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F O R M U L A TANDEM DISC BRAKE MANUAL
F O R M U L A
TANDEM DISC BRAKE MANUAL
Do I Really Need to Read This?
Take the Pop Quiz on Page 3 to find out!
THIRD EDITION
November, 2004
Santana Customer Service: (909) 596-7570
X
THE OLDER ADJUSTABLE CALIPER
shown above is covered within this manual
A manual for the current self-adjusting caliper
can be downloaded from santanatandem.com Special thanks to the many Santana owners who reviewed our
manuscript and helped us to make this manual more useful.
All materials Copyright 2004 Santana Cycles, Inc.
Reproduction in entirety is encouraged.
2
MASTER CYLINDERS
COVERED IN THIS MANUAL
CABLE OPERATED REMOTE MASTER CYLINDERS
WITH STANDARD VENT SCREW
WITH TEST / RESET BUTTON
MASTER CYLINDER
NOT
COVERED IN THIS MANUAL
CABLE OPERATED REMOTE MASTER CYLINDERS Do I Really Need to Read This?
The Formula disc brake requires a different kind of thinking from other hydraulic and
mechanical brakes, and it requires following instructions in order without skipping steps.
For those who prefer not following written instructions, heres a tongue-in-cheek quiz
designed to snare even the most experienced bicycle mechanics.
And after you have failed the Pop Quiz on the next two pages, we invite you to sit back,
relax, and spend some time getting to know the Formula brake.
POP QUIZ
Taking this 3-minute quiz will convince most people
that they really do need to read this manual!
1. 95% of all problems with the Formula cable-hydraulic disc brake are caused by:
A. Fluid leaking out of the system.
B. Air leaking into the system.
C. Worn pads.
D. Cable tension.
2. What fluid must be used in this system?
A. Certified bicycle disc brake fluid.
B. DOT 5.0 disc brake fluid.
C. Mineral oil.
D. Any DOT, brake fluid that isnt blue.
3. What type of store is least likely to stock suitable disc brake fluid?
A. Wal Mart.
B. A corner gas station.
C. A country store.
D. A good bike shop.
4. To check the cable adjustment of this brake, youll need:
A. Good eye-hand coordination.
B. allen wrenches and a screwdriver.
C. Small pliers and a third hand.
D. A large coin and a pen.
5. The first step in pad adjustment is to:
A. Tighten the cable.
B. Remove the rear wheel.
C. Disconnect the hydraulic line.
D. Loosen the cable.
3 6. Pad adjustment requires:
A. Feeler gauges and allen wrenches.
B. A flashlight and allen wrenches.
C. Removal of the timing chain.
D. A 2mm allen wrench.
7. The best way to avoid making a mistake when adjusting the pads is to:
A. Use a ball-end allen wrench.
B. Spin the wheel to check alignment.
C. Pray.
D. Keep one hand in your pocket.
8. Do what of the following to seat the pads:
A. Tighten them.
B. Loosen them.
C. Score them with a file.
D. Ride your bike.
9. After a long descent, the brake rubs. What should you do?
A. Loosen the pads.
B. Bleed off excess fluid.
C. Squirt water on the disc.
D.Loosen the cable.
10. Your bike has been sitting in a hot, parking lot, and the brake has locked up. You should:
A. Loosen the pads.
B. Bleed off excess fluid.
C. Apply sunscreen.
D. Loosen the cable.
11. New pads:
A. Improve stopping power.
B. Improve lever feel.
C. Will squeal.
D. Require 200 400 miles of break-in.
12. The person best qualified to service this brake:
A. Has worked on motorcycles.
B. Has been factory-certified to fix mountain bike disc brakes.
C. Has tattoos and body piercings.
D. Is holding this manual.
4 INTRODUCTION
Our Drive. Congratulations! You own the best disc brake system available for tandems.
S a n t a n a s mission has always been to provide our customers with the finest bicycle technolo-
g y. Whats the best way to control the speed of a tandem? For decades the answer has been
two, rim brakes for stopping power, plus a mechanical, drum brake for heat dissipation. On
p a p e r, however, a hydraulic disc brake has always off e red a number of advantages: While
a tandem equipped with any type of hub brake can avoid the rim, tire, or tube failures caused
by braking heat, a drum or mechanical disc isnt powerful enough to safely replace a rim
brake. Only a hydraulic disc offers enough power to replace a re a r, rim brake, simultaneously
dispensing with the complication of a third brake lever. The Formula disc brake shaves pounds
f rom a tandem equipped with a drum brake, and is only ounces heavier than a tandem
equipped with rim brakes alone. Finally, the advantage of hydraulic actuation is especially evi-
dent on the rear of a tandem, where cable stretch will always be an issue.
