# Skeleton or Dual Pivot brakes ?



## vette

Looking at Chorus gruppos & see one costs more(brake calipers),I take it the Skeleton is lighter but not as good braking as the dual pivot,or am I wrong?


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## bikerjulio

They are all skeleton.

Campy offer the option of a single or dual pivot brake for the rear.

Single pivot has less leverage and was originally proposed by Campy as logical, since the rear wheel tends to unload during hard braking (like motorcycles), and therefore needs less force to lock up.

Not everyone agrees with this logic and some prefer the dual pivot rear brake - hence the option.


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## vette

They charge more at one or two places ,I have a 3 sportbikes as well,back brakes last a very long time so I can see that.


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## rm -rf

bikerjulio said:


> They are all skeleton.
> 
> Campy offer the option of a single or dual pivot brake for the rear.
> 
> *Single pivot has less leverage* and was originally proposed by Campy as logical, since the rear wheel tends to unload during hard braking (like motorcycles), and therefore needs less force to lock up.
> 
> Not everyone agrees with this logic and some prefer the dual pivot rear brake - hence the option.


I like my Campagnolo single pivot rear brake. It takes somewhat more effort at the brake lever, so it's less likely to lock up in a panic stop. Locked up rear wheels will fishtail, since they are just sliding over the road surface.

And it's easier to apply just a slight amount of braking when I want to match the speed of the rider ahead in a group ride.

The newer brake lever shape gives me more leverage from the hoods, so a dual pivot is even less necessary. There's more curve to the levers compared to the old round knob brakes.

I think they offer dual pivot rears now mostly for marketing purposes. Well, maybe if I had a lot of very long, steep downhills that needed a lot of braking, my fingers would appreciate the better leverage of a dual pivot.


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## kbwh

When Gilbert rode Campagnolo with Lotto he chose the dual pivot rear.
I like the single pivot rear, especially since I have the rear brake on my strongest (right) hand.


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## Zampano

Dual Pivots will help with carbon braking surfaces in the wet.


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## tom_h

IME, the single pivot rear caliper has more than enough braking power. It's a logical design by Campy. Just look at cars -- they always have larger, more powerful disc brakes on front, and older cars were typically disc front/drum rear.

One minor point with single pivot, and I would _hesitate_ to even call it a "disadvantage":
The left and right arms move differently, so to make both pads touch the rim at the same time, the caliper has to be distinctly non-centered when open.

In practice that means you have to setup the single-pivot caliper with more "free" cable pull, than a dual-pivot.


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## Sablotny

I went dual pivot and am very happy with them. If given the option of having less powerful brakes, or simply learning to modulate them myself, I'll take the stronger brakes. I'm 185 pounds, descend 15-20% grades on nearly every ride, and like the power. 

As Dura Ace has gotten the press for strong brakes in the past, I was surprised that braking power was the first thing I noticed when making the switch from Shimano.


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## vette

Same weight ,Ill take the stronger brake also,no problem modulating,do it on my sportbikes.


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## vette

lookin at Ribble site & they have Skeleton & D-Skeleton brakes,whats the diff. ?I want dual pivot in the rear caliper.


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## bikerjulio

read the descriptions again. D-skeleton has the single pivot rear. D=Differential.

You want the others.


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## vette

Thanx,havent followed Campy in a really long time ,I have Shimano on my other bikes,so I wanna get this together before the weather gets cold,I tried the Campy stuff while the Pro race was here & really liked it so Im tryin to familiarize myself with the groups quickly.


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## Eyorerox

I have both on my bikes, never noticed the difference. Better to have the more powerful brakes and learn how to use them.


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