Since our first experience with Kettle Cycles’ SiCCC (Silicon Carbide Carbon Ceramic) brake rotors, founder Aaron Stephens has been very, very busy. And not just filling orders – he’s added metal brake pads designed specifically for use with the composite braking surface and reworked the adhesives and resins to make the rotors stronger.
The new 2014 F-Series rotors use a revised carbon / ceramic ratio that makes it much stronger. Their production process moves the rotor from the heat mold to a furnace, where they’re subjected to high heat for up to two weeks. In testing, the new version is as strong after one heat treatment session as the originals were after eight sessions. Furthering the strength gains are improvements to the ceramic bonding between carbon layers and final stage production methods.
Of course, rotors only need to be so strong, but by making them stronger, he’s able to grind them a bit thinner, letting them fit better in a wider range of calipers. The changes also seem to have helped Aaron catch up on production, too, and he’s come up with a few additional ways to improve forecasting and operation, all of which mean a better deal for you…
With Kickstarter orders done and the decision to discontinue the two-piece rotor design, production is running a bit smoother. But, being a small operation that’s hand made to order in house, any surge in demand can cause instant delays. The solution? Offer a bit of a discount for customers willing to wait. Simply indicate you’ll take a 40-day (promo code: 40days) or 60-day (promo code: 60days) delivery and you’ll get 10% or 20% off, respectively. Normal delivery time is currently 3-4 weeks.
When I first tested them, the braking performance was only about 3/4 of what I was used to. After much discussion with Aaron, the culprit was the brake pads. I’d heard he had wrapped up development on his SiCCC pads a little while back, but now we’ve finally got a set of those and the new rotors on the way for proper testing.
The SiCCC pads are a metallic formulation, but not standard metallic or semi-metallic pads. And they’re only for use on the SiCCC rotors, not traditional steel rotors. He’s got them in stock for the following:
- Avid ’09-12 Elixir (all), ’10-12 XX WC, ’11/12 XO
- Avid Juicy (all), BB7
- Avid X0 Trail (4-piston)
- SRAM Road Hydraulic
- BFO + MAGURA Marta SL 09, Louise 07, Bat, Carbon, Julie hp
- Formula (non oro)
- Hayes Prime Pro/Expert
- Hope 09+ Tech M4, 04-08 Mono-M4
- Hope 09+ Tech X2, 09+ Race X2
- Magura 2012+ MT series
- Shimano G-TYPE/F-TYPE (M988/985/785/666/675/CX75)
- Shimano M820/M640 (4-piston)
- Shimano A-TYPE (M975/965/800/765/601/585)
- Shimano B-TYPE (M575) AND TRP HY/RD, Spyre, Hylex, Parabox 2012
All retail for $35 per wheel and use the stock return spring from the calipers. Note the SRAM Hydro-R and TRP road calipers among the offerings, which should make for a great addition to ‘cross bikes.
Lastly, he’s added the ability to have your rotors color coordinated with your bike. The center part gets sent off to a local painter where the braking surface is masked off before your choice of light blue, dark blue, red, green, white or black is applied. It adds $24 to $30 to the rotor price and 10 days to delivery time.
