# Roller Cam Brakes



## Pimpride (Nov 14, 2005)

Do roller cam brakes work on cantilever bosses, or is it specific to earlier model bikes and can't be used on anything else.


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## Shayne (Jan 14, 2004)

*Nope*

Roller Cam brakes only work on Roller Cam bosses.


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## chruby99 (Dec 11, 2004)

*990 mounts*

can't you use them on a U-brake bosses


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## Shayne (Jan 14, 2004)

*Yes*

990 mounts
U brake mounts
Roller Cam mounts

They're all the same.


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## shiggy (Dec 19, 1998)

Shayne said:


> 990 mounts
> U brake mounts
> Roller Cam mounts
> 
> They're all the same.


 All the same though WTB Speedmaster Roller Cams (and mounts) came first.


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## chruby99 (Dec 11, 2004)

*Rollercam*

Is it me or is this guy on ebay crazy for trying yo get $218 for a new set of vintage XC pro rollercam brakes. That is a nutso proce.


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## Pimpride (Nov 14, 2005)

*Didn't see that...*



chruby99 said:


> Is it me or is this guy on ebay crazy for trying yo get $218 for a new set of vintage XC pro rollercam brakes. That is a nutso proce.


That's crazy-few vintage componets are worth that, but as PT Barnum says, there is a fool born every day...(on ebay.) Get yer parts out there.

But, can't you install the mounts from one frame to another, or are brake mounts brazed on? I saw an old bike with vintage c1986 suntour xc (std) and roller cam brakes, and I was wondering if the componets would fit another frame. Thanks


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## Master Shake (Mar 6, 2005)

chruby99 said:


> Is it me or is this guy on ebay crazy for trying yo get $218 for a new set of vintage XC pro rollercam brakes. That is a nutso proce.


 The last full NOS set like that I bought cost $34. What's the reasoning Bikieray?


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## Master Shake (Mar 6, 2005)

Pimpride said:


> as PT Barnum says, there is a fool born every day...(on ebay.) Get yer parts out there...


 Maybe Bontragerdave could let us in on his little secret:

http://offer.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewBids&item=7200530036

I remember there were a couple NIB (new in box) sets up about a year ago with $20 BIN's on em. And I thought I got burned having to shell out an extra $15...


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## mwr (Jul 17, 2004)

The was a single nos Suntour rollercam (early, linear springs) that recently sold for ~$150. Once WTB brakes got stupid expensive, seems like everything else is getting dragged upward.


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## Pimpride (Nov 14, 2005)

*Roller Cam Brakes on Cannondale SM-500*

I think it uses suntour XC from 1986. I had an earlier post about it being the first cannondale MTB with both 26" wheels. It has an AL frame, and yes, roller cam brakes. Looks like an easy rider.


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## chruby99 (Dec 11, 2004)

*linear spring*



mwr said:


> The was a single nos Suntour rollercam (early, linear springs) that recently sold for ~$150. Once WTB brakes got stupid expensive, seems like everything else is getting dragged upward.


 yea these look like the linear spring model


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## Rumpfy (Dec 21, 2003)

It's cheaper to find an old used Suntour roller cam mounted bike to pirate the parts from.


EBay prices are a bit silly, as is Bikieray's bidding habbits.


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## filegiant (Aug 1, 2004)

chruby99 said:


> yea these look like the linear spring model


Nope, those are the coil-spring XC-Sport model on that C-Dale.


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## cegrover (Oct 17, 2004)

Rumpfy said:


> It's cheaper to find an old used Suntour roller cam mounted bike to pirate the parts from.
> 
> EBay prices are a bit silly, as is Bikieray's bidding habbits.


Yeah, I've noticed Bikieray on just about every vintage auction.

Funny you mention buying a bike for the brakes - I just finished parting out (via Ebay) the Craigslist Ross Mt. Rainier which I bought just for the brakes (they're now on the Paramountain). I also kept the Suntour XC beartrap pedals, but might end up selling those. Oh, and I used the good condition chain on the Technium Chill I'm fixing up now.


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## Pimpride (Nov 14, 2005)

*That's the breaks*



cegrover said:


> Yeah, I've noticed Bikieray on just about every vintage auction.
> 
> Funny you mention buying a bike for the brakes - I just finished parting out (via Ebay) the Craigslist Ross Mt. Rainier which I bought just for the brakes (they're now on the Paramountain). I also kept the Suntour XC beartrap pedals, but might end up selling those. Oh, and I used the good condition chain on the Technium Chill I'm fixing up now.


