I was on a muddy ride not so long ago and we were talking about how all cross brakes suck. I was saying it was just part of what makes cross, well, cross.
Well I was wrong. The IRD Cafam is the jam. Its basically a knock off Pauls Touring brake. But at less than the price of one, you get a whole bikes worth.
They work well, nice modulation and great power. Not very squeaky or chattery either. They are a real improvement over my tektro oryx’s.
Bottom line, buy em.
Hi: Great blog. I’m looking at getting some of these – some place called Universal Cycles has ’em for $38. I have a set of Avid Shortys, but all the hardware is totally rusted. LBS said it would cost the same to buy a new set of brakes as a set of hardware!
I see the Pauls are designed to work with a straddle wire instead of the Shimano-style doodad. Any thoughts on that?
Thanks for looking.
I have never ordered from Universal Cycles but my coworker here has ordered a ton and says they are ok.
I think the straddle wire is just more ability to adjust. But I think they are too adjustable, by that I mean you’ll spend too much time fidgeting with all the options and it’ll get old. I am really happy with those IRD Cafam Cantilevers.
-Joe