We used to sell several colors of cable housing which were very popular. The braided silver housing was particularly well received. White, black blue, and red are also available. We now have the housing again, but in full derailleur and brake kits. These include a bike's worth of cables, housing, ferrules and tips. There will be more info in the product description, which I'll write later today. For now no other colors are possible due to the huge minimum orders.
Even more exciting are the new VO brake shoes and pads. They are guaranteed not to squeal. I don't know how they do it, but we have not been able to get them to squeal. If they do squeal on your bike, you get your money back. Our testers report that they stop as well as certain fish colored pads.
They should be in the web store later today. Shops can order them from VO Imports.
Those squeal-free pads look (sound!) very interesting. I'm going to order some for my problematic cantis. The one thing I like about my salmon colored pads is they don't seem to pick up the little pieces of grit like other pads. Hope these live up to their claim!
ReplyDeleteWhat is the secret to squeal-free pads? No toe-in required with these pads?
ReplyDeleteI know you guys are into reducing the packaging on your products .. any thoughts on how to not have that layer of plastic over top of the hangcard and the brake shoes/pads?
ReplyDeleteSqueal-free??? what??? how is that possible? I never thought brake squeal to be a function of the pads, but rather a function of how they are toed-in.
ReplyDeleteI'll toe them in the other direction and make 'em squeal!
how about some - wait for it - orange cable housings? you know, velo orange?
ReplyDeleteMaybe if you used reverse toe-in (toe-out?) they would squeal. We assume you'll install them correctly.
ReplyDeleteWe need to buy 5 kilometers of housing for a new color. That's a lotta housing, which would span our fair city of Annapolis.
ReplyDeleteThanks! Does the derailleur cable work on old simplex shifters? Are all road shifters pretty much the same standard?
ReplyDeleteGauntlet thrown... Let's see what happens with my Mafacs!
ReplyDeleteMaybe marketing towards tandem riders would help you reach that 5 km of cable housing a bit quicker.
ReplyDeleteWill we require a recording of the squeal before one gets a refund?
ReplyDeleteWhich of those pads would work best with Mafac Racers?
ReplyDeleteI can see it now:
ReplyDeleteirate persnickety customer:
"I want my money back please, after 1000 miles this pads are squealing."
witty VO customer service person : " I am sorry, but it is not the pad that is squealing, they are after all squeal-free, it is certainly your rim. "
Mafac Racers use what we now know as a smooth post canti pad.
ReplyDeleteI'm using Kool Stop salmon pads on my Mafac "RAID" brakes, which are Racers scaled up a bit. They work very well. The front brakes have never ever squealed; the back brakes squeal after I wash the rims, but after I squirt the pads and the rim with water and ride a bit with the brakes on, the squealing stops.
Thank you so much for the braided cables...now I can stop buying Jagwire. These are better looking and substantially less expensive.
ReplyDeletePS: Could you please start taking Amex? At the rate I'm spending at VO, I could have had a free trip from the points. :-)
But do they stop as well in the rain and last as long and are they as nice to your rims?
ReplyDeleteO, ho, ho... more stuff to use on my Collegiate... nice. Definitely going to spice it up with the braided cable. However, I might go red to set off the blue of the bike.
ReplyDeleteChris,
ReplyDeleteWhich of the new pads will perfectly fit OEM Mafac pad holders?
Thanks.
Jim
But the fishy colour pads are so much prettier!
ReplyDeleteI don't like pads with grooves in them. If they're completely smooth, they can't get bits-o-gravel wedged in there.
Still, if they shut up my MAFACs, I'll be happy!
Is it anymore difficult to cut the stainless steel braided housing to size? Special tool needed?
ReplyDeleteClamp it temporarily with the allen key. Now reconnect your brake by pulling it across and slotting it into the hole. Make sure the metal noodle is bedded down in place.
ReplyDelete