EE brake review

[madcow]

EE Cycleworks has just released their brake for sale. I saw these at Interbike last year and while I thought they looked interesting I didn't think they were attractive. Now, I've completely changed my mind. It doesn't have to do with the fact that they are very small. It is based on the fact that to me they look like they should work really well.... In fact they do.

The complete set was 197grams with pads and holders. Retail price is $520 and that does not include the pads. Colors are silver and black.

Ok, so now that the specs are out of the way, on to the brake. The first thing I noticed about the brakes was the pad installation. A very unique approach. While not identical it reminds me of the old magura brakes where the pads just snap into place. Changing pads requires only your fingers and about 10 seconds. If someone were to be using different pads on different wheels, I'd recommend these brakes based on no other factor than the pad change.

On to the installation. Normally I read instructions, because it's always good to educate yourself as much as you can about whatever it is your riding. However in this case I'm glad I did. Had I just installed the brakes, I certainly would have taken a different approach and would have missed a couple of key elements such as the 7/8" to 1" gap involved in setup. However I did notice that tensioning the cable so it does not rub on the pivot seems to get the spacing close to what is called for, so perhaps that would have worked itself out. I doubt though, that I would have centered the brakes as recommended, which was extremely easy and perfectly accurate(glad I didn't just go at it with a cone wrench.)

Installation is a bit involved and cable housing length is critical. Stiff housing such as flying snakes should probably be avoided. I think these brakes would be a good candidate for Nokon since it never really pushes on a brake. So after trimming my housing 3 times to get the length just perfect, I finally got them setup. But then when tapeing down the housing, the brakes started to bind. It seems that with my bars backside routing(Modolo KX Carbon) and Sram shifters, a kink was created in the housing that bound the cable enough to keep it from returning. Routing the cable on the front side such as most bars would relieved the problem.

I didn't try power cordz on them, but see no reason as to why they wouldn't work. You shouldn't even need the PC clasp as you can wrap it as you would on a derailleur.

I'd recommend if someone isn't patient or skilled in brake installations they may want a good mechanic to do the install. Not that it can't be figured out, but that it might be a bit frustrating.

Once properly installed the first thing I noticed was what felt like a complete lack of friction. It may have to do with the low powered spring, or the bushings, but either way they seriously felt as smooth and effortless as the hydraulics on my mtb. A very good first impression.

The road test. I used yellow swiss stops and Edge carbon rims. The raw stopping power is impressive to say the least. I don't know if I'd go so far as to say it's better than Dura Ace, but I would be very confident to say that it is every bit as strong. But the thing that got me was the modulation. Ok, so it's true lots of brakes modulate well, and some brakes stop well, but not many modulate well on carbon AND have DA amounts of stopping power. These do.

Intentional power slides were no effort, taking me back to my youth, but costing me a new rear tire. Panic stops were amazing. Stopping as fast as anything I've tried but without any sense of being on the edge of locking it up.

All in all I am really impressed with these. I now absolutely love the look of them, it's the look of a brake that really works well.

The only thing I'd question is the strength of the spring. A stronger return spring while it may make the brakes feel a little less surreal would compensate for friction in the cable/housing. It will be interesting to see how much, if any at all, tension is lost from the spring over time. My only other concern is how well or if these will be compatible with some of the newer super wide rims such as Hed and Zipp. With my Edge rims, I ran the setup without spacers, and felt that if the rim was any wider the setup wouldn't work. I'll have to test it out soon.

Next I'd really like to see how the heavier guys like these. Already 3 of our staff have ridden my bike and everyone has come back amazed.

[Taniwha]

Great review thanks Jason! They certainly have been on my radar from time to time, although the looks...I go from Go! to Whoa! and back again.

As for a heavier rider to test them - I'm your man!

[Fibre-Lyte]

Great review as always Jason

I'm afraid the look of them in the photos doesn't appeal to me, but may be that would change if I saw them up close? I believe they are US manufactured, correct? What's the chances of them being sold over our side of 'the pond'?

