Formula Oro K18 FCS adjuster conversion

I recently upgraded a set of Formula Oro K18 brakes to K24 spec by adding the K24 master cylinder piston and FCS adjuster. The total cost of upgrade for front and rear is around £25.00. The addition of the FCS adjuster enables the front and rear brake lever travel to be adjusted in order to ensure even/balanced application of brake force front and rear.

Exploded parts diagram and spares listing at http://www.formula-brake.it/en/support/downloads/k18

It's a simple upgrade and here are some pictures to demonstrate the procedure. I hope its' of use to bloggers with K18's.........

Here are the spare parts kits purchased form http://www.ukbikestore.co.uk/

The piston kit consists of a piston, seals, spring/plunger and seal grease. The FCS kit has the FCS adjuster, seal and C clip fastener.

The following picture shows how to access the master cylinder by removing the brake lever (note the small lever shaft retaining grub screw) which once removed then enables removal of the shaft and lever and provides access to the piston retention C clip. Once this is removed the whole piston assembly and FCS adjuster can be easily used to replace the original K18 piston assy.

I have already substituted the K24 spec piston and FCS adjuster in the picture shown.

Here is the re-assembled piston, C clip and retaining screw just before its assembly back into the master cylinder.

Finally, here is the master cylinder re-assembled and ready to use!

Shimano "Yumeya"

Lesser known as: "Shimano smoked some crack, came up with a crazy website and some shiny stuff.

WARNING: CLICKING THIS LINK MAY LEAD TO EMPTY BANK ACCOUNTS. PUT ALL BANK/CREDIT CARDS AWAY FIRST.

I know most of us are on the old Sram but thought you might be interested anyhoo.

PSA: Formula Oro K24 Recall

Courtesy of the Formula website, highlighted on MTBR.

Formula Oro Disc brake system may be the subject of a safety recall. If your bike has a Formula Oro disc brake system installed, STOP RIDING YOUR BIKE until you determine whether your brakes are part of this recall.

The set screw which secures the pin which attaches the brake lever to the master cylinder may come loose. If these set screws come loose, your brake levers may separate from the brake, rendering the brakes inoperable, and you could lose control of your bike and fall.

Check the serial number of your brakes at the brake lever. Brakes with a serial number lower than 295237 are included. If you have an affected brake set, bring it to the bicycle dealer where you purchased the brakes for inspection and repair. For questions about this recall, checkout Formula's blog.

Recall poster.

Repair instructions.

Update: Two of the posse are affected :( but at least they're aware of the issue.

Bike UGI – Weight issue resolved

Hello Dudes

After I fitted all the new kit in March, my bike weighted nearly 33lb! The extra weight was due to the hopey, heavier rims & rotors and a wrong tyre choice (I should have checked the weights first! Doh). You certainly noticed the extra weight on the climbs.

Since March I’ve turned into an OCD weight weenie! The only things that I haven’t changed are the Frame, Fork, i9 Wheels and Chain set! Almost everything has been changed for a lighter version, without trying to compromise on performance. I’ve also ditched the hopey and Chain guide (might regret this) and replaced most bolts for Ti or alloy depending what they’re doing.

I’ve just had the final work completed; New 2008 RP23 (so I can run the correct way with push rockers), gravity dropper turbo, replaced the front\rear mech’s plus cables (rear mech was bent) and new brakes.

I went for Avid Juicy ultimate levers with code callipers; the codes aren’t the lightest!! But I can now perform an endo with my little finger, think they might be overkill.

Me and mark are heading up to Kielder on Friday, to try out the new red trail, can’t wait to get it muddy.

The weight is now down to 28.41lb, more photos here

Toons

Magura Louise BAT's

Although I love the bling offered by my Hope's Mono M4's, they've consistently proved to be a royal pain in the butt cheeks. I've been hammerin' these puppy's for almost two years now and a second winter has finally driven me to look for alternatives. From the start they've needed accurate alignment to overcome squeal and every few months there after, more tlc to overcome drag (lazy pistons). The worst of it has been the lack of bite when it turns damp, particularly out back. It's not all been bad though 'cos when they're on form they give a lovely lever feel with oodles of modulation.

