work properly with Campagnolo levers (all of these cable actuated disc calipers seem to be designed around Shimano levers which pull more cable).

[jbay]

I've been using an Ultimo on the front of our travel tandem since September and am very happy with it. The longer pads make it a little more time consuming to align with a well-(ab)used, not terribly true 203mm rotor, but it's time well spent.

Speaking of pads, they are much easier to change on the Ultimo than on the dual-piston Motoko that we have been using on the rear for several years (the retaining bolt on the latter is behind a knuckle on the actuating arm; adjusting the pads all the way in makes it easier to get the bolt back in). Still on the subject of pads, we use finned Koolstops on both brakes. I had to remove a couple of fins to fit into the Ultimo, which just takes a few seconds. I had to shorten several fins to fit the pads into the Motoko, but given that these brakes are a closed system and we live in a hilly area, I reckon that anything I can do to improve cooling is worth doing.

-- John

[jbay]

Me too. The Spyres we have are mostly adequate but in the mountains something better would be nice. From reports the TRP cable-hydraulic seemed only very marginally better. But if these are mo' better then maybe worth considering.IME, both the Ultimos and Motokos blow the doors off of Spyres.

I have experienced great variability in Hy/Rd's, TRP's hybrid brake. Some calipers are outstanding, while with others, the brake lever always comes perilously close to the 'bars, even after modifying the actuating arm to shorten the cable pull they require. When talking to TRP tech. support recently, they recommended using Hy/Rd's with linear pull brake levers, such as Tektro RL520s (https://www.tektro.com/products.php?p=71). However, that recommendation is not reflected on TRP's website.

-- John

[zap]

All, thanks.

I contacted the importer a few days ago regarding availability. Hope to get word back soon.

I'm in the early phase of rebuilding our S&S tandem so have some time. Looking at going back to double chainrings (albeit compact) and making the leap from Record 10 to Chorus 12.