Ashima’s HydroMech cable-to-hydraulic brake adapter comes in at just 80g for the converter unit. And while we think demand for such things is likely to wane with the complete hydro groups from SRAM & Shimano finally real, this one does introduce some pretty cool tech to the brake world.
It’s visibly smaller than other converters, and how designer Wayne Moore pulled off the miniscule design is what makes it special. The reservoir is in the flat part on the top. The cable comes in from the front and pulls a dual stage piston that transitions from massive pad movement to fine control. Curious? Check out the cutaways below…
The unit, shown upside down here, uses their external tubes to push fluid from the master cylinder to the hoses.
On this cutaway (above), the cable would pull from right to left. Note the stepped walls inside the cylinder.
It’s flipped here, and the left image shows the first stage where a larger piston pushes a lot of fluid to quickly bring the pads onto the rotor. On the right, the smaller secondary piston pushes a less fluid to give you control over the brake force.
It’ll ship as a standalone piece if you want to use your own hydraulic calipers, and it’ll work with any brake fluid.
It’ll also ship as a complete system with their new Pathfinder calipers, which use a more traditional piston mechanism rather than their pistonless PCB brakes. Designer Wayne Moore says its the same weight and keeps their external fluid tube that helps cool the fluid. Available in March, retail TBD.
Other fun stuff: NoMet cable housing uses a POM nylon extrusion instead of metal (No Metal, get it?), and they say it’s 65% lighter than normal cable housing. It’s only for shift cables now, and they have new plasma coated slick cables to go in them.
New Flo-Tor floating rotor now comes in three rotor shapes, this one (red) has the biggest surface area and comes in at just 98g for a 160mm.
They have a new Iso Thermal finned brake pad that also has a heat shield built onto the backside to block heat from getting into the caliper. They won’t say what the material is, but did say it can go to 1,000°C, is lighter than aluminum and has the thermal conduction of air. They’ll launch in March with Shimano sizes and comes in at about half the weight (10.2g per pair) of IceTech pads. Pad material will be sintered metallic. Retail TBD.
Their CenterLock to 6-bolt adapter gets a second lock ring option (black) that uses a standard external BB tool.