But where should I look for a replacement ?

• Help was on hand sooner than expected as the Magura Louise stoppers on Chipmunk's recent test ride supplied some mighty stopping power for minimal effort which confirmed my thoughts that I ought to look for some replacements. Plenty of good reviews have been written about these long evolved units and fellow Turner riders even praise 'em in the near constant gloop of Alaska.
• Being a fan of SRAM and Rockshox I initially thought that the svelt Avid Juicy's would be suitable but some research suggested that they were noisy in the wet :( They are however fitted to lots of bikes, get good review, look the business and are light so I wasn't ruling them out.
• Hope have recently revamped their entire range from levers right through to calliper's , which tells me something. Although they're British and still "look" trick I'm very reluctant to drop any hard earned their way.
• Shimano haulers often get praised amongst the posse. They come in numerous flavours providing plenty of choice but...they're not SRAM ;-)
• Hayes get reliable reviews and although I've only tried 'em once they were more than adequate. A little heavy perhaps, but at this stage I'd take a few extra g's over hours of fiddlin.
  

A couple of emails to our pals in Montana, who like Mag's, convinced me that the German stoppers would be a good choice. Oh and their brilliant prices helped clinch a deal ;-) A couple of weeks later and Chipmunk collected Chad's package on the last leg of it's long journey.

I've spent the evening swapping Hope's for Magura's and;

• the two piston callipers are a sinch to align, with no more fussin' around freeing up different sized pistons, bliss.
  
• the VentiRotors are meaty beasts in comparison to their Hope counterparts (checkout the 3d centers) which has gotta bode well for keeping 'em straight and true - which they are (unlike others I could mention).
  

  

• the teeny domed Torx rotor bolts aren't "cheese-like".
  
• the master cylinders still look quirky but I don't care if they work.
  
• although the adaptors aren't the most aesthetically appealing, their post mounts make tweaking quick and easy. Manitou has used this system for years and I'm glad to say that setting up the rear is now as easy as the front.
• both hoses were the same length (read "loooong") which means the front has loads-a-surplus until I get around to choppin' it down. However, it does mean that I can ride without having to shorten/lengthen 'em. Not to mention testing 'em "unmolested" - as per factory set-up.
  
• as I lifted 'em out of their box I suddenly remembered that our Yankie pals ride with their levers opposite to ours :O Fortunately, the long hoses mean that I can fit 'em UK style without needing to swap ends.
• the levers don't employ a split clamp mount which means wrestling off the grips again :X
  
• the calliper banjo's probably need switching at some point to get better cable runs. This shouldn't be a major headache as both hoses need "processing" - front shortening and the rear still needs running through the 5Spot "taco" (minus calliper).



• oh yeah, the carbon bits look trick :-D

I'll report back after a couple of rides, bedding 'em in and the like before I bleet about their performance. In the meantime I suggest you browse the Magura website 'cos they even list stopping distances, something I've not seen any other manufacturer do.

So here's hoping that that BAT's don't follow in the wheel tracks of my M4's and squeal their way up any Welsh hillsides causing fellow riders to yell obscenities from several hundred feet above ;)

Shimano Saint Disc Brakes

The Shimano “SAINT” groupset is Sh!tmano’s no compromise, strength and stiffness over weight groupset, aimed at heavy freeriders and DH racers. The cranks can be seen on both my bikes, and just about any body who is serious about going large, the hubs are pretty good too, as is the front and rear mechs + stubbie levered shifters…. but all that stuff is for propelling you forward… what about when you need to stop? (picture from RideSaint.com)

THE STORY OF THE STOPPAGE, AND THE NOT SO....
I’ve had numerous brake systems on the Chameleon, starting with Hope Minis (old style) and the Mono M4 system. I bought the M4’s for two reasons: More power and looks - they do just look so damned good, don’t they ?

