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Crystal
Design Powerbrake II
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Submitted by
The unpolitically correct canuck
a cross-country rider
from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Date Reviewed: October 12, 1997 | | Bottom Line: |
While I've long liked Crystal Design brakes, I can't agree that the Powerbrake2
is all that adjustable since it uses the same pad adjustment system (with bevelled
steel washers) as on 1990 or older Shimano SLR brakes.Also to one of the guys from Cincinatti... this is NOT the original V-brake. That
honor goes to Ben Capron and his Marinovative Stoplight brakes back in 1992. I'm
surprised your not familiar with these guys since MRC has copied several designs
from them.As for the pads, well, I'm not sure where your buying your pads for $28/4, but
full retail here in Canada for the XT pad refills is $20 for 2 pairs. Regular
stud-type Koolstop Eagleclaw 2 pads cost more than this.Still, its a nice brake, but there are many other picks for spending money
on than these things. | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Russ Tebay
a cross-country rider
from Leeds, England
Date Reviewed: August 27, 1996 | | Bottom Line: |
These brakes are the best bar none (and you can keep your V-brakes and
Maguras and I've tried both).
Easy to set up (no parrallelagram to set up) and have relentless
stopping power even with cheapo brake pads and levers.
Got them in posey red anodising too and they look well cool on my Pace MXC's
An unreseved 5/5 tons of power and control.
All good stuff. | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
Alain Yong
a cross-country rider
from Mississauga, ONT.
Date Reviewed: August 20, 1996 | | Bottom Line: |
I won these brakes at a draw at a 24 hour mtb race. The category, People whose
birthday are between August 16 and August 18. So, lucky me, my bday was Aug 17.
Pros: These brakes look really cool. I liked the modulation on these brakes.
They also lock up when you want them to. I'm a trials rider and a XC
rider so they kinda give the best of both worlds. The teflon bushings
are sooooooooooooo smooth and along with the light action of these
babies (i set the spring tension as low as possible), it felt as though
i had no brakes there at all!!!! It was like pulling a bare cable. The
brakes are stiff and responsive.
Cons: I hate adjusting the pads. They are such a bitch with that swivel thingy
that is in contact with the grooves of the pads posts. I also didn't like
that three milimeter cable bolt. It screws on directly into the cable. The
problem with this is that because the bolt is so small, it could fray the
cable. This creates a weak spot in which i don't trust. I wish they had
a more secure cable clamping system. The Kool Stop 2 pads stop excellent
but i did not like the portruding end of the pad because i don't like to
toe-in my brakes. I guess this concern will die when the end portruding
section is worn or i could file it down.
Overall: I found these brakes to be stiffer than my stock LX cantilevers.
It actually could be the Kool STop pads but it also could be attributed
to the lesser amount of play in the bushings of the Crystal brake.
| Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
David Tong
a cross-country rider
from Cincinnati, OH
Date Reviewed: May 10, 1996 | | Bottom Line: |
Powerbrake II
THIS IS THE ORIGINAL V-BRAKE! Designed and produced by Crystal Design and
Manufacturing since late 1994, the Power Brake 2 has all of the benefits that its
Shimano counterpart. The arms of the Power Brake 2 are .25 taller than the
Shimano Version, which translates into more leverage and more stoping power. Also,
this brake does not require a cable hanger. Unfortunately, the lack of a cable
means the lever must pull more cable to actuate the brake like its Shimano
counterpart. Thus you must use a lever that pulls a lot of cable, such as the
Crystal Design long pull lever, Real Levers, or Avid Levers.
One of the benefits of the Power Brake 2 over its Shimano counterpart is that the
Power Brake 2 uses conventional cantilever brake pads, which are much cheaper than
the replacement Shimano V-Brake Pads. Also, the Power Brake 2 is available in
drive and non-drive side cable versions, offering some flexibility to those with
cable routings on the drive side of the top tube. And, for those colorful people,
the Power Brake 2 comes in a wide variety of colors.
The modulation of this brake is excellent, as is the stopping power. It is as
Strong if not stronger than the Shimano V-Brake. I have been using this brake
with Real Levers for 15 months, and could not be more pleased. The brake does cost
somewhat more than a Shimano V-Brake, about $85, but...
YOU DON'T USE DISGUSTINGLY THIN (4mm thick) SHIMANO V-BRAKE PADS, WHICH COST $28
PER SET.
Therfore, the Power Brake 2 is cheaper in the long haul because you will not have
to replace pads as often, and when you do replace the pads, they will cost half the
amount of those crappy Shimano pads!
Simply said, T H I S B R A K E I S T H E B E S T S T O P P E R O N
T H E P L A N E T ! ! ! !
| | Overall Rating: |
Submitted by
DT
a cross-country rider
from Cincinnati, OH
Date Reviewed: March 16, 1996 | | Bottom Line: |
Powerbrake I
Russ Crystal has been making good products for years. In fact, Crystal
Designs not only makes brakes for itself, but also for the much touted
MRC (McMahon Racing Components).
Although the Power Brake I is a variation of a Grafton Speed Controller,
the Power Brake is an excellent brake. No it does not have all of the
wonderful adjustment features of the really EXPENSIVE tubular brakes
(read AVID, SRP, or WTB), but it does have more stopping power than
any of them. The stout machined arms are extremely rigid and direct all
the brake pad's force efficiently to the rim.
The bonus of these great brakes is that they cost about $50-$57 per
wheel (that's half the price of AVID's). No, they don't have all of the
adjustment features, but brakes are meant to stop the bike, and that's
what the Crystal Design Power Brakes do. Take the extra money you would
have wasted on the AVID's and buy a nice pair of levers.
| | Overall Rating: |
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