Homer Hilsen: Braking performance

[Hoch in ut]

I’m window shopping for the next project and was interested in the Homer. Great looking frame. My only concern is the brakes. I live in a pretty mountainous area. Meaning plenty of long, fast descents. 

Those of you with Homers, how have you liked or disliked the brakes? Do the 559’s give you adequate performance to descend with confidence? One thing I do like about caliper brakes are how easy they are to set up and adjust. 

Thanks for any input. 

[Eric Daume]

This was just discussed in the Charlie H Gallop proto thread. 

Some people like those brakes, some people find them weak. I’m in the latter group. I wouldn’t commit to such an expensive frame that is limited to those brakes. My experience with long reach calipers is almost universally bad, especially in the wet. 

Eric

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[DavidP]

Diacompe GC center pulls (nicer than their DC center pulls) and Paul Racers are also an option.

-Dave

On Wednesday, April 26, 2023 at 6:42:41 AM UTC-4 Eric Daume wrote:

This was just discussed in the Charlie H Gallop proto thread. 

Some people like those brakes, some people find them weak. I’m in the latter group. I wouldn’t commit to such an expensive frame that is limited to those brakes. My experience with long reach calipers is almost universally bad, especially in the wet. 

Eric

On Wednesday, April 26, 2023, Hoch in ut <cack...@gmail.com> wrote:

I’m window shopping for the next project and was interested in the Homer. Great looking frame. My only concern is the brakes. I live in a pretty mountainous area. Meaning plenty of long, fast descents. 

Those of you with Homers, how have you liked or disliked the brakes? Do the 559’s give you adequate performance to descend with confidence? One thing I do like about caliper brakes are how easy they are to set up and adjust. 

Thanks for any input. 

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[Shoji Takahashi]

I have a Homer and tried it with 559s. They were ok, but I ride in a fairly flat area. I changed to Paul Racers, and they stop much better. 

Good luck!

shoji

Arlington MA

[Ted Durant]

On Wednesday, April 26, 2023 at 3:27:52 AM UTC-5 Hoch in ut wrote:

Those of you with Homers, how have you liked or disliked the brakes? Do the 559’s give you adequate performance to descend with confidence? One thing I do like about caliper brakes are how easy they are to set up and adjust. 

I know lots of people haven't been fully happy with the long reach dual pivots, but I had them on my proto-Bleriot and had no trouble with them at all. I did some pretty steep hills in Washington, California, and Ireland and never felt lacking for braking power. I used Kool Stop dual-compound pads on mine, and AGC (Aero Gran Compe) brake levers. It's worth mentioning that I am super light and never had more than a stuffed handlebar bag on the bike. 

Ted Durant

Milwaukee, WI USA

[Hoch in ut]

Thanks all. Sounds like the reviews are mixed. I’m also assuming the reviews correlate to individual bike set ups and terrain. Some bikes (ie Bleriot) probably don’t stretch the pass all the way down the slot to give better leverage than another bike with a taller fork necessitating pads to be maxed out on the arms, thereby decreasing performance. Maybe brakes like Paul’s mitigates that a bit. 

I have caliper brakes on my road race bike and love the simplicity and ease of adjustment. Braking is excellent as well. But they’re short reach brakes that barely clear 27’s. 

[Piaw Na]

You may wish to consider the Shimano BC-9000 polymer coated cable set (https://amzn.to/420Hye1). I have them on my Roadini with the Tektro 559s and cannot tell the difference between the long reach calipers and the medium reach on my other bike --- and I take my Roadini down trails other people take MTBs on. They're kinda pricey, but brake cables seem to last forever.

[Randy Spencer]

I have a sidepull Sam with Tektro r559s and koolstop pads. I weigh around 270 lbs and live in a hilly, wet area and never have had any issues with stopping silently and smoothly. I keep considering swapping brakes, but have no reason to. I will say, make sure the pads have a decent amount of space from the rim for increased mechanical advantage.

