Shimano AX Brakes-opinions?

[Ron Cooley]

I've seen a lot of remarks on this NG about the merits and demerits of
various road bike brakes: centre-pull, sngle-pivot side-pull,
double-pivot side-pull, Campy delta ets. But I don't think I've seen
any mention of those old Shimano AX brakes from the early eighties
(there was a Dura-Ace and a 600 version). They look a bit like deltas
without the housing, and they were activated by a little triangular cam
instead of campy's complex linkage. I've also seen some older Suntour
MTB brakes that work similarly (powercam I think they called them).
What's the consensus on this design?

Ron

[Lisa Mendenhall]

I had a set of the D-A AX brakes, and the Hooker brakes on my TT bike
use a similar design. Apart from being a little hard to adjust (you
can't simply pull the cable tight and clamp it down, but have to
partially disassemble the brake, tighten the bolt, check to see if you
got it right, try again, etc.), they weren't/aren't particularly
remarkable...that is, stopping power and modulation were/are about
average for a "high end" brake, no more and no less.

[Valentin Hintikka,Nurmijarvi]

coo...@duke.usask.ca (Ron Cooley) wrote:

snip

>But I don't think I've seen any mention of those old Shimano AX brakes
>from the early eighties (there was a Dura-Ace and a 600 version).
>They look a bit like deltas without the housing, and they were
>activated by a little triangular cam instead of campy's complex linkage.

snip

>What's the consensus on this design?
>
> Ron

Don't know about consensus, but my experiences from the 80's DA AX brakes
weren't particularily good. I recall that they performed more like speed
modulators than firm stoppers. The brake pad surface area was oval-shaped
and much smaller than the normal ones like 600 EX or Campagnolo. The
cam-system itself worked, but not better than traditional designs.

The brake levers were surely "aero" but to the extent that they were
notoriously narrow and slippery. Cable travel was OK though. The cam-design
provided a sort of quick-release system, but as a whole the cable attaching
and adjusting took time. The brakes looked like no other brake and they
were nicely finished and polished. I still have a pair of such calipers,
but nowadays they make a better job as paperweights than bike parts.

Valentin Hintikka
Nurmijarvi, Finland
--

[Bikefixr]

Looked a LOT better than they worked. Pads way too small, too.

[Hans-Joachim Zierke]

Ron Cooley schrieb:

> What's the consensus on this design?

Consensus? Hmmh.

I've used a 600AX, and its performance wasn't much better or bader than
Campy Record. With the Campy brake much easier to adjust.

hajo

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