Paul Motolite

It's a bit unusual for a fixie, or any road bike, but that's not really relevant :)

Anyone here got a Paul Motolite or used one? Are they really worth the money?

Cheers.

I have had a set, in fact I have had two sets.

Were you planning on running them on a road/track frame and not a MTB frame ?

You'll have to deal with the cable-pull issue..

hippy You'll have to deal with the cable-pull issue..

How would you mount them on a road/track fork ?

I did say it was a bit irrelevant because I knew I'd get these questions :)

I've got a Cotic Roadrat frame and it only takes v-brakes.

hippy You'll have to deal with the cable-pull issue..

Yeah, tell me about it....

I've posted this else where but if any one knows of any one with a Paul Components 31.8mm Cross Lever, I'll be willing to part with a few notes just for one.

leeww I have had a set, in fact I have had two sets.

I take it you think they'd good then?

Not sure if they're really worth it for road use. MTB, I'd probably get em. But road, I'm not sure.

leeww [quote]hippy You'll have to deal with the cable-pull issue..

How would you mount them on a road/track fork ?[/quote]

Normally you wouldn't. You need a bike with v-brake mounts. Or you could bodge something or retrofit mounts. Or own a Cotic :)

I've got Paul Cross levers, sorry not with the 31.8mm clamp but I think you'll find this won't solve your cable pull problems, they're normal, i.e. road pull levers and won't give you the extra pull you need for a V brake.

If you're using straight handle bars can't you use one of the nicer normal V brake lever like the Paul Love Lever, alternatively would you consider either moustache bars or the On-one Midge bars in which case Dia Compe do a road brake lever that is designed with a longer pull so it'll work with V-brakes, other alternative is to use travel agents (if you don't know them they're a pulley device that amplifies the pull of your brake lever so you can use road levers with V-brakes.

If you haven’t already bought the Motolites (I’ve got a pair to and they are fab) would you consider going with canti-brakes instead? They’ll fit on the bosses you’ve got on the frame and forks, will work with normal pull levers and you can get canti-bridges that fit round your fork steerer at the front and are built into a seat collar at the back. With a bit of care you can get decent braking out of the better canti-brakes (Paul Neo Retros, Spooky Brakes or SRP Mr. Grumpys, at the cheaper end of the scale Radius do a set of canti’s that take V-brake type pads that massively simplify setting your brakes up – think on-one had these on their website branded as on-one brakes, not trying to palm these off on you but think I might have a spare set somewhere, think I paid £30 for them so if I can find them and you wanted them we could talk, be warned they’re not nearly as nice as the Pauls, are though relatively easy to set up). Of course you might not like canti-brakes in which case ignore the last paragraph.

poly: Are you some kind of bicycle brake tester or something?! Wikipedia entry for "bicycle brakes" is simply 1. Go to lfgss and ask polybikeuser. :D

hippy You'll have to deal with the cable-pull issue..

Can you not just set them up very close to the rim (ie: less than .5mm) ?

Yeah, the somewhat excessive number of bits that have passed through my hands does need a bit of explanation, it's basically that when I start putting a new bike together I can get a bit obsessive about getting it just right I'm just a sucker for something a bit unusual/exotic. So ages ago I picked a set of Mavic Mektronic gears so assembled the groupset to build up a bike (hence the Mavic brakes), the Mektronic is great fun but gets fickle about changing gears in the wet so no good for a serious main bike. I bought the Dia Compes as a stop gap for the Pedal Force while I decided/tracked down the final brakes I wanted for it, the ZGs.

The Dia Compes are now on the Langster but will get transferred onto the new lighter fixie once I put it together, thanks Hippy for your input on that thread. The Paul Motolites were an indulgence I fitted to my original build of my Xtracycle. These have now been replaced by a set of Magura hydraulic rim brakes liberated from one of my previous commuters, a heavily rebuilt Specialized Sirrus. The great thing, IMHO, about any hydraulic brake is the have masses of stopping power but more importantly aren't subject to the vagaries of cable stretch, once properly set up they stay that way and need way less maintenance, problem is they're way heavier, which is now becoming more of an issue for me, coz lighter does mean zippier, faster and I now realise more fun.

The reason for taking the hydraulic rim brakes of the Sirrus was so I could fit it with ergoshifters, which of course wouldn't easily work with V-brakes, hence my mucking around with canti-brakes, originally fitted it with a set of SRP Mr Grumpys, but these were too nice for it so I fitted with a set of the Radiuses instead. Reason for the spare set of Radiuses was that originally was going to fit them to a tourer I built up for my brother, but I built this up with Campagnolo bits instead, which conveniently reminds me eeehhhh the answer to your problem might well be to go with a set of Campagnolo's newish V-brakes, they're designed to work with normal pull brakes and while not as lovely and exotic as the Motolites are nicely finished and in my experience work pretty well to.

polybikeuser I've got Paul Cross levers, sorry not with the 31.8mm clamp but I think you'll find this won't solve your cable pull problems, they're normal, i.e. road pull levers and won't give you the extra pull you need for a V brake.