I saw that Ross. Pretty cool color. I had a ross bmx w/ mags back in the day. These vintage prices on ebay Makes you think about frequenting the goodwill and garage sales. Some people think a bike with flat tires is junk, and will sell them cheap. I think it is funny that you can get the same money for brakes and pedals that you paid for the whole bike. Although, a lot of money is tied up in componets on mountain bikes deez days.


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## Rumpfy (Dec 21, 2003)

cegrover said:


> Yeah, I've noticed Bikieray on just about every vintage auction.


Yeah...I did some digging into his bidding habits a little while back.

In a 30 day time period, he bid on some 600 auctions....and only won about 6....2 of those with the reserve not having been met.

Makes no sense to me, but hey, who am I to judge.

There are other people I'm more concerned about bidding against.


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## weps (Feb 2, 2006)

*wheel removal?*

is there some type of quick release mechanism for rc brakes? from what i can tell, it looks as if you have to unbolt at least one of them or at least slide one arm out far enough so they don't hit when you try to open them enough to passthe tire. of course, i'm thinking in that time period, many of the bikes had solid axles and there was no need for a qr. whats the story?


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## mwr (Jul 17, 2004)

Probably the easiest way is to screw the barrel adjuster on the brake lever all the way in to give you the most possible cable slack, then manually compress the brake pads together and weasel the cam plate out from between the rollers. That should give you a bit more room to compress the brakes out of the way of the tire. Barring that, deflate the tire so you can squeeze it through.


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## shiggy (Dec 19, 1998)

weps said:


> is there some type of quick release mechanism for rc brakes? from what i can tell, it looks as if you have to unbolt at least one of them or at least slide one arm out far enough so they don't hit when you try to open them enough to passthe tire. of course, i'm thinking in that time period, many of the bikes had solid axles and there was no need for a qr. whats the story?


Squeeze the pads together and remove the cam plate from the rollers to open the brake. You may have to partly deflate bigger tires to get it past the pads but you had to do that with many canti brakes of the day, too.


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## Capt Tripps (Jan 19, 2005)

As Shiggy said, squeeze the pads to the rim with one hand ( or a 3rd hand) then pop the cam plate out, once the cam plate is out you can actually let one side of the rollers open extra wide by letting the cam roller go all the way over to the other side. when the tire slips in and hits the arm, it pushes it back into position. third hand it again to get the cam plate back in.


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## weps (Feb 2, 2006)

Capt Tripps said:


> As Shiggy said, squeeze the pads to the rim with one hand ( or a 3rd hand) then pop the cam plate out, once the cam plate is out you can actually let one side of the rollers open extra wide by letting the cam roller go all the way over to the other side. when the tire slips in and hits the arm, it pushes it back into position. third hand it again to get the cam plate back in.


well, i just went and tried. worked exactly as you described. :thumbsup:


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## _BKK (May 2, 2006)

Can someone enlighten me on the value of roller cams? 

As I understand it the cons are:
They are heavier than most other brakes
Were not that popular in the first place which means they are getting hard to find now
They only fit certain bikes and certain bikes only fit them.

What are the pros to having them?


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## toddz69 (Apr 8, 2005)

_BKK said:


> Can someone enlighten me on the value of roller cams?
> 
> As I understand it the cons are:
> They are heavier than most other brakes
> ...


Other than being appropriately vintage, there aren't a lot of pros/value to having them on a bike these days. However, the cantilevers of the day pretty much sucked, imho, and I always figured that was the reason they came out with the roller cams in the first place.

I bought my 2nd mt. bike in '86 specifically because it had roller cams front and rear!

Todd Z.


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## cegrover (Oct 17, 2004)

I see two reasons to have them today:

1) They're cool and unusual in a funky vintage way and were often on higher-end bikes when they were new.
2) If your bike is set up for them, your only readily available choices are rollercams or U-brakes.

So...when you see them on a frame today, the owner has not decided against cantis, but had limited choices and prefers them to U-brakes either for performance, looks or "correctness" for the bike. I changed my Paramountain from front and rear XT U-brakes to rollercams because I found a good deal on 'em and it also made my red Paramountain better match the one Ned rode in the awesome 1986 Durango NORBA Championship video.


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## weps (Feb 2, 2006)

Rumpfy said:


> It's cheaper to find an old used Suntour roller cam mounted bike to pirate the parts from.


probably true. most people think of them as old junk or have no idea what they are. i just bought a scott windrider with almost full xc 9000 including the rollercam brakes for $9.00.


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