Ashima PCB - First Look

While I was at the Interbike 2009 show, I dropped by the Ashima booth, and had a nice conversation with the main man of Ashima, Wayne Moore. Wayne had on display a set of their new PCB brakes, and some colored rotors. The lightweight AiRotors brake rotor now comes in red, black, blue, yellow, and white! I got a trick set of the red ones to test out, and I must say that the colors really add to their uniqueness.


Initially, Ashima had recommended running the AiRotors in a reverse direction in comparison to other rotors, so instead of the struts rolling against the direction of rotation they go with it. The reasons were that the AiRotors lightweight struts perform significantly better under tension, since under compression, they are subject to bending forces. After some more research and analysis, Wayne decided that the normal rotor direction performed better, so "reverse was worse".


Their new brakes are very radical and innovative. The PCB or PanCake Brake has no pistons, and instead operates using a diaphragm seal.


The design is very simple, lightweight, and has very thin calipers (25mm). The piston less design, gives an excellent response, simpler manufacturing, and has an equivalent area of a 20mm piston. The PCB just became a Design Award Winner at the Eurobike Show, so congratulations to Ashima for that achievement. A split pin with a center spring keeps the pads held against the diaphragm covers.


The red piping aids fluid transfer between the sides of the caliper, and should help with cooling. Wayne gave me a beta sample to test out and review, so it will be interesting to see how they perform? My short trip up and down the street after installation showed some promise, so I can't wait to thrash them on some steep local terrain.

Ashima PCB measured sample spec
Front:
weight -185.9 grams
hose length - 29 inches
Rear:
weight - 209.9 grams
hose length - 57.5 inches


I really liked the PCB color combination with the red piping and accents, since it really worked well with all the red highlighting and my red/black DT Swiss EXC 150 fork on my Ibis Mojo.



Wayne has another brake in the works, the 4 pot APVS (Ashima Power Valve System). It has four pistons comprised of two pairs of axially mounted pistons. When the brake lever is lightly pulled (initial braking ), two 14mm pistons are engaged, and as a more progressive and firmer force (higher loads) is applied two 22mm pistons engage. It means it has the equivalent of 26mm pistons. This design results in better modulation with less pulling force. The red piping (same as the PCB) aids fluid transfer and cooling. The design sounds very trick, and I can't wait to see how it performs on the trails.