Paul cross levers can be used with v-brakes. See http://www.paulcomp.com/crosslever.html

So the one you've got is 26mm? I could drop handlebar size down to 26mm. Would you be willing to flog it? I'm after one, but a pair would be nice.

If you're using straight handle bars can't you use one of the nicer normal V brake lever like the Paul Love Lever,

Yeah, that's what I was thinking but I want to get some shallow drop and short reach bars to go on my roadrat. The straight bars hurt my hands and shoulders after longer rides. Plus drops look nice.

alternatively would you consider either moustache bars or the On-one Midge bars in which case Dia Compe do a road brake lever that is designed with a longer pull so it'll work with V-brakes,

Yeah, I know about the Dia Compe 287V. It just doesn't look that nice, but I've been told it works well if you get them set up well.

other alternative is to use travel agents (if you don't know them they're a pulley device that amplifies the pull of your brake lever so you can use road levers with V-brakes.

They look like such a bodge. I've also read online thta they increase wear on the brake cables, which can cause them to break. Not good.

If you haven’t already bought the Motolites (I’ve got a pair to and they are fab) would you consider going with canti-brakes instead? They’ll fit on the bosses you’ve got on the frame and forks, will work with normal pull levers and you can get canti-bridges that fit round your fork steerer at the front and are built into a seat collar at the back. With a bit of care you can get decent braking out of the better canti-brakes (Paul Neo Retros, Spooky Brakes or SRP Mr. Grumpys, at the cheaper end of the scale Radius do a set of canti’s that take V-brake type pads that massively simplify setting your brakes up – think on-one had these on their website branded as on-one brakes, not trying to palm these off on you but think I might have a spare set somewhere, think I paid £30 for them so if I can find them and you wanted them we could talk, be warned they’re not nearly as nice as the Pauls, are though relatively easy to set up). Of course you might not like canti-brakes in which case ignore the last paragraph.

Yeah the problem is that I've got no spacers no my fork steerer so no room for the cable hanger. Bit of a pain.

polybikeuser Reason for the spare set of Radiuses was that originally was going to fit them to a tourer I built up for my brother, but I built this up with Campagnolo bits instead, which conveniently reminds me eeehhhh the answer to your problem might well be to go with a set of Campagnolo's newish V-brakes, they're designed to work with normal pull brakes and while not as lovely and exotic as the Motolites are nicely finished and in my experience work pretty well to.

I came across those too a little while ago on my internet travels and I could not find them for sale anywhere. If you find 'em I'd be very pleased.

Was the fork supplied that short or did you cut it yourself? I've seen fairly thin canti hangers, so you might be able to squeeze one in with a different stem that takes up less space. Perhaps a single bolt stem so it can be run a bit higher?

For example http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/product-Raleigh-Alloy-Front-brake-hanger-28.6mm-bore-with-locating-tab--Black-6765.htm with the locating tab filed off

Hi eeehhhh,
Sorry for the bum steer on the Paul Cross Levers, I was wondering why the second hole, I just thought it was decorative. I'm having a bit of a clear out at the moment as one of my cousins is moving in for the year to study in London, consequently I'm having trouble finding stuff, if I can lay my hands on the Paul Cross Levers in a sensible period of time I'll let you know and will happily trade you one.
My brother got the Campagnolo V-brakes we put on his tourer from Condor, they're the nearest bike shop to where he works, sorry don'y know how much they cost him, I'll ask him and let you know.

Momentum Was the fork supplied that short or did you cut it yourself? I've seen fairly thin canti hangers, so you might be able to squeeze one in with a different stem that takes up less space. Perhaps a single bolt stem so it can be run a bit higher?

For example http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/product-Raleigh-Alloy-Front-brake-hanger-28.6mm-bore-with-locating-tab--Black-6765.htm with the locating tab filed off

Yeah I cut them myself. I think I might have got around having to use cantis though, so might not be needed now.

polybikeuser Hi eeehhhh,
Sorry for the bum steer on the Paul Cross Levers, I was wondering why the second hole, I just thought it was decorative. I'm having a bit of a clear out at the moment as one of my cousins is moving in for the year to study in London, consequently I'm having trouble finding stuff, if I can lay my hands on the Paul Cross Levers in a sensible period of time I'll let you know and will happily trade you one.
My brother got the Campagnolo V-brakes we put on his tourer from Condor, they're the nearest bike shop to where he works, sorry don'y know how much they cost him, I'll ask him and let you know.

I replied about the campag v brakes in another thread. :)

I'm still interested in the Paul levers by the way, they look awesome. Please let me know if you find them. I'll whisper you my email.