jfarwell

hi all
Does anyone have any experience with Paul Klamper brakes? We are not satisfied with the TRP Spyre brakes on our travel tandem (considerably less power than our Ultegra rim brakes on our other tandem). I am considering getting a pair of Paul Klampers. Any feedback welcome.
thanks
Joe

Leisesturm

I must be missing a gene or something because I completely miss the whole Paul thing. Pay more than twice the price of Avid BB7's for the same obsolete single piston technology that is causing the price of Avid's to fall below some V-brakes!? They are heavier than Avid's and look like I made them myself in my basement. No, just no. I don't usually get this emphatic in the negative, but, seriously. No.

I am going to go way out on a limb and suggest that something is off on your setup of the Spyres for you to consider them inferior to dual pivot sidepulls. Seriously. Do you have compressionless housing? If pro's set it up, take it somewhere else. I sent our new tandem back to the mechanic twice before we took possession. We nearly got killed on the way home when the levers bottomed out on us. I showed my wife the difference in lever feel between what the shop mechanic had done and what I did later and she was shocked and appalled. If you really need better brakes than the Spyre's the Klampers are not them. You might consider the HY/RD's also by TRP though some mechanics don't like them.

I don't know what full hydraulics have a tandem length rear brakeline but I wouldn't even want to google it because I really don't want to know what they cost. What size rotor's are you using? If you are running 203's you have nowhere to go as that is as big as they get and they should stop you very well. If they aren't doing so, fix them. There isn't anything demonstrably better that won't require a second mortgage. No, that isn't true, there probably is stuff out there better but... I don't know... a tandem that came with TRP brakes as OEM equipment... ... no offense... seriously, no offense, because our tandems all retail under $2k each, some well under that. There is a limit to how much I am willing to spend on a bike that cheap. One of our tandems weighs 65lbs. Its our grocery getter. Bob Yak. 3 days before Thanksgiving. 140lbs in the trailer. I'm 200, she is 145. Add it up. ONE (the rear was busted) $20 Shimano V-Brake can stop that rig on a downhill bomb towards a timed out green light. Sometimes we get so into the tech lust that we forget these basic truths.

geoffs

I also would suggest that perhaps your setup of the Spyre could be improved upon. We changed from the TRP pads to SwissStop sintered and found them to be better. New pads and discs do need a while to "bed in" also
Paul Components have a great video on how to set up the Klampers. Try following the same procedure for the Spyre and I think it will help

mtseymour

Here's a direct comparison of the Klamper and Spyre brakes:

https://medium.com/@AdventureCycling...c03#.bqpf6snyv

I didn't find any review that says that the Klamper is better than a dual-piston design like the Spyre or Hy/Rd. A full hydraulic brake like the R785 is even better.

dmhaero

Hi Joe, we have been using Paul Klamper calipers all this season.Yes they were expensive. Yes its an old design and yes they work wonderfully. The BB7's on our Comotion were not working as well as new, so I started looking. KLampers were on the short list as were the TRP's. the TRP recall as well as some negative reviews at my LBS help form my decision. There was little word on the Paul brakes although, I have used Paul stuff before. The install and set-up was easy. I am using Disco Brake Kevlar pads (my favorite ) and TRP 2 piece rotors.The braking is powerful smooth and quiet. Great modulation. We live in Central Virginia,ride in the Blue ridge Mountains with speeds over 50 mph, the brakes are awesome Good luck, Dale

fietsbob

Ive Been considering Klampers to replace my BB7 MTB calipers as the 7s are something that is quite
hard to Modulate on the front of My Bi Fri..

His CAM production is small compared with the OEM supplying Volume
Of Avid and Tektro/TRP and a lot of the Taiwan companies can do..


I've seen a BB7 that got replaced on a Mountain bike that got hot enough to warp the red plastic outer Knob..

Using that as a Drag brake on the rear of a tandem it could do the same ..

tirli_mirli

We have Klampers on our tandem. For our configuration it is the best I have tried (BB7/HyRd/HayesCXPro). Far second would be HyRd in our case. Was worried about spending so much hens bought only one for the rear wheel at first. At that point I had Hy/RD as my front caliper. It did not take me too long to get a second Klamper for the front wheel. Very satisfied user with over 1000 miles on it already.

jfarwell

Thanks for constructive ideas. I changed the cables and housing today. New ones are the low compression road xl model from jagwire. New setup works very well, and we finally have side really powerful braking on the rear wheel.

since6

I know reviving an old post, but there's a real reason.

Have you read the Winter 2017 Bicycle Quarterly article on TPR Spyre disc brakes pad adjustment screws LOOSENING ON THEIR OWN? The Spyre fix for this problem is loctite? While BQ rides a lot on gravel and rough surfaces you really can't have a brake backing its pads out until the brake cannot clamp and this is doubly true on a tandem. We switched from Avid BB7 to Spyre to get the dual brake clamping and avoid accounts of the plastic adjustment knob of the BB7 melting under heavy use/heat, but now we wonder how safe are the Spyre brakes?

Welcome your thoughts.

fietsbob

here is the parts diagram of how rhy are made.. https://paulcomp.com/wp-content/uplo...klamper_ed.pdf


One thing that you can do to resolve the worry of the cable adjustment loosening .. is screw it all the way in , bottom it out..

then dial in the actuating arm motion/pad to disc clearance by the cable clamp itself...

(Hozan 4th hand is really useful then, but not essential..)




...

jonpear6

Zombie thread in a way, I know, but I feel I have useful input on the subject.


I'm a big boy and weigh as much as a fit captain/stoker team (330#) and my spyres lose power so rapidly on the hills in and surrounding Seattle and the Olympic peninsula. I swapped in compressionless housing and felt a marginal improvement. It still was not enough for me to feel safe descending at speed.


Last week I splurged and traded in my Spyres for some Klampers. I am awestruck at the difference. My heavy body + steel bike + full commuting load (30ish lbs) stops in 1/3 the distance of my Spyres.