Joined: 17 Feb 2006Posts: 120Location: Seattle/Bothell
What's the word on the Paul Comp neo-retros ? They seem a bit steep in $$, but I like tight brake action, and plenty of power.
Too much, or are these the ones to get?
I suppose I should also say that I haven't tried to do the Jake brakes properly per Derrick's post the other day.
joeball
Posted: Tue Apr 18, 2006 7:53 am
Joined: 24 Jul 2005Posts: 6037Location: Ether
I don't think any one here has neo-retros, i think the extent of Paul Components on our bikes is the cross lever on aarons fixie. Only a few of us even have canti's
the fact that the paul's are called neo-retros should give you a clue that the design has been around before, and to me that means there are inexpensive originals in old parts bins. Dia-comp made old wide profile cantis that you could probably find and try for 5$ at Recycled Cycles. Paul has improved the deign in terms of accepting v-brake style pads which are easier to tow.
Alex
Posted: Sun May 21, 2006 9:06 am
Joined: 18 May 2006Posts: 3128Location: Roosevelt
I'm just catching up on old threads.
I've used them. I prefer the geometry of the Paul Touring brakes, the Neo Retro has a lower mechanical advantage but gives a firmer feel at the brake lever. I prefer a higher mechanical advantage so that I don't need to use as much hand strength with the brakes.
The Neo Retro is retro in geometry, but not in design. The design is very modern and they are very well made compared to almost any other cantilever out there. You do pay for this when buying them.
Other candidates for favorite cantilevers ever would be the Suntour XC Pro, Ritchey Logic, and maybe even the last couple generations of Shimano XTR, LX, XT, and STX-RC brakes. The latter models can be purchased fairly inexpensively (I last bought some for $5 for a bike's worth including Koolstop pads) and work very well with no squeal. With any cantilevers the setup is critical and using good pads is important too. The stock Shimano pads in the 90s were terrible. Koolstop and Ritchey (made by Koolstop, but a different shape) are good. Get the salmon (rust) colored Koolstop pads if you are buying new, they work very well in the wet.
2 and 2 halves of my bikes have cantilevers (the halves are my tandem which has a disk in the back and my Bike Friday which has a long reach caliper in the back).
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Joined: 24 Jul 2005
Posts: 6037
Location: Ether
Joined: 18 May 2006
Posts: 3128
Location: Roosevelt
