ACS BRAKE DOUBLER???

[telelogic]

Does anyone Know if these things make a difference?
I'm on my first build and I'll be running an Odyssey rotor and the pots mod.
just wondered if this was necessary to give me back lost braking power?

cheers all,
Jon.

[JT71]

what is a brake doubler? not seen one.

Jedi runs two seperate cables from his lever to his gyro I think, rather than a two in one cable thingy. I might be wrong, i don't often look at his set-up i look at his ass.

 

[moley]

It might make a difference but I have never used one!!

What brakes are you using!!

Pitbull rear brakes are far more effective than a caliper brake because its basically a caliper to canti conversion.

If your using period spec brakes then you stuck with what you've got!!

Keep your cables as short as possible, which wont be easy with a rotor.

Grease your cables to help movement when sheathed.

Clean your rims!!

And buy some NS pads that are softer.  It should help you to stop more but will increase pad wear.

A 30/40 year old weighing 12-20 stone isn't going to stop like some young whippet like when you were 14-15 but a bit of dialling you can make your brakes better.

Good luck!!

[Wayne Ryder]

I had one in the 80s, being a sucker for gadgets. Turns out sucker is exactly the right word.

It was a cablestop and adjuster at one end and a pulleywheel at the other, I think you could use it either way up depending on whether you were running front or back sidepulls. You had a special braided cable inner that was a lot more 'floppy' than a normal one, so it could go around the wheel and back. When you pulled the lever, the pulley squeezed the upper & lower arms together rather than one pulling directly against the other.
Problem was, the cable wasn't good and when it frayed or crimped you couldn't really use a regular one to replace it. Suppose a gear cable might've been OK, never tried it because of the other problem. The adjuster section was made of some weird material, not metal or plastic, maybe resin? Don't remember, except it broke in no time at all.
For the few days it worked properly, I enjoyed a mushy front brake that felt weird but admittedly locked up. Maybe I'm not remembering this right, but I think it doubled the lever travel, too.
Might make a good conversation piece on a show bike, but no practical use whatsoever. Try moley's tips, I'll just add that on an FS990 or any front U-brake, a cutdown noodle from a V-brake helps a lot. Your cable won't have to stick out to the side for that last section.

Pitbulls get a bad rap from some, but their real problem is the arm that the adjuster's mounted on. It flexes, taking away stopping power. Eliminate it with a Pozi-Stop seatclamp or holes through the frame, and they work almost as well as an a 990. Lacking a Pozi-Stop in the 90s, I used a strip of metal with a 90deg twist along its length and a hole drilled at either end. One end went onto the seatclamp, its bolt going through the hole. The other end had the adjuster on it. Worked great.

[JT71]

ahhhh, after some research I now see what an ACS brake doubler is, can't see it makes any difference at all.
I bought a Landar "brake servo" that's supposed to increase braking power, doesn't, and on inspection the physics wouldn't add up to what they claim
and I suspect this doubler is the same, however it's nice piece as said above might be interesting on a show bike that has ACS brakes.

Moley talks good sense, a well lubed front cable (oil or such like NOT wd40) and not too harsh a bend and you should be good to go.

[gary4130]

dont bother with the doubler  as wayne said - made the front brake feel too mushey and never worked properly . if its for a rider go with a front plate +ad 990 ore for a side pull an acs boa might be ok on a spoke wheel (keep cables well lubed) if your using tuffs forget getting any good braking at all 

[jedi]

i feel my ass getting warm sometimes but now i know its jt71's eyes buring into it!

i do however use a odessey m2 lever which takes to cables to my giro etc...

[telelogic]

I don't know if this makes a difference but, the bike I'm building is an 85 performer.
It will be a rider so I don't mind mixing it up a little bit.
the gyro is an Odyssey 2.
my original bike was nicked just before all this brake shenanigans started, so I know even less about it than everything else!
I am well up for the ACS double cable lever, it looks sweet
I will be using tuffs so maybe the point is moot anyway?
I've taken a look at the ACS brakes and they would require modifications to the frame witch I'm not happy to do at this point.
I've picked up a set of 880s and will work to get the best from them.

I really appreciate all the help guys

[telelogic]

i feel my ass getting warm sometimes but now i know its jt71's eyes buring into it!

i do however use a odessey m2 lever which takes to cables to my giro etc...

on farther inspection, the M2 levers seem to only be available in right hand rear brake style!

I have always run my front brake on the right (rode motorbikes as a kid before getting into bmx)

Have I been getting it wrong all these years

[jedi]

mines on the left so i just use it theother way round

[emerbmx]

haven't seen or heard of doublers in time
they're short lifespan must be reflective of their effectiveness.
ACS Boas worked really well, (until the bolt snapped and the bearings spillt everywhere).
WD40 down the cables too