Earlier this year, we did a feature on lots of new products currently under development at AF Rayspeed. One of the most eagerly awaited is their ‘S’ Type disc brake.
If you missed that in-depth feature and videos, you can catch it here.
Progress report
We called in to AF last week to check on progress, and Ben showed us some of the parts that are available now. Hold fire, don’t start phoning up and pestering them just yet!
Callipers
Although the complete disc brake isn’t available just yet, parts are starting to arrive for it. They already have stock of the brake calliper in both anodised red, or black finishes. These callipers have been developed by Ben with lots of attention to detail, including putting the bleed nipple in the best place and the choice of friction material for the pads.
Disc and carriers
The disc carriers are also available, along with the discs. Ben was like a kid at Christmas as he showed me the precision fitting for the ball bearings that take out the excess play on the disc.
Levers and switchgear
Although the master cylinders aren’t yet available, the switchgear and levers have just arrived. The machining on the switchgear is superb. Ben was at pains to point out the radius he’d specified on the inside of the switches that will allow cables to thread and run more freely. He said he wasn’t really expecting the production versions to include that detail because “It’s a hell of a lot of trouble to machine”, but he was very happy when the parts arrived and were machined perfectly. It’s this kind of attention to detail that sets a good product apart.
Prices and availability
These parts had literally just arrived and aren’t even on the AF Rayspeed website yet, so we have no pricing. Ben expects the other components to arrive later this year but we’ll let you know when they have the full disc brake kit ready to buy.
