This morning was very, dry, cold with only -8°C. We took the opportunity to take sharp pictures of the Kurve brakes we are currently testing.
England brand Kurve makes calipers since early 2008. Originnaly these brakes were offered in 8 different colors, and several options. For 2009, Kurve focuses on the two most wanted colors:
the black which matches any bike, and the red which proves to be a raceproof color, both with titanium screws by default.
These brakes, which are machinned out from an alloy of aluminium 6061T, rely on an original lever system working through a small bearing. Indeed, despite being single pivot, they behave almost as the dual pivot brakes because this small lever system have its pivot point placed as far as the arm it pushes through the bearing and the second arm it pulls. Have a look at the following picture to see exactly what we mean:
Beside the bolts, the arms’ spring are from titanium, for obvious weight save and resistance. The other hardware are made out of aluminium 7075T6: frame and fork fixings, barrel adjusters.
The weight of the set of brakes, brake pads included, is 206g.
We are currently testing them and we hope to be able to write down another review about their functionning and installation.
Finally, in term of price, Kurve is extremely affordable thanks to the direct sales on their website. They only cost 174,9£ which is a little more than 180 euros considering the pound/euro current exchange rate!