Has anyone tried/fitted one of the mechanical to hydraulic convertors to a drop bar bike?
Something such as this:
Giant brake convertor.
I'm in the process of fitting exact same brake, but it's been cold in the garage & it's for a monstercross I don't intend to ride until it gets somewhat dryer, so haven't got further than mounting on the bike.
Got a Hope V twin on a tandem, with E4 calipers. Cable / hose installation was a fiddle to get right, but functions really well..
Yep, have exactly that (Giant) set up and it works really well. Bit clunky on the bars for fitting lights etc but there's an additional kit you can get that bolts on to the face plate (which is non-standard).
Braking is absolutely fine.
I keep looking at those. Will have to pull the trigger at some point. Look a great alternative to spending a fortune for a full hydro set up.
I replaced the cable disks on my Camino with the sl version of the conduct. It's is way, way better. Probably not a good as a full hydro setup but it's not far off and actually now means I have brakes I trust.
Note there are two versions, SL is the newer version and has adjusters on the master cylinder. I think the SL tends to come with flat mount calipers however the PM ones fit, as do some tektro ones.
I have the Conduct system on my Arkose. It’s great. Well worth the money, I think.
EDIT: I did have to put on a Giant stem too, as my previous stem wasn’t compatible with the bolt spacing.
I ran a V-Twin with 105 levers. I thought it was pretty good, but the Ultegra hydraulics on the next bike were noticeably better.
Choice of BB5 or 7 or V-Twin and Hope win though.
Any reason not to run trp Hy/Rd's? They work very nicely indeed. The run of cable inner would be a bit longer than a chamber on the bars but it doesn't seem to be noticeable. I think it may be a slightly pricier solution but likely to be lighter overall
Any reason not to run trp Hy/Rd’s?
Direct comparison between those and the conducts was not favourable. Swapped bikes mid ride with a friend who has them. Felt like I'd gone back to the cable brakes where the conducts feel more full hydro like.
Nixie, had the two been setup at the sametime and of a similar age?
i wanted to keep my sram red mech levers on the gravel build but having had mixed experience with TRP's etc wanted a hydrolic brake. Check out the Juin tech R1's or the new GT-R (4 piston version of the R1's). ive been using them for over a year in all conditions on road , gravel, MTB terrain and they have been faultless
Alanl I have a set of giant conduct brakes and a couple stems and a bleed kit, I never quite managed to get the bleed right so they always felt quite long.
If you're prepared to take the risk i'm happy to pass them on cheap. Say £40 incl postage?
I know of a hop V-twin system that might be for sale in my local club if that's of interest?
@nwmlarge the conduct had been set up more recently and was newer. Even so the difference was massive, more so than say old pads or poor adjustment would bring.
Fair enough, always good to see whats about
I ran a Hope V-twin for a while, can't recall why I got rid now - maybe it was when I swapped bikes and I put the original brakes back on and sold the V-twins separately? That makes sense. Anyway it was a massive upgrade over the cable brakes, mainly because the way the calipers were mounted on the chainstay rather than the seatstay so in bad weather water would run down the cable into the outer and tey would get gritty and stop working.
Not as good as the Rival hydraulics on the new bike or the tiagra hydraulics on the road bike, though
I've got a giant defy with one fitted, so no experience of actually fitting one, but it certainly seems to work fine. Lever feel is good, brakes work as expected.
I suggested these to friend (despite not trying them myself) and he really rates them.
Very cost effective solution, that doesn't require too much faffing
Incidentally if anyone is look at a conduct and needs flat mount calipers I have 2 to sell as I needed post mount for my frame. You can buy the master cylinder separately so could work out cheaper (MCs are often cheap on eBay).