About a year ago, when I decided to give this DH lark a go, I built myself up an Orange Patriot for messing on. I wanted to avoid M4’s again, as I’d had no end of trouble with them on the Chameleon (I’d upgraded the hoses, replaced seals, replaced Pistons, replaced bore caps, and the damn things still wouldn’t work reliably), I didn’t particularly like the feel of Hayes (on/off) and Magura Gustavs are just plain weird, with all that floating calliper business (Work very well though). These also came in slightly cheaper than all of the above too, so I thought I was on to a winner.

REVIEW OF THE STOPPAGE
I rode a full season (numerous races and lots of practise/mess about days) on these anchors, and for the first time, I could just get on with worrying what I was riding over, not about whether my brakes will work or not. Riding that bike was a pure joy (helped no doubt by it’s rear end!). Their sleek 2-pot mono bodied calliper hides an amazing amount of power and control. I got on with them so well, I binned the Hopes on the Chameleon and stuck some of these on, and I’ve not looked back.

While they don’t have quite the modulation of an M4 (there’s only so much you can do with only 2 pistons!), the power (and I know I’m opening a can of whoop ass with this) shames the Hopes. In all fairness, they shame the Mono 6Ti too.

CONTROL OF THE STOPPAGE
Controlling the power is a little bit of a handful to start with, (my dad jumped on my bike to ride it up the drive and almost came off after grabbing a fistful, which was highly giggleworth!) But you soon learn where the feather point is, and I was following a guy down Mortimer Forest today where his back wheel was locking but mine just kept rolling. (Yup-means you actually have more traction and don’t create braking bumps fellas)

I now have complete confidence to ride with the brakes off (anyone riding behind me will testify!) knowing when I need the stoppage, it’s there in great big crate loads.

RELIABILITY OF THE STOPPAGE
I’ve still not had to touch the Saints on my DH bike (now the wonderful Gemini), and have only changed the pads due to contamination!

OK, SO NOW YOU WANT TO FIT THEM TO YOUR BIKE, RIGHT?
Tis worth noting that Shimano don’t do pre-assembled systems like Hope and just about everybody else.

Sold as: Calliper + Disc + 2 sets of pads (yes, that’s 2!) + levers + hose and oil.

Ok it’s a pain, but it does mean this: you have ultimate choice over what lever you want (Cheap as Deore, as good as the specific Saint Levers, or even floppy shi(f)t, if you’re that perverted). It does mean that you can get the correct length hose, and get it routed through your frame if you have a Orange or something that routes the hose through the swing arm.
The Standard hose is also excellent, better than other hoses on other systems, but Goodridge is so tarty ;)

Fitting the calliper is an absolute doddle thanks to the one post mount style calliper with adaptor affair, eliminating the need to get your mounts faced if your fork is I.S. and allows for a bit of scope if you’ve bent your rotors like me :D

Only downside with these brakes is the limited Rotor sizing; they only come in 203mm mega-stoppage size or 160mm “My rotor is smaller than yours” size. However, if you can source a suitable 180mm rotor, you can buy a rear 160mm calliper+mount set and run it as a front 180mm as long as you have I.S. Mounts. (I.S. mounts are 10mm closer to the dropout on the rear than they are on the front!) Shimano and Hope make adaptors to allow you to fit a 20mm bigger disc to your I.S. setup, so you can run a 180 rear like me. They also currently only offer the supplied rotors in Oversized Centerlock fitting, which means you can only sling em on Saint hubs, or various other “freeride/DH” hubs made by companies such as DT Swiss and Sun Ringle. I think Mavic also do hubs to suit too. Ok so the rotor situation sucks, but Sh!mano are reported to be offering more options for 2007 so sit tight!

TO SUM UP THE STOPPAGE:

• Saints are THE best brakes I’ve used.
• Hayes are great, but are a little to on/off for me, and the cheaper HFX’s have a habit of breaking.
• Hopes just dick around with you (ducks salvos from Farqui and Rob – sorry guys)
• Avid are great, but have a habit of breaking, full stop.

I Bleedin Hope So

Since a damp and crash ridden ride around Cannock, last November, my Mono M4's have gone right off the boil. The levers now have loads a movement and if it weren't for the front working fairly well, I'd have had a miserable time around Coed-y-Brenin - tho I did find that riding without great brakes makes you commit !

