KCNC VB-1 brake levers (47g/pair) and calipers (178g/pair, including pads & all hardware) are about as light as brake components get. One need not even use a noodle, saving a further 8g - 9g. It doesn't take much to stop a light bike and, when their return springs stay in, KCNC VB-1 brake calipers do a fine job of it. The return spring came out a time or two before the trip, but one spring or another began coming out every few hundred km as the trip progressed. Though this is not dangerous -- the de-sprung caliper defaults to the rim -- the drag on the rim is such that one must fix the problem quickly.
Daniel Planas of Planas Velo in Pau came up with a brilliant and ultra-light solution (all told it added a bit over 1g to each caliper set) to this problem. He simply used a zip tie (see photo above) to clamp each spring to its respective caliper. Once Monsieur Planas had done this, the springs were fine for the rest of the trip.
Several thousands of km and 650 days after the trip (and the day before a 3-day tour of the very isolated Big Sur), one of the titanium springs snapped. The solution was simple -- I cut a j-bend 2,0mm titanium spoke to the appropriate length and ground down the flared head; as M'r Planas would say, et voila. A 2,0mm unswaged steel spoke probably'd've worked fine, too, but I assume the titanium is a bit springier.
The brake pads, which are definitely soft and probably light, were already well worn before the trip and had worn out after 2 000km of touring. They lasted longer than I expected -- several thousand kilometers for each. I replaced them with whatever the respective shops had. Older Ritchey pads for the front, cheap-o (XLC or BBB or some such) clod-hopper pads for the rear.
Daniel Planas of Planas Velo in Pau came up with a brilliant and ultra-light solution (all told it added a bit over 1g to each caliper set) to this problem. He simply used a zip tie (see photo above) to clamp each spring to its respective caliper. Once Monsieur Planas had done this, the springs were fine for the rest of the trip.
Several thousands of km and 650 days after the trip (and the day before a 3-day tour of the very isolated Big Sur), one of the titanium springs snapped. The solution was simple -- I cut a j-bend 2,0mm titanium spoke to the appropriate length and ground down the flared head; as M'r Planas would say, et voila. A 2,0mm unswaged steel spoke probably'd've worked fine, too, but I assume the titanium is a bit springier.
The brake pads, which are definitely soft and probably light, were already well worn before the trip and had worn out after 2 000km of touring. They lasted longer than I expected -- several thousand kilometers for each. I replaced them with whatever the respective shops had. Older Ritchey pads for the front, cheap-o (XLC or BBB or some such) clod-hopper pads for the rear.
