Anyone else still putting miles on their RipCurrent S?

[olbriar]

I lost a seal in my front caliper today. I've gone through a number of pads but have no idea what brand of brakes are on the bike. They have no name and I have no idea what seal I need or if it can be had. I've often considered upgrading the brakes and now seems a great time. I ordered a three pin shut off four piston caliper upgrade kit. I went with CooMeng Zoom HB876E 3pin 4 piston with 180mm rotors. I hope I can make them work.

The correct pin set for my 2023 RCS is two pins and not three.

 

[Chazmo]

Great! Good luck, olbriar. Brake upgrades are almost always a good idea if you don’t mine the expense!

The information about the 2022 model’s original brakes is available in one of manuals which I can dig up if you like, but the pads were common and compatible with a standard Shimano pad, I think. I posted about my pad change here:

What brake pads do I buy???

I thought this would be easy. I have a Radrunner 2 ebike. Easy question: What brake pads do I need? Semi metallic, organic? What brand? Are Tektro 10.11 all the same? I saw Tektro 10.11 organic but the add said it was for hydraulic brakes but I have cable brakes. Will these work? Lots of...

forums.electricbikereview.com

 

[olbriar]

I've replaced the pads a number of times and rotors but this time one of the pistons blew a seal. Being as I was itching to upgrade and the brakes are low end and have 25K on them and due new pads and front rotor... it's a great time to replace them. I appreciate the info. I ride a pretty limited access loop over and over which limits the need for braking or the brakes would have given up before now. They owe me nothing. Great brakes considering the maker didn't bother to put their name on them.

 

[olbriar]

I want to confess to making a mistake on ordering the brakes for my RCS. I didn't bother to undo the bundling coils to trace the brake cutoff to a connection to check the pin set. Instead, I simply pulled the wire and thought I had the right one, and it wasn't. Whatever brand of brakes are on my RCS are TWO pin cutoff and not three pin. I'm returning the wrong set tomorrow and the correct set is to be delivered Thursday. I hate making the mistake and dislike leaving bad information on the forums.

 

[jrhoffman75]

Please let us know how it goes. In particular how the brake cutoff connection worked out. I have read that the Juiced pinout is normally open and closed when you brake, sending a signal to the controller. Most brakes seem to be normally closed and open (cutting off power) when you brake.

 

[olbriar]

Please let us know how it goes. In particular how the brake cutoff connection worked out. I have read that the Juiced pinout is normally open and closed when you brake, sending a signal to the controller. Most brakes seem to be normally closed and open (cutting off power) when you brake.

So far I have not tested to zoom cutoffs. The original brakes have a two pin female connector going to the male connector from the controller. The zoom brakes have a two pin male connector leaving the brake. I would shop longer to find a brake with a two pin female leaving the brake if I were buying again. As is, I had installed too much to return the brakes so I'm riding with the cutoffs disconnected. I have ordered two patch cords that are female to female so I can connect them to the controller. Once tested I'll report back. They are being shipped from China.... I don't mind riding without functional cutoffs. I pedal when I'm riding but I don't pedal when I brake. If the brakes are functional I'll be happy but if not... oh well.

The zoom brakes were easy enough to install. They came with a number of mounting brackets but I mounted the calipers on the old hardware. The brake lines were long enough. Though they are pre bled I managed to get a little air in both lines. I have a bleeder cup and purged a bit of air out of them. I am not particularly fond of the travel of the levers. The calipers have a greater space for the rotor so almost half of the pull is taking up that distance. I could likely pull the wheels off and apply the brakes without the rotor. I've read that will take up the slack. I'll not be trying that trick. The brakes do a great job stopping and aren't noisy... that's the bottom line.