Putting new brakes on the Poseidon X

November 6, 2022

JuinTech GT-F1

So after a dusk near miss with a buck on the Pennypack, resolved to replace the brakes on the X.

Parts:

Cable cutters are a necessity for cutting the housing; if you don't have good ones already don't ruin the housing trying dull snips or lineman's pliers.
Internal routing wasn't so bad; use the old brake cable to pull the new housing through the frame. The Jagwire is a little more snug so a little push helps
The front fork mount is 160mm without adapter plate so the JuinTechs don't have a good way to mount on the fork and use the existing 160mm rotor. Oops, ended up buying a 180mm rotor that works with the labeled 160mm foot for the brakes

Huge improvement; can lock up both wheels with two fingers from the hoods; feel is not mushy at all and can modulate much better
Not sure if a majority of the improvement is just the compression-less cables as others have indicated or not.
I think ultimately, for me, the ease of adjustment (not having to navigate spokes with allen wrench to adjust is worth it) I swap wheels regularly so the pads need a tweak frequently; especially for my wheel-on trainer. The little JuinTech knob is far quicker than reaching the allen wrench through the wheel making the swap to the trainer much less of a hassle.
180mm front rotor is overkill
Thermal expansion is a real thing, after descending Spring Mountain on one of my early rides after brakes were bedded. Felt like I was having a heart attack or something couldn't keep my cadence in easy gear. Took nearly a mile for me to check the bike and realize the rear wheel was hard to turn because the brakes were binding the rotor. Learned not to adjust the pads to perfect engineering minimum clearance after that, DOH!

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