The maching and finish on the
North Shore Billet adapters is beautiful. I bought two 160mm blue adapters (front and rear) and the color is very close to
Salsa blue, as compared to my skewers and seatpost collar. The threads are perfectly machined, so all the bolts threaded easily and securely. I have no way to verify the stiffness, but the machined faces will be a more solid connection to the frame and brake than the adapters that came with the brakes. The only problem I had was with the front adapter, as it is a bit wider than the one that came with my brakes, so I had to file about one millimeter from both of the holes on my brake to get a proper clearance from the rotor. The fork is a 26"
Fox 32 F100, the wheels are
Easton XC One SS, and the brakes are an inexpensive
Tektro cable model. One other thing to note is these adapters are shorter than my stock ones. On the front brake, I had to cut a tab off of the brake pad to clear the bottom of the adapter. Not a big deal, but worth noting.
As for the
NSB cable guide, it is a great little piece, but it isn't perfect. The machining and color are just as wonderful as the brake adapters, but the bolt that secures the guide to the fork uses a tiny hex with a soft head. I was barely able to get the guide secure because the head started to strip. With a better bolt this would easily be a stellar product. It is a stout little piece of aluminum, and probably weighs about the same as the two zip ties that I was using to secure the brake cable. If I can find one, I will replace the supplied M3x8 bolt with a titanium one. Bolt issues aside, I would still highly recommend this cable guide.