To improve performance, I've tried cleaning the rotor's, changed the pads which makes 'em work ok for a time but in the wet their performance drops right off. I've even tried bleeding the rear, which is the worst offender and also the easiest to work on ;) but to no avail. Another set of new pads improved things slightly so a couple of sets must have gotten contaminated :x After the recent Ridge Ride, with very little modulation or power and after comparing Rob's rock solid lever "feel" to my soggy jobbies I decided that something else had to be done.

Whilst ordering a couple of rebuild kits from CRC I clocked Hope's own bleed kit which forces fluid through the system from a pressurised cannister unlike the ol'manual method of pumping the lever and topping up the master cylinder.

Hooking up the kit was straight forward, although the instructions could do with being clearer. Removing the wheel, pads, squeezing a spacer between the pistons and hooking up the pressure hose to the schraeder valve on my commuter (it only needs 20-25psi) had us ready to bleed. Unfortunately fluid pi$ed straight out of the master cylinder :rolleyes - not a good start. I traced the leak to a twisted seal so also I took the opportunity to wrench everything tight. Attempt#2 was much more successful as fluid was steadily driven out of the calliper, containing air bubbles too. A dozen or so steady squeezes with the lever and the bubbles had stopped. Interestingly, the fluid is driven through the system even without depressing the lever.

The lever now felt rock solid, especially with the max sized spacer holding back the pistons. Removing the kit, dowsing off the excess fluid, cleaning rotor and assembling bike I took her for a quick test ride but the alcohol needed fully burning off so a longer ride was needed. A good 18mile rip up the north side of MK had the solvent cleaned off, the pads biting nicely again and by this time I'd become accustomed to a much more solid lever feel, so it seems that we've cracked the problem :D

The front will be getting one of these bleeds shortly so I'll once again be able to dive deep into the corners before applying the anchors, hard :p The rear still isn't quite back to "as new" so I might install the lever and calliper repair kits as the seals could be a little tired.

I'm happy to report that Hope's Bleed kit works a treat and the new clear hoses make it much easier to see when the bubbles have stopped, compared to those on my ancient car bleedin botch job. Once you've got the hang of it, the process is quite quick although it's worth spending a little extra time to get it right first time *ahem*. The kit covers all Hope's braking systems as it comes with two different master cylinder caps for both the Hope Pro (open) and the old C2 (closed) levers.

Hope Mono M4's

With the purchase of my new steed I looked around at all the hydraulic disc brakes available and at the time the Mono M4's were one of the top options. Not only did early reports indicate that they worked well but they also had some nice engineering features such as different sized pistons to aid modulation. They also look the dogs...

I'd spent three happy years with Hope C2's and they never gave me any trouble. However, brake techonology had evolved since then and I also wanted to try a larger diameter disk in exchange for more power for less effort. On some of the longer decents in Wales, I found that the C2's could give me Popeye like forearm "pump" as I squeezed the hell out of 'em.

The M4's were duly purchase and fitted to my 5Spot which was a fair hassle as the IS mounts mean that aligning the calliper against the disc requires re-shimming a whole bunch of washers. I also hoped that the first few rides would free up the odd lazy piston but in the end I had to remove the pads, hold 3 pistons back and pump the lever to free 'em up. Repeat until all pistons move equally(ish).

I eventually chose 180mm rotor's front and rear which seems more than adequate to haul up my mass. However, I would be interested to see if a smaller 160mm rear disc would be a better match as I have to be slightly more careful with the rear brake. It's not a problem as you soon get used to it, but then I do like to ponder and tinker...

Ensuring that the disc tab's are straight 'n' true is highly recommended as any misalignment seems to result in noisy, squealin' brakes.

The levers fit snuggly next to my SRAM shifters and have a reasonable feel, not grabby and nor are they vague.

The complete brakeset (front & rear) incl'g the 180mm rotors, etc weighs in at around 2.1lbs. Which compares favourably with C2's that had smaller 160mm disc's fitted to my ol'Marin, coming in at 2.7lbs all in.

After being thoroughly bedded in on our local trails, we headed over to Afan for some proper testing. I found that full stop braking was easily achieved with single digits and that I was now riding much smoother as I had such a powerful reserve of speed shedding ability. I was also pleased to find that my forearm's weren't aching anymore.

