WTB: Paul Klampers or TRP Spyres to Stop This Madness

[skyler martyn]

Will I be castigated for putting these brakes on the same subject line? Will the gods of secondhand bike component delight smile down upon me? Will my life ever be the same?

I finally have a frame that fits me. After 8 years of joyful pedaling on a 56cm Surly LHT with too short a seat tube and steerer, and too long a stem, I have gone and bought myself a 58cm Crust Romanceur. I have no clue how this will fit, but I have a good feeling about it. Now I just need to build the comely beast.

Even though I'm about to head back to school for a second dose of higher education, I love working with my hands. When the head gasket blew on my '97 5 lug Tacoma a few weeks after purchase, I dug into the factory service manual and set to bringing it back to life. The Paul Klampers appeal to me on such a spiritual level, like they are just asking to be torn down simply for the raw practice of intimacy. 

On the other hand, I've ridden my LHT with a beer can shim on the front derailleur ever since I built it up. I don't need the best of the best. I delight in the efficacy of simple and cheap componentry. Thus my consideration of the Spyres, a perfectly adequate balance of both.

If only the call for discs was not so strong. As much as the simplicity of cantis appeals to me, there's something about the need to rebuild a wheel with a new rim once the braking surface wears that disturbs me on a deep level. And I've had too many descents on the wet hills of Seattle that had me cursing my brakes.

If there's one component for which I'm willing to shell out the clams, it's probably my brakes. I can throw together a delightful drivetrain on the cheap. I can dig through some bins for a seatpost and stem. But Discworld is new and exciting and full of mystery, and a Klamper might just be the thing to keep me sane.

[andr...@gmail.com]

I have a set of Spyres for sale if 1) you're willing to pay shipping and 2) you can resist the call of the klamper. Shoot me an email if you're interested!

Andrew

[Eric Daume]

I've never used Klampers, but I have Spyres on a bike. They're OK, but not at another level from other mechanical disc brakes. I strongly prefer even cheap hydros to them.

Eric

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[Steve Palincsar]

So by all means, get the Paul Klampers.  They're said to be very good.  It's your time to splash out, do it in style.

-- 
Steve Palincsar
Alexandria, Virginia 
USA

[Joe Bernard]

I've never ridden Spyres but I've pulled the lever on a bunch of cable discs including Klampers on two bikes and they're completely excellent, far and away the best discs I've used that weren't hydros. Do the thing, buy them. 

Joe Bernard 

On Friday, July 22, 2022 at 9:02:55 AM UTC-7 skyler...@gmail.com wrote:

[lena...@gmail.com]

+1 on cursing rim brakes descending the wet hills of Seattle. +1 on Eric's suggestion for hydros if you can make it work. I still want to try the Hope RX4 + Shimano solution I think Jambi wrote about. Sounded like a fantastic setup.

Recommend against the Spyres. Perhaps the Spyre SLC is better. The best disc brake for the buck I found so far are the Juin Tech, sold under numerous other brand names too (Yokozuna, Crust, etc.). I like the TRP Hy/Rd as well.

While I admired the Klampers as the beautiful precision jewelry they are, I did not appreciate the finicky setup, same challenge with any single-sided mechanical disc brake. They were also a poor match for Gevenalle levers.

Every piece in the brake system matters, lever, cable, housing, routing, caliper, pads, rotor... When the lever mechanical advantage matches the caliper, the housing is compression-less, and the cable is slick, braking performance is a joy.

The stock Juin Tech and the TRP Hy/Rd + JJPE short arms mod with Gevenalle brake levers worked well for me. The Juin Tech were a bit more powerful.

All the best with your build!

[njh...@gmail.com]

Why not use hydraulic discs instead? They have a better feel, there's far less (virtually no) fiddling required to keep them in adjustment, and they've proved themselves to be perfectly reliable in use. The only maintenance any of my hydraulic disc brakes have ever needed is pad and/or rotor replacement when they wear, which is pretty infrequently, and a bleed every three years or so.

Nick

[David Cummings]

I have used all three (Spyres, Klampers, and cheap hydros) and highly recommend the Klampers. You don’t need the ridiculous power of hydros on a Romanceur.  The Klampers still have one-finger braking power but better modulation. I have them on my Elephant NFE which is very similar to a Romanceur in both geometry and purpose (I almost bought one before I found the NFE). 

Spyres are finicky to set up and maintain set. Klampers take less adjusting than Spyres, and once they are set, they stay set. Cheap hydros may or may not be reliable. And if you’re on the ibob list, you clearly want cable actuated disc brakes. ;)

I haven’t used the other new cable disc brakes Velo Orange is selling, but they’re not a ton cheaper and you know where Klampers a built and that they can be rebuilt (if that would ever be necessary).

Klampers aren’t cheap, but they are worth it IMHO. 

Pics when you finish!

David “Klamp on, Klamp off, the Klamper!” In MT

[satanas]

Some hydros are certainly reliable, but when I worked in shops my co-workers were always fiddling with theirs, while I could ignore my antiquated cable-operated brakes for long periods of time and be completely happy doing so; I don't mind doing maintenance (if necessary), but am happy to leave things alone otherwise.

Hydros do have their downsides though, and I'm not convinced the feel is all that much better, and pad clearance and free stroke adjustment can be worse/more difficult. FWIW, I wear out brake pads only very rarely and dislike auto-adjustment, but YMMV. If going somewhere remote then there have been various horror stories about hydro failures, whereas cables are simple and don't need bleed kits, fluid, etc. Disconnecting hydros for flights is also somewhat more fraught than doing so with mechanical discs. Non-disc shift levers are typically less bulky than hydro versions too, useful for those with small hands.

Since I'm not in the USA the place of manufacture for the Klampers is actually a downside, but I've yet to see an even slightly negative review, - versus complaints about Spyre adjustment backing offf -  and there are three (swappable) actuator arm lengths to suit different levers.

Later,

Stephen (who's by no means sold on disc brakes, but resigned to them for some things now)

[Yellowsheep]

Using regular Spyres for over a year.  None of the problems posters have mentioned.  Having used BB7 for over a decade, the Spyres are a giant improvement.  Don't pay extra for the SLC version of the Spyres as the cable pinch bolt is smaller and in practice not as robust.  My experience is with horizontal bars and levers.  I would add, choice in brake lever plays a big role in brake feel.  BB7's with regular long pull levers were so so.  BB7's with Shimano XTR M950 levers were big improvement (used this combo for 10 + years).  Spyres with Shimano BL-4700 (Tiagra) mid range levers were good.  Recently upgraded Spyres with Paul's Canti-levers and brakes are even better...should last another decade minimum.  Goes without saying, use the best brake cables and pads you can buy for maximum performance.     

[David Cummings]

Yellowsheep’s advice is good for any cable disc brake setup - wise words.

Sent from Dave's rockin' iPhone

[Will Boericke]

I have spyres on my gravel bike.  They work just fine - one finger braking.  Hydro mtb brakes are definitely better.  I have never tried hydro road for the same reason I will never try Klampers: $$.

Will