Which cable outer is which?

[Kim]

Friction in the brake system feels trivial because, when you pump the lever, the friction is felt to be low in the pad-clearance zone.

However, cable friction is proportional to tension. So when the pads hit the rim and you keep pulling the lever, suddenly the frictional losses go through the roof. You just don’t intuitively realise that, believing instead that your lever force is being transmitted faithfully to the rim. Not so.

Hm, is this why hydraulic rim brakes work so much better that you intuitively expect?

[Samuel D]

Yes, I believe so. In many cases hydraulic rim brakes actually have more pad clearance than cable brakes, i.e. they have lower mechanical advantage. And despite that, they brake with more force for a given lever force. That’s chiefly down to the lack of cable friction.

[mzjo]

Yes, I believe so. In many cases hydraulic rim brakes actually have more pad clearance than cable brakes, i.e. they have lower mechanical advantage. And despite that, they brake with more force for a given lever force. That’s chiefly down to the lack of cable friction.

Mechanical advantage (as I understand it) in a hydraulic system is mainly a result of suitably sizing the various components (pistons in master and slave cylinders) and using suitably rigid hoses. The proof of this is more usually found on badly matched or mixed up motorbike hydraulic brakes (like my Wing outfit  ). Lack of friction is a factor but exstensible hoses can outweigh this very easily.

[ElyDave]

I took the Orbea out for a spin today with the "wrong" outers on the brakes, no death, destruction or mayhem ensued, and the brakes  worked absolutely fine.

In fact I'm thinking of slackeningbthe adjusters a tad as they had a very positive action.