# KCNC Brake Calipers...



## johnmyster

Got them in today, installed tonight. Will post impressions once I get out on the road with them. They're replacing a set of ZG-06 Ti calipers.

The Zero Grav calipers were just a bit "touchy" in terms of modulation and didn't have quite the power I wanted. Grabbed well at first, but you really had to squeeze to come to a harder stop. I was afraid of having to grab them in a panic situation. We'll see what the KCNC calipers offer.

Installation was great. I think they'll stay put (unlike the zero g) and the quick release actually works well. The zero g brakes just took a lot of care to install well, and these went on almost as easily as Force or DA calipers.

If things go well, I wonder if I should get the black or gold for my '08 tarmac pro (has gold accents over the carbon.) Humm...


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## Coolhand

crack addict!


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## SEK82089

I just ordered a pair today to replace my 05 Zero G's. I hope they stop a lot better or I think I will go back to Record.


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## johnmyster

Rode and raced the bike with KCNC calipers this weekend. I really like them. Modulation is much better than ZG with a much smoother feel. They feel a bit weak on the power vs. squeeze scale, but a switch to DA pads should help. I'm happy with them, pending the sale of my ZGs on ebay. Even the quick release is much easier to operate.


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## sevencycle

I ran KCNC ti brakeset for about a year. I am127 lbs.in Colorado. Even my low body weight KCNC brakes had very, very weak stopping power. I switched to Zero-G 07-ti for way mo' better brake quality. I would work with pad compound and toe-in to customize brake performance not switch to inferior brake power to get some modulation.


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## johnmyster

I'm pretty sure these just came out, so I'm confused on you having used them for a year.. There's no Ti involved in this set - they're all aluminum. We must be talking about two different products.


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## Coolhand

What year are those ZG's? I may be in the market.


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## johnmyster

-2006


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## Coolhand

May have a line on some Red stuff- including brakes. Cue evil laugh. . .

:crazy:


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## sevencycle

*My Mistake*



johnmyster said:


> I'm pretty sure these just came out, so I'm confused on you having used them for a year.. There's no Ti involved in this set - they're all aluminum. We must be talking about two different products.


Oppps! You are right I had FRM road calipers and they were cheese. My KCNC parts were lightweight cassettes and work well for how light they are. Sorry KCNC !!!!! I will ride for 1 week with cement in my water bottle for my punishment ( I am going to hate riding a 14 lb bike).


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## johnmyster

Coolhand said:


> May have a line on some Red stuff- including brakes. Cue evil laugh. . .
> 
> :crazy:


See, this is where the two of us having "the same" bike is going to be really dangerous to the wallet.

I've moved to a 130 stem too, so if you want to try Force stuff someday, let me know. We can swap pedals and saddles on a Saturday morning. Then you can laugh at my inability to use Shimano stuff.


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## Coolhand

johnmyster said:


> See, this is where the two of us having "the same" bike is going to be really dangerous to the wallet.
> 
> I've moved to a 130 stem too, so if you want to try Force stuff someday, let me know. We can swap pedals and saddles on a Saturday morning. Then you can laugh at my inability to use Shimano stuff.


This sounds like a plan for mutually assured financial destruction. . . .

I'm in!!


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## kaizen

My KCNC's were a bit weak in stopping power...I come in at 175. But, I just switched to Swissstop Greens (GHPs) and they are MUCH improved!


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## spade2you

Interesting to hear that ZGs stop better than KCNCs, I've generally seen the opposite posted. I'm considering some light brake calipers, although I wouldn't be too upset if I went with Record. I've been using Record with Swiss Stop yellow pads on my Mavics and feel they perform better than my standard brake pads on the alloy rim.


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## Juanmoretime

Zero Gravity definitely is a stronger brake. The Gravitas is even much better. I have all three, KCNC, Gravitas and Zero G ti, and also a set of the Ciamillo Negative GSL. The Gravitas comes out at the top of the heap.


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## spade2you

Juanmoretime said:


> Zero Gravity definitely is a stronger brake. The Gravitas is even much better. I have all three, KCNC, Gravitas and Zero G ti, and also a set of the Ciamillo Negative GSL. The Gravitas comes out at the top of the heap.


