braided brake lines.

[ibby4585]

I am going to replace my brake system on my NC30. Can anyone tell me if braided brake lines are worth consdering? Do they perform better? I read somewhere in an article that they do not provide any better braking!! If they are better can someone tell me why and where the cheapest place is to get a set. Also do you rate HEL or Goodridge


Ta
Kris

[DanHam]

I have good ridge, they must improve it atleast some, as it's a very popular mods that most people do.

[CRM]

Perhaps i am a bit old school, but if the brakes are pretty poor by modern standards yes they can improve the feel and bite mark.
however on a newer more modern bike i think personaly they are not needed regardless of hype.
in the event of a panic, someone pulls out in front of you, the last thing you want is to go for a handfull of brake to have the front wash away because the bite point is a bit sharp.
if your calipers and clean and free, pads are either genuine or good aftermarket, fresh fluid and bled correctly (and doesnt look like chip fat) then the standard NC brakes are spot on IMO

[banoffee]

The 20 year old original lines on my NC30 visibly bulged when pulling the brake. Braided lines (worth the extra for stainless in my opinion), new pads and of course fluid made a big difference. I fit them to all my bikes, except the Ducati which came with them as standard

[Neosophist]

Hmm. So many questions.

Right lets try and do this in some kind of logical order.

Original Brake Lines:

The original brake lines are made of rubber hose. This hose typical has a lifetime of around 6 years. After this amount of time the brake lines have degraded enough to be considered unsafe, although they'll typically go on for many years theres an increased chance that they'll bulge, pop, deform when pressure is applied via the brake lever.

And obviously if your brake line pops or starts leaking fluid it's bye bye brakes.

Braided Brake Lines:

Braided brake lines have a soft tube uncased in a steel mesh. This is a comprimse between a solid steel line which is unflexible and a rubber line.

The mesh also protects the tube from bulging.

Braided lines are generally asthetically pleasing (look nice) however you can't inspect the tube inside due to the mesh covering.

Are they any better?

Sort-of.

If you have old bulging / swollen rubber lines you will inevitbly by loosing some brake pressure due to this, which compromises brake efficiency. As a result theres a loss of brake feel, a sloppy lever.

Braided lines don't tend to swell as much so they keep the lever feeling 'strong'

As mentioned above, braided lines also look nicer to most people than the factory rubber hoses. The steel mesh / plastic covers are available in a wide range of colours and also help to protect the lines from knicks and cuts.

Finally, most people do this 'mod' as replacing old worn out rubber hoses is good practice and a prevantative measure against failure, braided lines can be had for around £60 from a well known mfg like goodrich, even cheaper from local factors, this is often cheaper than a new OEM rubber set.

Theres also the custom aspect of the bike.

Depending on how you wire the lines up also will affect lever feel. Two lines straight from the master cylinder to each caliper in 'race' set-up will feel firmer than having a Y splitter like many bikes have.

Upgrading the rubber hoses on your 2009 CBR600RR shouldn't really make any difference in terms of performance.

[fastdruid]

Having tried both HEL and Goodridge I prefer HEL.

Druid

[banoffee]

Forgot to say - Goodridge on both my 80's bikes. Just got into a habit of using their lines for years now... for me Goodridge for braided lines is what Hoover is for vacuum cleaners

[ibby4585]

neosophist, Many Thanks thtas exactly what i needed to know.

Ta
Kris