Compass centerpull brakes

[fiamme red]

A great new choice if you want to use centerpull brakes: http://janheine.wordpress.com/2014/0...erpull-brakes/

Q: How do these compare to the Paul Racer brakes?

A: The Pauls are nice brakes, but they have a few compromises that made them more economical to manufacture. The arms are CNC-machined, not forged, so they have to be much beefier to offer the same strength. The pivots are Paul’s standard cantilever pivots, which are much larger than centerpull pivots and encroach on the tire clearance. (This also means that the Paul brakes don’t fit standard centerpull bosses.) The Paul brakes use standard screws rather than custom hardware.

[donevwil]

No more searching for non-beat-to-death or worn out Raids and Racers, nice. I've got an old set of Mafac Racers on my Mondia commuter and am very impressed how well they work (with modern pads) hauling my 240# to a stop. That said the post-mount Paul Racer Ms on my newest rig are the best rim brakes I've ever used.

[christian]

Did the world just run out of Dia-Compe 610s?

[bobswire]

Originally Posted by christian

Did the world just run out of Dia-Compe 610s?

The Gran Compe 610 look kinda cool.

http://store.velo-orange.com/index.p...ull-brake.html

[El Chaba]

Every couple of months, somebody starts a thread soliciting suggestions for what brakes to use for their dedicated fender/fat tire/gravel grinder, etc. bike that they are having built....I always throw out the suggestion, "Mafac" for two reasons...First, that they STILL are the best brakes that have ever been made for the purpose (with modern pads and brazed on for maximum efficiency).....and second because it will be a bit of a joke as the person soliciting the suggestions really will only consider something like a modern dual pivot or Paul Racers, etc.

[JAGI410]

They "dreamed" of a new center pull brake and that's what they came up with? Feels like I've seen that same thing before.

[palincss]

Originally Posted by JAGI410

They "dreamed" of a new center pull brake and that's what they came up with? Feels like I've seen that same thing before.

"Of all the centerpull brakes, the Mafac Raids stand out. Mafac designed them in the 1970s, when they had decades of experience with this type of brake. The relationship between the upper and lower arms is perfect, which means you get lots of brake power, yet the pads don’t have to be set very close to the rims to prevent the brake levers from bottoming out. The brakes work well both with modern aero levers and with traditional levers. (Their cable pull is right in the middle between sidepull and cantilevers.) We tried many other centerpull brakes, but none came close in performance and feel.

"During the development of our brakes, we did finite element analyses of various centerpull brake arms. We found that they varied greatly in their stiffness. Once again, the Mafac Raid came out on top. So when it came to decide on the shape and general design of our brakes, we couldn’t improve on the Raids."

-- http://janheine.wordpress.com/2014/0...erpull-brakes/

[JAGI410]

Finite element analyses!!!

[fiamme red]

Now available at $325 a pair: http://www.compasscycle.com/brakesCmCpl.html.

For comparison, Paul Racers are $292.

More information: http://janheine.wordpress.com/2014/1...akes-are-here/.

[eBAUMANN]

i feel like the paul brakes have something going for them that the compass brakes dont: their aesthetic - they look at home on almost any bike, modern or vintage.

these compass brakes look to be beautifully made with performance to match, but i dont think they would look right on a bike with modern components.

just my 2c, definitely very cool to see a company step up and put this style of brake back in production.

[guido]

They are beautiful. But with that braze on location are they going to sell a lot of brakes? Pretty much custom frame only...

[gdw]

How do you adjust toe-in on them? Does the washer have grooves, look closely at the pictures, or do you have to bend the arms like we did in the dark ages?

[fiamme red]

Originally Posted by gdw

How do you adjust toe-in on them? Does the washer have grooves, look closely at the pictures, or do you have to bend the arms like we did in the dark ages?

From one of Jan's comments:

"There is no way to adjust toe-in, because it’s not necessary. Unlike cantilevers, centerpull brakes are not very sensitive to toe-in. The pads bed themselves within a few rides, and then are quiet – as long as your bushings don’t have excessive play. If you like, you can file the groove in the washer under the pad and thus adjust the toe-in."

[gdw]

Cool. Does mounting the pad holder upside down prevent squealing too?

[thirdgenbird]

Originally Posted by eBAUMANN

i feel like the paul brakes have something going for them that the compass brakes dont: their aesthetic - they look at home on almost any bike, modern or vintage.

these compass brakes look to be beautifully made with performance to match, but i dont think they would look right on a bike with modern components.

just my 2c, definitely very cool to see a company step up and put this style of brake back in production.

I couldn't agree more. Given the rather narrow market for their aesthetics, I also think they are too spendy. For me, I can't think of a build that would have the proper aesthetics for these brakes that would warrant the cost over the Gran Compe 610. If I where building a bike with a budget and performance that would warrant $300 brakes on custom mounts, I would guess that Paul's would be a better visual match.