Or, should I say awesome stopping? The instructions said to take 3-4 good rides to bed the pads, and it took just that. The initial set-up of the brakes took a bit of effort, but once the pads were bedded, it’s been smooth sailing. And, I think they are hands down the best mechanical disc brake I’ve ever tried. It is this cyclist’s opinion, that after riding hydraulic and mechanical disc brakes, in one form or another for the better part of two decades, I believe that Paul Components’ Klamper mechanical disc brakes are better than hydraulic disc brakes. I have approximately 500+ miles on the Klampers, and they have proven themselves to be pretty damn remarkable! Cal singletrack on the Klampers.poppin’ purple bling. Remember kids, a great brake can actually help you go faster. The power and ability to slow me down from high speeds was, again confidence-inspiring, allowing me to feel comfortable going even faster if I needed to. The Klampers suffered no fading or glazing on the descents I did. Road descents felt equally confidence-inspiring. Which, I believe is the actual definition of brake modulation. I felt that the amount of lever pulled was duplicated exactly to the amount of pressure put on the rotor, allowing me to properly “feather the brakes”. While going into the off-camber corners and slowly crawling down steep rutted trail descents, I was able to accurately control the amount of pressure applied directly to the rotor. The modulation is there with the Paul Klampers. Hands-down the best of any cable-actuated brake I’ve ever ridden. I noticed that the modulation of the brakes while off-road, was really impressive. Now, let’s talk about modulation… the one disc brake feature we all hang our hats on. If there is any difference in the power of hydro vs the Klamper, it is minuscule and, to me, not worth the added hassle, the limited versatility, and the inability for trailside repairs or caliper serviceability of the hydro system. The power of these brakes is pretty incredible and is on tap, whenever you need it. But in the Klamper’s defense, I was squeezing them tighter and more often than I would if I wasn’t reviewing brakes. I do feel a little finger/hand fatigue, as well as a little forearm pump on longer, more technical dirt trail descents. The hydro’s brake lever feel is a bit more effortless when pulling it, but just barely. I know that’s bold, and I can hear all of the typing already. The Klampers feel so good that I can safely state that I feel they are on par with hydraulic brakes. The issue was addressed, the rear lever now felt as snappy as the front. Also, doing this is a great way to maximize the amount of power you can get from the brake. I found that this was an easy way to “dial out” that feeling of a “dead spot”. Now, with the rotor biased slightly inboard in the caliper, almost touching the stationary pad, I tightened the caliper back to the frame again. I opened the pistons all the way with the adjustment wheels, loosened the caliper, and slid it slightly outboard, making the rotor a smidge off-center. So I loosened the cable at the caliper and started again. It sounds bad how I’m describing it, it wasn’t all that bad and was very, very subtle… but still didn’t feel great and, for me, needed to be addressed prior to using the brakes. It felt like a little dead spot, that held slightly, and would eventually “let go” as you squeezed the lever more. The rear, however, felt sluggish at the beginning of the actuator throw when initially pulling the rear lever. After running the new cable and getting the brakes set up, the front operated perfectly and had a great lever feel.
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