More miles were put on the brakes and they've performed reliably, in both the wet or the dry. They did have a few weeks where they squealed throughout entire rides but I've since put this down to pad contamination, possibly after using car wash 'n' wax. This was soon cured after blasting the pads and disc's with Isopropyl Alcohol, as found in Maplins for cleaning circuit boards. They occassionally howl after standing for a day a two but they soon scrub up and shut up after a couple of stops.

By the end of the summer, I'd managed to put something like 900 miles on them with the original pads still having around 3/4's left. However, one wet, 18 mile around Cannock Chase soon saw the pads disintigrate and braking was limited throughout which has been the only hiccup in thier performance. I wasn't alone tho, 'cos by the end of the ride our pal uphilla (with his Shimano XT 4-pots) were also down to their backing plates.

If I have one gripe it has to be that the pads don't retract into the callipers very well which causes a little brake rub every now and again. Provided the discs/pads are cleaned with Isopropyl then I haven't found squeal to be a regularly annoying problem like many reviewers sugguest.

After the wet ride around Cannock, I've had a pair of Galfer pads in the rear which appear to be quieter, have the same feel / bite and don't seem to wear as quickly as some would suggest. Although our "alpine" stlye Bedfordshire trails aren't that demanding...

Overall, I must say that I'm impressed with their performance and if the long term niggle of dragging pads could be resolved then they'd get 10/10.

Isopropyl Alcohol

When you've a bike with disc brakes it's important to keep them as clean as possible, which is especially important when your re-lubing your chain, bleeding hydraulic brakes and generally squirting around cleaner or lube.

But what to use ? For a long while I used methylated spirits which doesn't leave an oily residue like white spirits and generally worked well. However, more and more people are now using isopropyl alcohol as their preferred cleaner - it's similar to car brake cleaner but with the oils removed.

Initially I hard trouble sourcing it as my local chemists didn't stock it, but I eventually identified that Maplin stock some as a printer circuit board cleaner, part# RE71N. The aerosol dispenser makes it easier to use than a cloth (clean) over a bottle of meths too.

With this stuff around, if any lube makes it to the disc it is easily removed and although it will evaporate, I tend to wipe off the excess with a clean, lint free cloth/tissue. I've even doused slightly contaminated pads in the stuff with no ill effects.

After use, you may find that the brakes take a few pumps to get the disc and pads biting again but you shouldn't get any squeal that some cleaners tend to impart.

A final word of warning tho, keep it away from forks and shocks as it'll such the lube out of the seals/bushes and kill off your bouncers double quick.

Reviews

As many a Blog has been created that review all thangs MTB, I thought it'd be handy to have a central area where they can all be found, incl'g a handy link on the sidebar. So Blog away Posse and review kit to your hearts content...

Bikes :

• Cannondale Gemini
• Cannondale Jekyll
  
• Canyon Nerve XC 6.0 '07, Nerve XC 3.0 '07
  
• On One Inbred 456 '06
  
• Marin Rock Springs '02
• Merlin Dual - hardtail
• Santa Cruz Chameleon '03
  
• Specialized Enduro Expert '05
• Specialized S-Works FSRxc '02
  
• Specialized M5 S-Works - hardtail
• Titus MotoLite '06
  
• Trek Fuel 80
  
• Trek FuelEX9 WSD '05
  
• Trek Liquid 55 '05
  
• Turner 5Spot '05
  
• Turner Flux '05
  

Components :

Bars :

• FSA XC190 - riser, alloy
  
• Maxm MX-1 - flat, carbon
  
• Maxm MX-5 - riser, carbon
  

Brakes :

• Formula Oro
  
• Hope C2 - 2 pot, closed
  
• Hope Mini
  
• Hope Mono M4 - 4 pot, open
  
• Magura Louise BAT's, VentiRotors '07
  
• Shimano Dual Control '05
  
• Shimano Saint
  

Cables :

• Avid Flak Jackets - sealed
• Dry Cables
• Shimano XT
• Sun Ringle - sealed
  

Cassettes :

