What Brakes does Kevin Evans Use?

[SwissVan]

So....did both front & rear brakes fail?

What are the odds of that happening - all at once?

 

Velly good point Sir

[SwissVan]

For most of the 1200 brakes was the least of their problems

 

LOL

 

In my case i reacon my brakes worked a lot harder than KE's brakes, heavier all up weight and significant more time spent braking...

 

Did i already mention my brakes worked flawlessly

[SwissVan]

And out of those that did have failure, how many used the same components as Evans.

 

Do we know what he used for sure?

 

Probably very few used the same components, perhaps there is a reason or 2, one being cost and the udder....

 

oh wait strike that from the record your honour...

[Gravity Sux]

Ok, so here's a stick in the spokes.

I have read some of the threads on here and noticed all the speculation aimed at his front brake having failed.

 

I watched the coverage and never heard him say once that it was his front brake.

1)So what happend to the rear brake if this was the case? This is also a very good way to stop, pull the other brake!!

 

2)What is the 1 in a million chance of both front and rear brakes failing at the same time?

 

3)If it was his mechanic, why did the brakes not fail sooner?

 

4)if it was brake fade, he would have felt this coming on during a few brakes before then?

 

All pro's do experience a "brake" in concentration (see any road race and the amount of crashes). So could it not be that he just lost concentration for a split second, over estimated the downhill and never managed to get control of the bike?

We are all human. it happens.

 

If this is the case, it would be very sad that he blamed it on brake failure. Because a statement like that is really bad publicity for a bike and product.

Its far easier to blame something else than to admit it was your own mistake.

We all do it.

 

I feel very sorry for Kevin and George.

Kev, good luck and get well soon.

 

If you saw the hill he fell on that front brake failure = no brakes. It was very steep and rough (tree roots / rocks) and to make things worse there was so much dust that there was no choice of line. On a rough, steep descent back brakes do very little as all your weight is on the front.

 

Also, he was not the only rider to fall on this hill and injure themselves, just the highest profile rider to do so.

[kandui]

Hi Drongo, or is it "the Drongo"?

I rode 2011 XTR brakes and rotors at the Epic and they gave me zero problems. The braking power for a true one finger brake is awesome. The brake pressure control is also superb.

I heard at the Epic that Kevin was using an Aluminium rotor which seized due to the heat build-up. Can't take this a gospel , but heard if from someone who was working with the winning Masters team.

New XTR is a real jump forward, I recommend them highly.

[kosmonooit]

Would be interested to know if indeed the rotors did fail which ones they were.

 

Cant imagine anyone in their right mind using Al rotors. Maybe some composite with an Al sandwich and harder steel faces.. .?

[neelst]

Ai ja jai. Rotors dont fail from braking. Rotor bolts and centre locks dont fail from braking.

Hydraulic hoses can fail.

Brakes fade if too hot, get spongy with air and dont work at all if a hose has failed. Those are the three options.

No one will ever live to see a stainless or alluminium rotor.

[kandui]

Like I said, this is what I heard from someone working with one of the pro teams. Was a heat issue. Aluminium does sound unlikely, but fact is that material failure was to blame.

[Moolz]

Yoh - this thread has come a long way!

 

Shimano M486/M575 FTW!!

[Tumbleweed]

Yoh - this thread has come a long way!

 

Shimano M486/M575 FTW!!

 

And just to stretch it even more…here's Christoph Sauser's chirp to Evans yesterday:

with or without ure aluminium brake disk love?? @kevinevansracin Reunited with my Scale29er today... It behaved.

[Slowbee]

without reading through all the waffle .. how does a rotor fail ?

[splat]

And just to stretch it even more…here's Christoph Sauser's chirp to Evans yesterday:

with or without ure aluminium brake disk love?? @kevinevansracin Reunited with my Scale29er today... It behaved.

 

 

kevinevansracin Kevin Evans @sauserwind with love from Marta SL:)

[Tumbleweed]

kevinevansracin Kevin Evans @sauserwind with love from Marta SL:)

 

 

Missed that reply!

[Mecnic]

without reading through all the waffle .. how does a rotor fail ?

 

I admit I didn't read everything.

 

Scrub rotors are built as follows a magnesium centre spindle, aluminum retaining ring and a composite metal braking surface, they call it a friction ring.

 

As I understand these rotors are extremely light however after chatting to the SRAM guys at world cup and Evans original brake sponsors (Magura) what they explained to me is as follows.

 

1) XX World Cup is an extremely light system as is with very small tolerances and has been designed as a whole using Avid rotors and Organic pads. This is from the scrub website

 

"Effective immediately, Scrub Components will only receive warranty claims on rotors that have been properly used with Scrub brake pads for MMC rotors. If the customer chooses to use another brand of brake pad, they do so at their own risk and may not be eligible for any warranty claim."

 

2) Evans was running a Scrub rotors, to save weight, and not the specified Avid rotor with Avid pads, I am unsure whether or not he was running scrub or avid organic pads.

 

Also from Scrub:

 

"Even if you choose to use pads other than Scrub with your Scrub rotors, please be aware that sintered, semi-metallic or full metallic pads should never be used. Use only organic or resin pads!

 

Use of any pad other than Scrub brake pads for MMC rotors may compromise performance and/or void any support that we may offer."

 

From: Evans himself:

 

"To clear up any confusion around the crash, here it is from me:

It was simply a problem with the disc pads that we changed the night before the stage. On the steep descends, the aluminum rotors were overheating and causing the brakes to ‘fade’ and loose power."

 

 

3) These above to contributed to the system overheating, I suspect it has something to do with the composite braking surface of Scrub rotors and a pad incompatibility issue,

 

As we know heat and DOT fluid do not mix well, brakes got hot and both the rotor and system overheated. which resulted in burnt pad, boiled fluid and a failed braking surface and therefore failed brakes and rotor.

 

Moral of the Story SRAM spend Millions on R&D if they say specify something like certain rotor pad and brake combinations, it is specified for a reason. I am sure if they could they would make the XX rotors lighter but they haven't which indicates that there is a very good reason for it, maybe even a safety issue.