On Wednesday, April 26, 2023 at 7:29:27 AM UTC-7 Hoch in ut wrote:

[Jeffrey Arita]

I will chime in here: my wife and I ride singles equipped with the Tektro 559s.  Both bikes use TRP RRL brake levers, so there might be the rub.  Brake pads all around are Kool Stop salmon pads.  We just completed a 600k brevet this past weekend with lots of ups and lots of downs (15k+ of elevation gain).  Several of the really steep downhills were on the last day - in darkness and speed control (with lots of potholes) was not a concern. One frameset is a Soma Pescadero and the other is an older Soma Extra Smoothie (both steel frames & forks).  [we used to be Riv AHH & BF owners].

Hoch - as you've indicated, they are also extremely easy to set up and adjust.

Best regards,

Jeff

Claremont, CA

[Nick Payne]

I'll chime in on the side of those who find the Tektro 556/559 calipers stop well (Koolstop pads, Shimano R400 brake levers). I've had my Bleriot with 556 calipers on tours in the mountains several times, and not had any problems with inadequate stopping power. The braking isn't as good as with disc brakes (in over 50 years of cycling, I've never used a rim brake of which I would say that), but it's very little different in power from that with cantilevers/centrepull/v-brakes that offer similar tyre clearance.

Nick

[Jason Fuller]

What handlebar type are you setting it up with?  If going with a bar that uses MTB style levers such as Albatross, I would be much less concerned, because you have much better ergonomic mechanical advantage at the lever vs. being on the hoods of a drop bar lever.  I don't believe you'll have any issue, and if you did, you could rectify with either better pads or going to Paul Racers as mentioned. Then you're certainly well set up for mountains - after all Jan Heine prefers centerpulls over other types of brakes for his wet, mountain pass-heavy and mixed surface riding. 

[Piaw Na(藍俊彪)]

Ah... Now I understand why people have trouble with sidepull caliper brakes --- if you're actuating the brake from the hood as opposed to being on the drops, that would definitely reduce the braking power you have. On any kind of steep descent I'm always on the drops. Sometimes even on the flats I'll be on the drops.

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[a spen]

I'll add another vote to the "Like 'em" column. I have them on my Ram with a 650b conversion, so they are fully extended.  As others have said, they cannot compete with disks, but I have never found them lacking. 

I wasn't always as positive about them but then someone on another thread mentioned about being sure to match the right levers with the right brakes, and sure enough, I was using long-pull brake levers which provide less mechanical advantage at the lever, so  swapped them out for short/standard pull and it made all the difference, I greatly enjoy them now.

 For reference, I run about 230 lbs, and ride in the very steep Appalachian mountains of Virginia, and never-ever-ever ride in the (bad for you) drops .

Al in VA

[Jeffrey Arita]

@Jason Fuller:

Good question on which handlebar type are we setting the brake lever with (TRP RRL + Tektro 559).  We've become big fans of Ritchey Logic "Beacon" drop type gravel bars (here).  They have 36 degrees of flare - some folks might find it severe while others find it ergonomic.  For us, very easy to brake from either the hoods or the drops (the severe flare places the brake levers in a much more ergo position).  Combine the short reach and shallow drop, it makes it comfy (at least for us) in either position (along with the other available positions).

Best regards,

Jeff & Lori

Claremont, CA

[Hoch in ut]

Thanks again all. I’ll check out the coated cables/housing. I’ve also used Jagwire Pro before with good results. 

If I end up with a Homer, I’ll most likely use it with something like Albatross or Bosco’s so it’d be mtb style short pull levers. 

For those that are knowledgeable about these brakes. I have a pair on hand. What I’ve noticed is a fairly heavy/stuff return spring. Anyone know if lighter springs are available? I’m not sure if I dare try bending the spring. I’d think the lighter action would help with better feel. 

[reca...@gmail.com]

I also use them and find them to work nearly as well as the higher-end brakes I've had. I combine them with a good lever and use kool stop pads they work great. That being said, I have never used them with road-style levers. 

carlos

[Tom Palmer]

I have a Soma Buena Vista that can run 700c or 650b with the 559s. With 700c braking is excellent with the pad is at the top of the brake slot. On the 650b braking is fair and the pad is at the very bottom of the slot.. Good enough to West Michigan, but would not even in the  hilly parts of Indiana. 

I have settled on 700c for this bike just because I like the braking and it fits 38s. 

Tom Palmer 

Twin Lake, MI