gadabout007

Venting. I recently purchased these https://caw-designs.com/?page_id=323 on a whim. I didn't need them and my 7900 brakes work fine, but I liked the idea of color coordinating my brakes. The silver brakes didn't really match.

First fault, not a major one, but they only come with campy compatible brake cartridges. When you're purchasing them nowhere do they disclose this and you cannot use shimano or sram cartridges with them. Not happy but I order a set of swissstop black prince pads for $50.

I received the pads today and set about getting them setup. I don't like the fact that they don't have a barrel adjusters and you have to either use more/less washers in order to make adjustments. I swap between zipp 303 FC and reynolds 32's which have significantly different widths.... this is looking to be more of a pain in the ass than it's worth.

Final straw! My brake cables will not go through the second hole in the cam arm. On the back brake the second hole is 1.4mm and on the front it's 1.37mm. My cables are standard 1.6mm shimano dura ace cables. I'm tapping out here. I refuse to spend another penny on this poorly engineered garbage. They're going on ebay tonight... maybe I can find another sucker like me... brake pads included.

hueyhoolihan

i've had experience of owning several after market bits of bike componentry. most of it was sub-par. a lot was junk. take solace in the fact that it wasn't an aftermarket doodad that is more expensive, like my brother-in-law's new flagstone (lots and lots of flagstone) patio, or rinky-dink landscaping architecture or scum-gathering swimming pool.

live and learn...

shelbyfv

Those are some ugly brakes!

Team Sarcasm

So the brakes are junk not because they are junk but because you can't get them to work.

I thought only Americans tended to cast the blame away from themselves

But, thats why you don't "purchase....on a whim".

gadabout007

Clearly you don't think. Don't mistake my reluctance to spend any further on this as a sign that I don't know what's needed to make them work.

Piss off troll.

Team Sarcasm

Aw yes, the interwebz. When someone has a valid point against your own...they must be a troll.

Have fun with your brakes

rpenmanparker 

Never tried that particular model from Ciamillo, but I have three pairs of Zero Gravity Ti brakes and love them all. Yes, there are some compromises. The quick release doesn't open the calipers far enough to let fully inflated 23 mm tires pass through easily. No issue with diameter of brake cables, but then there is that Campy pad thing. I don't understand why having to use Campy pads is such a hardship, unless you possibly already had some Shimano/SRAM compatible pads you planned to use. I can buy Campy pads just as easily as Shimano and have done so from time to time for my three sets of calipers. No biggie. As far as braking performance is concerned, I am completely satisfied. The brakes are highly functional, beautiful and crazy light. What's not to like? The ones I have I mean. Like I said never tired yours, but the manufacturer is righteous in my opinion.

KantoBoy

I'm guessing you haven't been to WW where they rip Ciamillo apart for being a lousy business owner. From what I've read numerous warranty claims on his products will result to nothing.

EDIT:

I'm not sure if Bikerumor is paid to advertise Ciamillo's products but they recently posted an entry on the new brakes but disabled the commenting section because the angry ex and current customers vent our their frustrations. I know one post they deleted because that's exactly what had happened.

What I'm trying to get at here is that stay away from his products.

coppercook62

^this

ultraman6970

I have to agree, the calipers are just crap because you refuse to make them work, good for you, I can give you 20 bucks for them, after all are not working right? are just crap and dont work, they worth 20 bucks shipped ;D

The solution for the wider rim is quite easy, just adjust the cable adjuster barrel with some slack while using the narrow wheels,, when you put the wider ones just turn the barrels and good to go.

Let me know, 20 bucks for those calipers, maybe somebody wants to give you more for damaged calipers... anybody? 30 over there??

redlude97

What barrel adjusters?

KlingOn

Wow, Italian brakes that don't work with Japanese cables? Who'da thunk it?

In an industry full of purposeful non-compatibility, sorry you spent cash before you knew what was up. Life.

I <3 Robots

I've had three different sets...currently using the Gravitas. Pretty simple to set up. Are DA brake cables different in size say compared to Jagwire? I've run Gore cables with no issues.

I do wonder why Ciamillo chose to use Campag pads. Shimano pads are so much easier to get. When I got my Zipps I had to buy a set of Campag brake pads.

rpenmanparker 

Not sure if you are TIC (tongue in cheek) or not, but Ciamillo isn't an Italian company. At least not at this point in history. He is in the USA, in Georgia. US products commonly work perfectly well and/or are based on compatibility with Japanese doo-dads.

Homebrew01

If the cable will not go through the barrel, sounds like a defect. Can't you get a replacement barrel ?

ultraman6970

Do you see?? are junk!

pdedes

I recently got the gsl micros to avoid the use of spherical washers

KlingOn

Wow, I don't know that expression, but yes, I was being sarcastic.

It also appears that I'm stupid and wrong.

Sorry for your misfortune. Yikes, America is the land of hucksters. Slap an I-talian name on something and voila, sale. I guess no one would buy those ugly brakes if they were called "Smith" or "Johnson."

Cha-mee-yo. Classy.

rpenmanparker 

We've mostly learned to tolerate him. In fact I tolerate three sets of his Zero Gravity Ti calipers. It's hard, but somehow I have managed to do it.

I am intrigued by what would happen if they were called Smith or Johnson, or better yet, Brown. Then they would be aptly named according to the OP.

KlingOn

Names are names. Never understood why people gravitate towards, or hate, or defend them with such vigor.

The French pronounce Cinelli as "See Nelly," and you can always tell the proud French bike dorks because they're always so eager to correct them, "Ba non, c'est Cha-Nelli, CHA, NEL, LEE, ouais?" So crazy. Defend to the death the only Italian word they know!!

I would love it if those brakes were called Brown. Hell, I bet they'd sell even more if they were called "Poop."

Words, man.

rpenmanparker 

Come on. Let's be honest here. The best choice would be "merde".

gadabout007

campy/shimano brake cables are both 1.6mm diameter. Jagwire slick is 1.5mm and 1.6mm for the teflon coated. Kore make 1.4mm cables but that's still too large of a diameter for the front brake and I'm not familiar with them.

See first post

They're American and considering the Italian and Japanese cable diameter is the same... I'da thunk it!

I'd have to send the cam arm in to be bored out to the proper diameter.

Homebrew01

If I bought them with my Discover card, and the seller would not fix the problem, I would send them back and open a dispute with Discover.

rpenmanparker 

Or just send them back for refund period. Have we established OP can't get satisfaction through normal channels. I don't see where he says he called the supplier and got a run around.

Homebrew01

Not that I have seen. Maybe they guy would say "Oh, sorry, we had a bad batch. Send it back and I'll take care of it"