Which Pauls brakes do u like and Why ?

[Smiley]

For a fendered touring bike ?

[palincss]

I really like brazed-on Paul Racer centerpulls. I've tried many cantilevers, although none of the Pauls, and none has anything near as nice a feel or as precise modulation as the Paul Racers.

[Joellogicman]

I really like brazed-on Paul Racer centerpulls. I've tried many cantilevers, although none of the Pauls, and none has anything near as nice a feel or as precise modulation as the Paul Racers.

I set up a bike with the Paul touring cantis. They are nice, but do not have the same feel and precision as the brazed on Racers. Of course you will need to have the Racer braze on studs to use them. They are closer to the fork crown than canti-specific studs.

Have not used them but understand the Retros stop very well. They stick out a lot though and might bet in the way of your packing.

A nice upgrade, imo anyway, is the roller cam by Toei:

http://jitensha.com/eng/toeihanger_e.html

Keeps the cable nice and neat.

Expensive but worth it. Velo-Orange sells a cheaper version. In my experience, the mark up for Jitensha and Toei products are worth it. First rate stuff.

[Smiley]

OK, its the racers I was thinking of , but anybody know the down side of using the non braze on ones, u know the single bolt new design ?

[Joellogicman]

OK, its the racers I was thinking of , but anybody know the down side of using the non braze on ones, u know the single bolt new design ?

Center Bolt Racers will not stop with the same force as properly set up braze on Racers.

I had a Rivendell Homer Hilsen with center bolt Racers. They worked very well for the relatively light loads - up to about 30 pounds - I carried on the Hilsen.

My camper is a fully restored Trek 728. Since I was going to repaint, and was adding braze ons for racks (as well as moving the brake routing braze ons to the side of the top tube) I went ahead and had braze ons for the Racers added.

The 728 is a heavier bike than the Hilsen to begin with. I have had as much as 70 pounds of gear on it. The braze on Racers stop with authority.

If you are going to be doing primarily one or two nighters and credit card touring, the center bolts should be more than enough stopping power. If you are going to go on long distance self-contained tours, I would consider setting it up for the braze ons.

[sg8357]

I have the brazed on Paul CPs on my Kvale. They stop well, the suggestion for a roller hanger is a good one, I have the Dia-Comp. They stay centered
better, with the old Mafac carrier I'd have to adjust them sometimes.
They'll squeal a bit sometimes when the pads get worn flat.

I had the Paul Tourings on an Atlantis, only carried 25lbs or so, but I weigh
200. The brakes performed wonderfully on Alpine descents. They fell mushy
compared to dual pivots but you learn the feel.

I just put the Velo-Orange Gran Cru cantilevers on a Ebisu AP, defintely the FunkMaster Flex choice. Adjustments are little more complicated but much
better than old Shimano cantis.

[Blue Jays]

What various kinds of pads are folks running on PAUL brakes with success?

[Joellogicman]

What various kinds of pads are folks running on PAUL brakes with success?

On the Hilsen with the center bolt Racers I used Kool Stop salmons, primarily for aesthetic reasons. The black pads work great with the braze on Racers on my camper.

[SimonC]

I've got about 6 months of riding (2-2500 miles) on the Racer braze-on brakes. They stop very nicely, even if I'm hauling a week's worth of groceries. They cut through the ice on my rims on the one occasion this winter it's been that cold. The front has started squealing, but I suspect it'll be sorted with a little fettling. Overall I'm very pleased with them, they look great (polished finish), are well made and feel very secure when braking. There's a good degree of modulation too.

Someone mentioned clearance. They're a lot slimmer than well set-up cantis, and I've never had any problems with them getting in the way of me or my panniers.

I'm using Kool Stop Salmon pads after positive reviews on the iBob list, but to be honest I'm not seeing much of an improvement over the standard black pads, so I'll go back to them once the existing pads wear out. On that note, the pads last vastly longer than the same thing on my mountain bike - clearly even urban winter grocery runs are not as demanding as muddy off-roading.

I've got a pair of the Velo Orange roller straddle hangers as well. They're nice, possibly still a lot of money for two small items, but they add a nice finishing touch. The nut isn't stainless steel, so mine has a little surface rust.