Replacing just one canti-brake with v-brake, no lever change?

I found some very inexpensive v-brakes on sale, which fits
in with my (now) very inexpensive non-suspension Gary Fisher
mtn bikes from the '90s.

Would replacing just the front canti-brake with a v-brake,
while leaving the rear canti and the levers canti, be
reasonable?

Searching the bike forums there seems to be a lot of
disagreements about whether v-brakes are better than cantis
but I'm hoping there's some concensus now.

Thanks jt

Probably won't work with your current brake lever, unless the lever has adjustable mechanical advantage adjustment.
You need to pull quite a bit more cable.... have lower mechanical advantage for a V-brake.

See Sheldon Brown's article on Cantilever Geometry:

<http://sheldonbrown.com/cantilever-geometry.html>

__________________
David Ornee, Western Springs, IL USA

Tai <taimorris@earthlink.net> wrote:
>Would replacing just the front canti-brake with a v-brake,
>while leaving the rear canti and the levers canti, be
>reasonable?

Well, a V-brake won't work well with the old levers, which
pull the wrong amount of cable, and is there something wrong
with your existing front brake?
--
David Damerell <damerell@chiark.greenend.org.uk> Kill
the tomato!

"daveornee" <usenet-forum@cyclingforums.com> wrote in message
news:CqYCc.101048$SI.20870@fe16.usenetserver.com...
> Tai wrote:
> > I found some very inexpensive v-brakes on sale, which
> > fits in with my (now) very inexpensive non-suspension
> > Gary Fisher mtn bikes from the '90s. Would replacing
> > just the front canti-brake with a v-brake, while
> > leaving the rear canti and the levers canti, be
> > reasonable? Searching the bike forums there seems to
> > be a lot of disagreements about whether v-brakes are
> > better than cantis but I'm hoping there's some
> > concensus now. Thanks jt
>
>
>
> Probably won't work with your current brake lever, unless
> the lever has adjustable mechanical advantage adjustment.
> You need to pull quite a bit more cable.... have lower
> mechanical advantage for a V-brake.
>
> See Sheldon Brown's article on Cantilever Geometry:
>
> <http://sheldonbrown.com/cantilever-geometry.html>
>
It'll work BUT ya gotta be VERY, very careful not to grab a
handfull of brake if you do.

The old levers with new Vs are very spongy-feeling. They're
also very touchy.

I had no choice for bit. I had some XT canti r-fires on V-
brakes till I found some 9sp shifters and V-brake
compatible levers.

V-brakes work best with V-brake levers.

M

taimorris@earthlink.net wrote:

> I found some very inexpensive v-brakes on sale, which fits
> in with my (now) very inexpensive non-suspension Gary
> Fisher mtn bikes from the '90s.
>
> Would replacing just the front canti-brake with a v-brake,
> while leaving the rear canti and the levers canti, be
> reasonable?
>
> Searching the bike forums there seems to be a lot of
> disagreements about whether v-brakes are better than
> cantis but I'm hoping there's some concensus now.

I have a bike with v-brakes and 2 with cantis. The main
differences that I notice:

- it was harder for me to get my fenders to fit with v-
brakes
- a bit less hand force required with the v-brakes

I can easily apply enough braking force to lift my rear
wheel with either brake. I find it slightly easier to
control this with the cantilevers; I'm not sure if this is
due to the difference in mechanical advantage, or some other
factor such as the non-linear nature of cantis. It's quite
possible it's just because I'm more used to the cantis.

As others have pointed out, you'll probably need new levers
for the v-brakes (although the levers on my v-brake bike has
settings for both).

I doubt you'll find much of a consensus here . . .

--
Benjamin Lewis

Seeing is deceiving. It's eating that's believing.
-- James Thurber

You can get a pulley adaptor which decreases the mechanical advantage AND puts a 90 degree bend in the cable line. I believe Colorado Cyclist has them. With this gizmo, using linear pull brakes with canti levers is possible.

