Yokozuna ultimo disc brake calipers

[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]

Originally Posted by marciero

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. 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.