Brake caliper "wings"

[Grayskull]

http://www.tektro.com/02products/images/pro/R750.gif

 

What is the purpose of the "wings" on these brake calipers?

Do they provide an aerodynamic function?

Cos to me they seem like just extra weight

 

This is a Tektro R750 Carbon brake calipers which is pretty high spec.

I have them on my 105 calipers, but didnt have them on my previous no-name brand calipers

 

ANy ideas?

 

 

[Johan Bornman]

They are wheel guides. When installing a wheel it sometimes bumps against the brake pads and push them out. These wings guide the tyre past the pads. It makes installation quicker* and safer.

 

*Nowadays with the prevalence of lawyers lips on forks we may was well go back to wingnuts. Unscrewing and re-screwing the QR each time we change a wheel is so slow that they may as well remove the brake pad wings since an extra 20 minutes (sarcasm alert) won't make a difference.

[droo]

Do you mean the ones on the pads? Never quite figured that out myself, might be for holding the pads together when clamping the cable. Paging JB??

 

 

 

Edit: beaten to it droo2009-02-24 04:35:37

[Grayskull]

ah thanks

tho i do find it a bit silly that you would need guides for the job!

i tend to get my wheel in, in about same time on the calipers that didnt have guides

 

[gummibear]

I dont think these are of much use when changing a set of wheels at home.I think its for when you get a flat in the race and cant waste time trying to re-align the brake blocks if you bump them skew. 

[Red Zone]

My MTB brakes dont have wings, so is it just roadies that have bad aim? explains why they fall over a lot

[gummibear]

[Johan Bornman]

My MTB brakes dont have wings' date=' so is it just roadies that have bad aim? explains why they fall over a lot[/quote']

 

Good point! First dibs at patenting a wing for disk brakes.

 

[droo]

My MTB brakes dont have wings' date=' so is it just roadies that have bad aim? explains why they fall over a lot[/quote']

 

?

 

Good point! First dibs at patenting a wing for disk brakes.

 

?

 

That might not be such a silly idea...

[AndreZA]

On my old Avid #s the tab on the inside pad was bend outwards ant it always helped me getting the rotor to go where it should.

[Speed Devil]

They are wheel guides. When installing a wheel it sometimes bumps against the brake pads and push them out. These wings guide the tyre past the pads. It makes installation quicker* and safer.

 

*Nowadays with the prevalence of lawyers lips on forks we may was well go back to wingnuts. Unscrewing and re-screwing the QR each time we change a wheel is so slow that they may as well remove the brake pad wings since an extra 20 minutes (sarcasm alert) won't make a difference.

 

I always file the little lugs off the end of my fork. My wheels have never come loose and don't see why they should be there on a road bike.

As long as the QR's are tight there shouldn't be any problems.

[droo]

They are wheel guides. When installing a wheel it sometimes bumps against the brake pads and push them out. These wings guide the tyre past the pads. It makes installation quicker* and safer.

 

?

 

*Nowadays with the prevalence of lawyers lips on forks we may was well go back to wingnuts. Unscrewing and re-screwing the QR each time we change a wheel is so slow that they may as well remove the brake pad wings since an extra 20 minutes (sarcasm alert) won't make a difference.

 

?

 

I always file the little lugs off the end of my fork. My wheels have never come loose and don't see why they should be there on a road bike.

 

As long as the QR's are tight there shouldn't be any problems.

 

Now that you've admitted that, you'll never be able to sue anyone for not doing up your skewers. It's clowns like you that make lawyers' jobs so much harder than they should be