Thanks! Good to know. What kind of rims/brake pads are you using? I am thinking I might order the Zero G over the Gravitas, mostly since the weight reduction to price ratio isn't very great and I'm planning on getting custom Zero G colors to either match my upcoming Bianchi and/or next year's team kit.


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## wankski

thinking of WW brakes as well, but more along the lines of feather - but no where near as much info out there about them cf zero gravity...

There is another competitor out there! "ultralite CNC" made in taiwan, which seem to be a fairly blatant copy of feather (if f is indeed made in USA).... TOKEN and a few others have them out? I think they look better than ZG, and apparently, from what little i've read - don't have the installation problems..

http://www.procyclingworld.com/servlet/the-300/TOKEN-ACCURA-ULTRA-dsh-Lite-Ti/Detail?sfs=414e6dac

any reviews? thoughts?


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## pdainsworth

wankski said:


> thinking of WW brakes as well, but more along the lines of feather - but no where near as much info out there about them cf zero gravity...
> 
> There is another competitor out there! "ultralite CNC" made in taiwan, which seem to be a fairly blatant copy of feather (if f is indeed made in USA).... TOKEN and a few others have them out? I think they look better than ZG, and apparently, from what little i've read - don't have the installation problems..
> 
> http://www.procyclingworld.com/servlet/the-300/TOKEN-ACCURA-ULTRA-dsh-Lite-Ti/Detail?sfs=414e6dac
> 
> any reviews? thoughts?


My co-worker installed a set of the Origin-8 version of these brakes on his Roubaix SL a couple of weeks ago. He compares them favorably to the Ultegra's they replaced, both in power and control. However, he's 5'3" and weighs only about 135, so power may have yet to be truly tested. I need to get my 230 pounds on a set and see for myself.


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## wankski

pdainsworth said:


> My co-worker installed a set of the Origin-8 version of these brakes on his Roubaix SL a couple of weeks ago. He compares them favorably to the Ultegra's they replaced, both in power and control. However, he's 5'3" and weighs only about 135, so power may have yet to be truly tested. I need to get my 230 pounds on a set and see for myself.


Sweet, lemme know! :thumbsup: I'd def interested, not so much in the WWism, but the way it looks. I need something industrial and black - and they are substantially cheaper than record new, which is a bit too common now i think.. and too obvious a choice :aureola:


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## Juanmoretime

spade2you said:


> Thanks! Good to know. What kind of rims/brake pads are you using? I am thinking I might order the Zero G over the Gravitas, mostly since the weight reduction to price ratio isn't very great and I'm planning on getting custom Zero G colors to either match my upcoming Bianchi and/or next year's team kit.


Well I have 10 different wheelsets and ride them all, so any where from alloy to carbon. The pads are the stock pads that came with them all except the KCNC since their stock pads suck. I'm using SwissStop green on my KCNC.


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## wankski

coolio - been riding my rebranded feather cnc brakes and i am quite happy with them. easier to setup and i think more useful than zero gravity brakes. I'll post a review if there is interest in them.


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## dougydee

wankski said:


> coolio - been riding my rebranded feather cnc brakes and i am quite happy with them. easier to setup and i think more useful than zero gravity brakes. I'll post a review if there is interest in them.


Nice one, post a pic of them. Is it just the branding on them that is different?


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## wankski

dougydee said:


> Nice one, post a pic of them. Is it just the branding on them that is different?


i should say debranded. They don't say anything.. look pretty damn similar to feather. 
I guess i'll post a review here in a day or three. Was gunna wait until i put salmon Koolstops in them so i could do a fair back to back test w/ campy dual pivot Centaurs for a fair comparison with solid if unspectacular stoppers.


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## piercebrew

wankski said:


> i should say debranded. They don't say anything.. look pretty damn similar to feather.
> I guess i'll post a review here in a day or three. Was gunna wait until i put salmon Koolstops in them so i could do a fair back to back test w/ campy dual pivot Centaurs for a fair comparison with solid if unspectacular stoppers.


how were the brakes?


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## jasonwells4

Question about the KCNC brakes.. Is the cable supposed to go above or below the washer? Between washer and bolt, or washer and caliper?

I just got mine and have the cable between the washer and bolt. It seems like it might sheer that way.

Also, it's a little scary torquing things down to the recommended specs. I was afraid the caliper was going to snap when I was torquing the pads to 8 Nm.

Thanks.


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## pdainsworth

never mind... wrong brakes


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