Set up the BB7’s properly on the new slow roadie, just back from a bedding-in spin down the big hill to Towneley Park.

I know these things are considered old tech, but I’m seriously impressed.
Good power, great feel.

If they can keep this up after a cable change and clean, I might stick a set on the MTB.
Shimano MTB hydros seem to sucker me into an eternal failure/replacement cycle I find annoying and expensive.

Mrs S has Hope Mono Minis.
They have justified their initial price many times over the last ten years – solid, rebuildable, reliable.
But the power and feel has always been a bit marginal and the equivalents cost a bloody fortune these days.
The BB7’s actually feel a bit nicer, at least when new.

Any long term issues with BB7’s?
And recommendations for best pads and cables much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Just remember that they don’t self-adjust and you’ll be fine.

The only time I got squealing with the Avid pads was if they got contaminated during commuting. Getting them really hot once in a while sorted that.

The only issue with all cable brakes is the constant adjustment. I have to tweak the brakes on my commuter once or twice a week (200 miles)

Any long term issues with BB7’s?

(like everything else) they gum up a bit with winter roadglue® but otherwise fine if kept cleanish

and I agree, they’re great if you set them up well

I find TRP Spyres to be a bit better than BB7’s but they are great for pretty much all terrain.

Had one on my singlespeed since 2003. Same pads, same cable and probably not adjusted them, but can’t remember.
Works just fine and predictable every time. Does make you wonder why we bother with hydraulic brakes.

I had them on MTB for 6 months and they stop fine with same power as hydro (which isn’t surprising as you can pull on a cable tightly enough to put same pressure on pads).

When I changed to hydro (XT) I noticed much better modulation, to the point I can stop from full speed to a dead stop without any lock up which I couldn’t do with BB7.

When I swapped from bb7 to XT, the only difference I noticed was that I was £200 worse off.

Takes 36 seconds or so to adjust them

Top tip for commuters is — when new it is worth strippîng them and applying anti sieze to all threads – stops the road glue **** em and keeps them adjustable by fingers

trail_rat
Top tip for commuters is — when new it is worth strippîng them and applying anti sieze to all threads – stops the road glue **** em and keeps them adjustable by fingers

Absolutely. I needed to replace the rear calliper because of this at the end of a winter CX riding

good cables, properly prepared. 😉

They’re great brakes, but can be made to appear crap by bad cables or incompetent adjustment (RTFM to get it right).

As trail_rat says a bit of prep saves hassle later. I dribble Purple Extreme on the moving parts before fitting (with the pads out!).

Fit BB7s properly and you’ll never bleed again. 🙂

Got em on my cx for 3years now and they’ve been pretty faultless, it’s my commuter so a few thousand miles a year. Cheap sintered pads, long brake levers so plenty of power, replaced the cables when I changed the bar tape, not because I needed to, have stripped and rebuilt them twice I think, which reminds me, should probably do it again.

Have gotten them squeal a few times on long rocky descents where speed + rocks + 35c tyres will result in punctures, but apart from dragging them down big hills they’ll be reet.

spoke too soon, torque arm fell off my back brake this morning, should have done that strip/rebuild I mentioned. 🙄

have lost the red adjuster knob, a nut and a washer, about £20 to get the official parts (or ~£40 for a new calliper with adaptor & rotor) Hoping to source a nut* to get back up and running again then decide what to do.

*doesn’t seem to be a metric size

BB7’s currently on all of my bikes.
Superstar’s gold backed pads last for ages.

Cable oilers are my recommendation. Remove a lot of the potential for friction by keeping the cable spotless.