Cable hangers aren't a very exciting topic. We love to talk about derailleurs or brakes, because they are complicated parts with many intricacies. But cable hangers...? And yet they're as important for the performance of your bike. It's small parts like these that can make a big difference when it...
Recently, a reader asked: "Why are you so focused on saving a gram here or there? For the 99.999% of us who are not professionally racing, but just wanting to get out there and ride, shouldn't the focus be on function and longevity?" Of course, the reader is right – some...
Cantilever brakes have traditionally been the way to make brakes for bikes with wide tires. Invented by Nicola Barra in 1936, they were the first direct-mount brakes with pivots that attached to the fork blades and seatstays. This eliminated the flex that is inevitable with long brake calipers that reach...
When I spec'd my new bike for this year's Paris-Brest-Paris (and for our adventures in the Cascade Mountains), I opted for centerpull brakes. I didn't choose centerpulls out of nostalgia. For the riding I do, they are the best choice. Why not disc brakes? It's undeniable that the best hydraulic disc brakes...
This year's Tour de France has had its share of drama, and the winner won't be the one most observers predicted. Among the sporting achievements, the technological innovation was easy to overlook: Finally, the UCI approved disc brakes, and the Tour is the first big stage race where they've been used. Reading the...
To celebrate Bicycle Quarterly‘s 15th anniversary, we are looking at myths in cycling: things we used to believe, but which we’ve since found not to be true. Disc brakes have become popular on allroad bikes for a variety of reasons. One of them is that they are perceived as offering superior braking....
The new René Herse cantilever brakes are here! Prototypes of these brakes were one of the secrets that made Peter Weigle’s bike at this year’s Concours de Machines so light. They weigh just 75 g per wheel including bolts, springs and pad holders (without pads). How can the René Herse cantilever...
We now offer Compass centerpull brakes with a backing plate for bolt-on mounting, in limited quantities. Many customers have asked for this: Wouldn't it be nice to get the superlight weight and superior performance of these brakes on an existing bike? A backing plate connects the pivots with the fork crown,...
Disc brakes have become increasingly popular on bicycles in recent years, especially on all-road bikes with wide tires. Bicycle Quarterly has tested more than 20 bikes with disc brakes. Our challenging adventures have provided excellent opportunities to learn about the advantages and disadvantages of modern 'road' disc brakes. I remember enjoying...
This photo shows our Compass centerpull brake with the straddle cable released. (It also shows a Rinko fender, and a Babyshoe Pass Extralight tire after about 5000 kilometers...) More than a thousand words, this photo explains the design of our brakes: The arms fit around 42 mm-wide tires and fenders with...
We love handlebar bags. They are easy to access, they don't affect the bike's handling when you ride out of the saddle, and they are more aerodynamic than rear bags. (Yes, we did test that in the wind tunnel!) To take a photo, you stop, put a foot down and get out...
Compass Cycles is re-introducing the René Herse rear cable hanger. I have loved these simple, lightweight, elegant cable hangers – so much that I made my own when I built my Mule. There are many ways to design a rear cable stop for centerpull and cantilever brakes – this is the...
Compass centerpull brakes now come with special washers to adjust toe-in. These washers are easy to retrofit on older Compass and even classic Mafac brakes. With this system, you to adjust toe-in only once, when you initially set up the brakes, and then never worry about it again. What is toe-in? It means...
Straddle cables provide a light and elegant way of transferring the brake force: Every cable-actuated rim brake needs to transmit the force of the single brake cable onto two brake pads that squeeze the rim. In recent years, straddle cables been replaced by direct-action V-brakes or complex linkages (on modern Shimano sidepull brakes). There...
One of the most confounding questions in cycling is this: Which hand should control which brake? In the U.S., the law requires that all bikes are sold with the left hand controlling the front brake, and the right hand the rear brake. It's the same in France. In Italy and...
The new Compass centerpull brakes have been very well received. Numerous builders have asked for the complete specifications for the brakes, since many riders plan to use them on their new bikes. We sold so many of the centerpull braze-ons that we are currently out of stock of these pivots,...
We received the last parts for our centerpull brakes, test-assembled them, wrote the instructions, and now they are ready to ship. Click here to read more about the advantage of centerpull brakes. There are a lot of parts to a centerpull brake. It all starts with the braze-on posts that mounts onto...
When we started Compass Bicycles, we dreamed of a new centerpull brake. We started developing and testing right away, but it has taken a few years for that work is coming to fruition. We just received the first production samples! The new Compass brakes will be in stock in early...