[Juanmoretime]

Thanks! Great review. Are colors available? Actually I don't care about colors just black!

[pritchet74]

Bummed that they probably wouldn't work with the wide Hed rims. Maybe in the future they can change the design a bit to get them wider. I had the same problem with M5 brakes where I couldn't even use the M5's (using the M5 shoes) with Campy Eurus wheels. Brakes need to open WIDE!!!!

[Gold Knight]

nm

[mises]

Been riding them for a almost 2 weeks now. Very pleased. Only issue so far was the first time I used them I nearly shot myself off the front of the seat. It feels like it takes no more force to lock up the wheel than it does to just scrub some speed off.

On the stand it was very deceptive since the levers could easily be bottomed out, made me concerned what would happen on the road, but in practice I never came close to running out of travel.

Because of the low force required I think they would be great for women and others with small hands. One or two fingers on the levers is plenty.

Setup wasn't that hard and I really like the way they are centered, and way they stay centered. Very good for traveling where most brakes are always out of whack when you put the bike back together.

I did rebend the springs a little to counteract cable friction. Wasn't really noticeable at the levers but they did snap back a little better.

[Ypsylon]

My only other concern is how well or if these will be compatible with some of the newer super wide rims such as Hed and Zipp. With my Edge rims, I ran the setup without spacers, and felt that if the rim was any wider the setup wouldn't work. I'll have to test it out soon.

Did you ever get a chance to do that? I'm considering the Stinger 6 wheels but the brakes will definetly stay and I don't want to compromise braking now that I know how great it can feel.

[tblairhug1]

Have you compared these over against the Bram m 5 ???

I weigh 205, ride some mountains, and am curious.....

[rustychain]

95kilos here. Three seasons on M5. Just got 100 miles on the EE's. Assuming optimal set up I find supprising that the EE offer more usable stopping power. I was able to come to a rather quick full halt and do a track stand on an 18% downhill grade. Brakes modulate better and brakes allow better toe in and clearance for bigger tires such as 25's. Useful for us big guys. In a full out panic stop I could not tell any difference in stopping distance. With the M5 I got some fork shudder using a reyonlds ul fork. No such issue with the EE. I do have a concern about pivots wearing and frankly I am unsure yet how to maintain the EE brakes yet. I used Swiss Stop pads in both brakes

[dalai]

Should that read 'No such issue with the EE'?

They sound like good brakes, I just can't get past how they look.

[HammerTime]

They look a lot better in person than in web pictures. Anyhow, function is its own aesthetic.

[rustychain]

I will say that while I like the M5 they lead in the ugly brake division. The EE I have are black and are not as noticable. My bike is an IF SSR, I suspect they would look more out of place in say a Prince or the like. I agree that they look better in person but for us big guys the function is more important. I also should add that I'm running Campag SR. I tried a short ride before on my friends DA bike and truthfully not struck as them being better for me then the M5. Perhaps this was due to his set up or just that his bike sucks

( are you reading this Tom)

[HammerTime]

The only thing I'd question is the strength of the spring. A stronger return spring while it may make the brakes feel a little less surreal would compensate for friction in the cable/housing. It will be interesting to see how much, if any at all, tension is lost from the spring over time.

Has the return spring been strengthened in the new model? How does the return spring tension hold up over time - old model and new model (for whatever amount of time new has been used for)?

[jimm1909]

The only thing I'd question is the strength of the spring. A stronger return spring while it may make the brakes feel a little less surreal would compensate for friction in the cable/housing. It will be interesting to see how much, if any at all, tension is lost from the spring over time. Univoip Reviews

Has the return spring been strengthened in the new model? How does the return spring tension hold up over time - old model and new model (for whatever amount of time new has been used for)?

I am wondering the same thing... Has the return spring been strengthened?

Does anyone know?

Thanks in advance,

-Jim