So now that disc brake systems have become widely available to mountain bikes, why are
most tandems still equipped with a rear rim and/or drum brake? Answer: even the best
mountain bike brake systems have limitations. Theyre typically designed for bike/rider
combinations of up to 225 pounds. On a tandem with doubled rider weight and signifi-
cantly higher, downhill speeds, these brakes dont have adequate stopping power. When
this is ignored, and a single bike disc is installed on a tandem, the first extreme downhill
will fry the system, permanently warping the rotor while incinerating brake pads, melting
hydraulic lines, or vaporizing brake fluid. As if all of this werent enough to dissuade you,
every hydraulic, disc brake designed for a single requires a proprietary brake lever, and
these levers are invariably designed to fit the flat handlebar of a mountain bike.
In our dissatisfied state, we dreamt up an all-encompassing solution a hydraulic disc
brake made to tandem specifications. This brake would be powerful enough to replace a
tandems, rear, rim AND drum brake, and could be combined with integrated brake/shift
levers favored by the vast majority of todays cyclists.
After discussions with every manufacturer of bicycle disc brakes, Santana reached an
agreement with Formula, an Italian brake manufacturer with decades of experience man-
ufacturing disc brake systems for racing motorcycles. Although Formula is not well known
among American cyclists, their brakes have won more UCI World Cup downhill mountain
bike races than all other brands combined. Our collaboration yielded a tandem specific
disc brake with increased stopping power and additional heat capacity. The most obvious
feature, however, is the remote master cylinder. This unique component allows Santana to
provide tandems that combine unparalleled performance and control, with the expected
convenience of modern, integrated controls.
Why Only One Disc Brake? Some folks have wondered about having a disc brake on the
front as well as the rear. A traditional, bicycle, rim brake is, in fact, a disc brake, one that
is incomparably light and elegantly simple in operation. A tandem needs just ONE non-
rim brake to dissipate heat that would otherwise cause rim or tire failure. As a heatsink,
a disc brake will function equally well at either end of the bike.
5 But Shouldnt this Brake be in Front? There are many reasons this brake has been mount-
ed at the rear of your tandem as opposed to the front. Primary is the fact that on the front
of a tandem, where the rearward center of gravity prevents an over-application of the front
brake (and the consequential trip over the handlebars), braking power will always be
more important than modulation. As a front brake, an unarticulated V-brake (one without
a parallel-push mechanism) still reigns supreme. On a rear wheel, where a skid creates
longer stopping distances and loss of control, the superior modulation of a disc allows
aggressive application at the very edge of lock-up. In summary, if you replace a tandems
front V-brake with a disc, decreased power will lead to longer emergency stopping dis-
tances. But when you replace a tandems rear V-brake with a disc, increased modulation
allows shorter emergency stopping distances. As if the above werent reason enough,
cable stretch makes any tandems rear brake far less efficient than its front brake. Since
hydraulic actuation, unlike cable actuation, is unaffected by length, on a tandem, the best
combination is a cable front brake and hydraulic rear brake For these reasons it makes
better sense to mount a tandems disc brake at the rear wheel. Additionally, due to
Santanas 160mm rear spacing, we have plenty of room for our brakes larger disc and
more powerful calipers. The spacing constraints of a road tandems standard, front fork
means that using a front disc requires either a special, wider, nonstandard hub and fork
or a severely dished, front wheel that is prone to collapse during a tandems low-speed
turns. While were comfortable redesigning any component we believe deficient for tan-
dem use, fact is, we believe our front wheels and forks are the best designed products.
Surviving the Mother of All Descents. As long as the descent is straight enough, few teams
will overheat a rim, drum or disc brake. The explanation is simple: As long as you and
your partner dont mind riding fast, wind resistance will hold your speed in check, even
on a long or steep hill.
Overheating typically occurs on a steep descent where the road is so curvy, rough, or
crowded that a speed of less than 45 mph is required. Some roads are so twisted or rough
as to require a speed of less than 15 mph. In these cases a tandem can burn out a