Formula RO brakes

[IH8Rice]

fancy new oval piston brakes from Formula. i wonder how much more powerful they are over their round pistons

361grams per wheel is a bunch heavier then The Ones

Formula RO Brake Details: (clockwise) Formula’s RO lever assembly is based upon its powerful ‘The One’ gravity brake, with the reach adjustment integrated into the forged lever blade and Formula’s ‘Feel Control System’ hydraulic engagement-adjust dial at the hose fitting • The RO caliper is forged aluminum with top-loading brake pads and a banjo hose fitting • With one brake pad removed, the oval piston is evident. The larger surface area of the piston puts even pressure on the brake pad and produces more squeeze force • A close-up of the integrated lever-reach dial, which is large enough to operate with full-finger gloves.

and new quick connect hose.....

Speed Lock is a quick-release brake hose junction that blocks fluid loss when disconnected. The quick release operates with a slide collar in the same manner as a pneumatic hose fitting. Those who disassemble their bikes for shipment, or need to deal with a frame that features internal cable routing, will appreciate how handy Speed Lock could be. Speed Lock can be installed at the brake lever, in-line or at the caliper. We anticipate that Speed Lock will retrofit on other brake maker’s lines as well.

[HAB]

Speed lock kinda strikes me as a solution for a problem I've never run into, but kinda cool I guess.


The brakes look good. Big fan of my The Ones.

[Deano]

the honestly never needed more power, but a bit of modulation would be great..

the speedlock thing is for damn nice, as i run a mondraker summum frame and its a pain in the.. if i wanna change brakes etc, granted its not that often but when its time.. it really annoys me

they do seem a lot heavier as was said then The ones. so lets hope these can rival the saints for modulation and keep the power

[HAB]

Seriously? I own Ones and Saints and the Ones definitely modulate better.

[dropmachine.com]

Oval pistons smack of marketing, and the quick connect hose is something else to break/ marketing/ solution to a problem that doesn't exist.

Seems companies are scrambling for anything to stand out these days...

[HAB]

Oval pistons smack of marketing, and the quick connect hose is something else to break/ marketing/ solution to a problem that doesn't exist.

Seems companies are scrambling for anything to stand out these days...

Oval pistons *might* be a way to go to bigger total piston area (and thus moar power) without going to 4 piston setups, but since it looks like they use the same pads as The Ones I'm skeptical they've actually done that. But maybe. With you on the quick lock thing, but it at least sounds like it's just an add on option, not something you're stuck with. I hope.


Edit: looking at the pictures better it does look like the pistons have gotten bigger. Oval pistons aren't going to do anything if they're the same area as circular ones (F=PA is still F=PA) but I can see it being a viable way to make a bigger piston fit effectively. So there's that.

[karpi]

I wonder were all the added weight is?

[Udi]

Oval pistons smack of marketing
...
Seems companies are scrambling for anything to stand out these days...

More slave piston surface area = more power. The One already has very big pistons, if they made them bigger the caliper would start interfering with the adaptor. So the best way to do it would have been either more pistons or a different shaped piston.

I think more power is always merrier so appreciate what they've done with the oval piston.

[buckoW]

I have a set on my DH bike now and they definitely have more power and resist heat better than the Ones. The surface the pads sit on is wavy so there is less heat transfer/more air between the pads and piston. They are not fading even when riding slow on the Champery track with work boots and a chainsaw/tools on the backpack.

Mine don't have the speed lock so I have no idea how that works.

[RMboy]

I dont understand why people complain about the saints having no modulation...

I can modulate mine just fine...Learn to brake :-)

[vikingboy]

I dont understand why people complain about the saints having no modulation...

I can modulate mine just fine...Learn to brake :-)

I think because relative to a brake that offers good modulation and control I.e the one, the saints lack some feel and are harder to feather.

Are the ROs available yet? Hadn't heard from my dealer they were yet?

[Steve M]

Speed lock kinda strikes me as a solution for a problem I've never run into, but kinda cool I guess.


The brakes look good. Big fan of my The Ones.

I've never directly thought "man I wish I had some way to disconnect and reconnect my brake lines without bleeding them" either but it would come in handy from time to time for sure. Brilliant idea IMO, the hydraulic lines on our equipment at work use quick connectors and they're way better than having to actually re-fasten the attachments/connections each time you want to change something around.

As for oval pistons - seems to offer a few advantages as Udi said, more piston area without interference with the adaptor and without having to add the cost/complexity/weight of additional pistons. The downside is that anything oval shaped is a bitch to manufacture (hence expensive), is harder to seal, and is more prone to binding than anything round. If they've gotten round those potential issues, then awesome!

[vikingboy]

I wonder were all the added weight is?

Possibly in the FCS (pad adjustments), the ones I got for my the ones are quite heavy, given they are probably standard on these brakes they may contribute to advertised weight. Should be possible to remove them if the weight matters I would imagine.
The FCS' I got last year are made of steel so would be interested if they have made the new ones out of alloy or something lighter.

[p-spec]

Seriously? I own Ones and Saints and the Ones definitely modulate better.

only problem with saints is the change in lever feel constantly,thats why the pros the lever all the way in like me

[Frisco]

I'm thinking of running my cable through the steer tube on my AM bike so I can spin the bars a bit (at least attempt to). This quick release hose adaptor might be nice so I don't have to rebleed the break to get the fork off and on the bike.