Listmembers,
Leaving aside the question of the suitiblity of Ti alloy for calipers, I recieved the following from an apparently well informed prospective listmember from England as regards the CLB "stirrups" in question:
"Hi, there. I've been reading the items about the CLB brake stirrups that you introduced on the CR List. Not beinga member yet of the List - but I do keep trying to understand Dale's secret way of getting on - I cannot post this reply directly onto that List If you want to post it without mentioning my namr, that would be OK by me.
Most of the replise so far have contributed something towards a reasonably correct interpretation, but none has so far got a 100% correct answer, not even Hilary Stone.
I knew the CLB company quite well and bought supplies from them in the 80s, until the company closed later in that decade. The brakes in question are the "Compact" models, with stirrup length of 38 - 47mm. They weigh 100gms (3.53oz) each. They are second in the CLB range to the "Space Line" model which weighed in at only 90 gms each. The main difference was that the SpaceLine had a hollw axle made from Zicral alloy coated with PTFE, and a special plastic cover over the front made from black polyurethane.
The stirrups are not made out of titanium; nor did the company ever use magnesium. Titanium could have work-hardened and become brittle under continued braking stresses. The meatl employed is aluminium alloy, type AS 13GL, heat-treated. The finish on this pair is "colourless anodization on Poli Luxe finish" (quoted from the 1986 catalogue). Other finishes included white, black, or "Gold Metallized". The finish on the SpaceLIne model was "Slate hard anodising in Charcoal grey"."
Happy Holidays to All,
Kurt Sperry, in chilly but uncharacteristically dry Bellingham WA
-- http://fineartscrimshaw.com
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