Tai wrote:

> I found some very inexpensive v-brakes on sale, which fits
> in with my (now) very inexpensive non-suspension Gary
> Fisher mtn bikes from the '90s.
>
> Would replacing just the front canti-brake with a v-brake,
> while leaving the rear canti and the levers canti, be
> reasonable?
>
> Searching the bike forums there seems to be a lot of
> disagreements about whether v-brakes are better than
> cantis but I'm hoping there's some concensus now.

If your brake levers are the old 2-finger DX type which pull
20mm or so of cable, they are OK with V brakes. Personally
I'd go for it, having swapped all the Cannondale Force 40
gubbins for V's because my bike has no conventional cable
hangers. I wish I'd done it years ago - the feel and power
are both much better and V's are trivial to set up.

taimorris@earthlink.net (Tai) wrote:

>I found some very inexpensive v-brakes on sale, which fits
>in with my (now) very inexpensive non-suspension Gary
>Fisher mtn bikes from the '90s.
>
>Would replacing just the front canti-brake with a v-brake,
>while leaving the rear canti and the levers canti, be
>reasonable?
>
>Searching the bike forums there seems to be a lot of
>disagreements about whether v-brakes are better than cantis
>but I'm hoping there's some concensus now.

FWIW, I still run rear cantis and a front linear (aka "V")
brake. However, it works because I have SRAM levers with
very adjustable mechanical advantage - I set one on "V
brake" and the other on "Canti" and I have the best of both
worlds (lots of brake up front, and lots of modulation in
back). Lighter and cheaper too! ;-)

Mark Hickey Habanero Cycles http://www.habcycles.com Home of
the $695 ti frame

On Fri, 25 Jun 2004 17:45:11 GMT, Weisse Luft
<usenet-forum@cyclingforums.com> wrote:

>Tai wrote:
> > I found some very inexpensive v-brakes on sale, which
> > fits in with my (now) very inexpensive non-suspension
> > Gary Fisher mtn bikes from the '90s. Would replacing
> > just the front canti-brake with a v-brake, while
> > leaving the rear canti and the levers canti, be
> > reasonable? Searching the bike forums there seems to be
> > a lot of disagreements about whether v-brakes are
> > better than cantis but I'm hoping there's some
> > concensus now. Thanks jt
>
>
>
>You can get a pulley adaptor which decreases the mechanical
>advantage AND puts a 90 degree bend in the cable line. I
>believe Colorado Cyclist has them. With this gizmo, using
>linear pull brakes with canti levers is possible.

Dear Weisse,

Loose Screws sells the gizmo:

http://www.loosescrews.com/index.cgi...asing&sc=Trav-
el%20Pulley&id=102735530643

"Price: $14.95 Item #LS-0030RB: Allows use of any standard,
non linear pull brake lever with any linear pull ("V")
brake. Doubles cable travel."

The picture looks as if the gizmo makes the 90-degree bend
that you have in mind.

Carl Fogel

David Damerell <damerell@chiark.greenend.org.uk> wrote in message news:<Arr*2oXnq@news.chiark.greenend.org.uk>...

> Well, a V-brake won't work well with the old levers, which
> pull the wrong amount of cable, and is there something
> wrong with your existing front brake?

Nothing wrong with my existing brakes. Just thought they may
be inferior to v-brakes since v-brakes are now standard.

"Weisse Luft" wrote:

> You can get a pulley adaptor which decreases the
> mechanical advantage AND puts a 90 degree bend in the
> cable line. I believe Colorado Cyclist has them. With this
> gizmo, using linear pull brakes with canti levers is
> possible.

That's true, but in this case an inexpensive V-brake lever
would be a neater and cheaper solution.

James Thomson

Tai <taimorris@earthlink.net> wrote:
>David Damerell <damerell@chiark.greenend.org.uk> wrote:
>>Well, a V-brake won't work well with the old levers, which
>>pull the wrong amount of cable, and is there something
>>wrong with your existing front brake?
>Nothing wrong with my existing brakes. Just thought they
>may be inferior to v-brakes since v-brakes are now
>standard.

If your existing brake will lift the rear wheel, you cannot
have more braking than that. If not, it is incorrectly
designed or adjusted. Correcting that might be easier than
changing a lever and a brake.
--
David Damerell <damerell@chiark.greenend.org.uk> flcl?