• Shimano XT
• SRAM PG-990
• SunRace MZ
  

Cranksets :

• Shimano Hollowtech II '05
  
• EnduroForkSeals Replacement Bearings
  

Derailleurs :

• Shimano XTR (fd)
• SRAM X-Gen (fd)
  
• Shimano XTR (rd)
  
• SRAM X0 (rd)
  
• SRAM X9 (rd)
  
• SRAM x9 Jockey Wheels '05

Forks :

• Fox 32 140RLC Talas '07
  
• Fox 36 '05
  
• Manitou Nixon Super '05
• Marzocchi Z1 Freeride SL RC2 '06
• Pace RC41 '05
• Rockshox Pike '07
  
• Rockshox Reba '05
  
• Rockshox Revelation 426 U-Turn '05
  

Grips :

• Enduro Fork Seals Silicone
  
• Yeti Hardcore
  

Groupsets :

• SRAM vs Shimano

Pedals :

• Crank Bros Candy SL
  
• Shimano DX - flats
  
• Time ATAC Aliums '02
• Time Z '05 - flats
  

Saddles :

• Fizik Gobi '05
  
• Koobi
• Specialized BG2
• Specialized Jett - women's
  
• WTB Shadow
  

Seatclamps :

• Hope
• Salsa
  

Seatposts :

• Thomson Elite '05
  

Shifters :

• Shimano XT
• SRAM x0
• SRAM X9
  

Shoxs :

• 5th Element '05
  
• Fox DHX 5.0 (coil) '06
• Fox DHX-Air
• Fox RP23 '06
  
• Fox RP3 '05, PUSH'd
  
• Fox Float R '02, TFT & PUSH
• Rockshox MC3 '05
  

Skewers :

• Bontrager
• Hope

Stems :

• On-One Inbred '04
  
• Thomson 4x
  
• Thomson Elite '05
  

Tyres :

• Bontrager ACX '05 "Tubeless"
• Hutchinson Bulldog
• Hutchinson Spider UST
  
• Panaracer Cinder
• Panaracer XC Fire
• Schwalbe Nobby Nic's
  
• Schwalbe Racing Ralph '05

Wheelsets :

• Bontrager RaceLite UST
• Chris King & DT XR 4.1d '05
• Industry9 & DT 5.1 '07
  

Accessories :

Armour :

• Thor Quadrant

Helmets :

• Giro Animas
  
• Met 5th Element '05
  

Hydration Packs :

• Deuter Cross Air
  

Jackets :

• Endura eVENT
  

Lights :

• AyUp LED '07
  
• Cateye Stadium - HID
  
• Light & Motion ARC '05 / ARC '06 - HID, Li-Ion
• Light & Motion Solo Cub - Li-Ion '06
  
• Light & Motion Solo Logiv mv '06
  
• Lumicycle
  
• Topeak Whitelight DX '06 - LED

Locks :

• Kryptonite New York Chain '06
  

GPS :

• devices - Garmin Edge 305, eTrex
• software - MemoryMap, Tracklogs v3 '05

Mudguards :

• SKS Shockguard & X-Dry '05
  
• Topeak Defender '05

Pumps :

• Shock Pumps
  
• Topeak JoBlow Sport '02 - trackpump
  

Shoes :

• 5ten Low Impact - platforms
• Cannondale Roam '06 - women's
  
• Shimano W101 '04
• Specialized Sport Mountain '02 vs '07
  

Miscellaneous :

• Aldi Cycling Kit
• Bike Rack - Thule Ride On '05 - tow bar mount
• Books - Master MTB Skills (again), Zinn and the Art of MTB Maintenance
• "Helicopter" Protective Tape
  
• Importing from the USA
  
• Camcorder set-up & early tests
• High5 Protein Recovery drink
• Homemade Super Fruit Bars
  

Review Websites :

• BikeMagic - under the "Gear" tab
  
• Gear Review.com
• MTBR

I find that the Blogger Archive drop-down is useless unless you know "when" stuff was Blog'd. So with a little help, I'm sure that the links to any new reviews will mysteriously find there way into this handy reference blog. Eventually...