Bike project costs out of control

thomas_cho

Hi all,
I decided to get some bar end shifters and brake levers for my Cervelo One frame. So I pulled the Ultegra brifters off it, and decided to mount them on the Apollo Swift bike.

Now, that I have pulled off all the parts, I realised that brifters with mini-v brakes are hardly desirable. While they work, it would hard to dismount the wheels in case of a puncture, or simply putting the bike in the boot of a car. I am considering mounting cantilever brakes now, but realised that the rear rack might get in theway of the cabling.

So whats the most cost effective way of solving the issue? Swap back all bike parts to where they came from?

Anyone know where to get v-brake travel agents cheaper than $40 each?

Any cheaper solution to get road brifters to work better with mini-v brakes?

I have just been adding up the cost of parts involved and they are working their way to the $300 mark. I think I should stop acting on impulse at 10pm at night.

11ring

Use 19mm tyres then you don't need to release the brakes. Just pull them through.

thomas_cho

Thats an interesting idea. Thanks

alfeng

Okay, just to show how uninformed I can be, what is the difference between what you are referring to as mini v-brakes and the V-brakes found on most pre-disc brake mountain bikes?

If they are one-and-the-same, then there IS a built in quick release, of sorts ... you simply squeeae the calipers together, and let the cable & noodle exit the slot in the toggle end of the "left" arm ... at least, that ad hoc quick release is how I've always opened the v-brake calipers.

The other way is to simply squeeze the calipers, and pull the cable & housing out of the one of the frame stops ...

Of course, reverse the process to re-set the cable.

BTW. I found that you do NOT need a travel agent with a rear V-brake (standard?) when using road levers (a set of 6500 STI levers) -- I was tentative on that FIRST ride. You do need ONE travel agent to modulate the braking for the front unless you are like someone I know whose brake pads are a hair's width off the rims on his ROAD bike and who likes to modulate them by manually pulsing them! I opted to put a ROAD fork on the particular frame I had whose rear brakes were a set of V-brakes -- there is probably ANOTHER work-around ... I just haven't given it more thought due to lack of need.

BTW. Since a travel agent only costs ~$18+US through mail-order, I would think that in the Land of Oz they should be ONLY ~$25+AU. Anyway, a USED travel agent works as well as a new one, so try to scrounge one up on eBay or from a shop for HALF of what your LBS is apparently charging.

FWIW. A travel agent is SO UNSOPHISTICATED that it must be possible to cobble one up with just some "spare" parts from the hardware store ... I'll give the notion of a home-made travel agent some thought!

Now, as far as the expense of your project bike, I can't help you bring it under control ... because MY project bikes always seem to end up costing MORE than the amount you have added to your existing platform, so far!

thomas_cho

Hi Al,
I am surprised that you can get away on the rear. I do know abt the quick release, but the road brifters are not pulling enuf cable, hence I need to set the brakes really close to the rim, making the quick release method unusable.
My fronts are responsive, but the rears are spongy and weak. So I might need a travel agent on the rear. But I am desperate not to have to pay $40 for something like that.

Pulling the cable out of frame stops ... good idea ... will give that a go.

alfeng

Yes, the ROAD brake levers don't pull enough cable, but that means that you (generally) can't set the pads in what I perceive to be the proper distance from the rim. That is, the pads have to be about half the distance from the rim's braking surface with ROAD brake levers OR older MTB levers than with V-brake levers ...

BUT, it is because modulation on the rear is less meaningful than on the front brake that I found that I could set the pads close enough that the cable slack/stretch/tensioning/whatever (so to speak) was enough of a modulator, so no travel agent was used with "regular" V-brakes (low-end "black" Deore).

What you are referring to as responsive on the front is what I think I would refer to as lack of modulation ... so, it is the FRONT V-brake which benefits from having the travel agent so that the pads can be set at a normal distance -- people clearly disagree as to how far the pads should be off the rims when at rest ... I guess that I normally favor having the pads 2mm-to-3mm off the rim (closer to 2mm) ...

The way I set up MY brakes & levers, full stop occurs when the levers are about half-way to the handlebars -- so I set the pads to approximately wherever & dial-in with the barrel adjusters, accordingly.

ONE local bike shop, here, sets up the brakes so they are closer to 1mm off the rim ... so, the brake lever is moved only 1/2 the distance ... I guess I would rather grab air in that first half of MY lever pull ... and, not to make any comparison between myself and TdF riders, but I have seen more than one pic of riders where they clearly have their levers already partially pulled, but they are clearly rolling ... so, it is not an uncommon choice/preference which I stumbled into years ago .

artemidorus

I have used a cantilever brake lever (high mechanical advantage/ low cable pull, similar to a drop bar lever) with a v-brake on the front of my commuter bike for some years. The brake does need to be run with the pads just off the rim, and regularly adjusted at the barrel for pad wear. The rim needs to be kept perfectly true, but that's not so hard for a front rim. When the pads have been wearing and I've been taking up the slack with the adjuster, I can provide enough slack to undo the brake (for wheel removal) simply by screwing the adjuster back in. Conversely, when I have recently tightened the cable at its anchor, I need to undo the anchor to remove the wheel. This is NOT a big deal at all - I always carry a range of allen drivers for general repairs whenever I cycle.
The braking power when the brake is "dialled in" is sensational, better than the hydraulic rim brakes on my suspended bike. If I've been lazy and haven't adjusted for pad wear lately, I find I can "bottom out" the lever in the wet, clearly an undesirable and dangerous occurrence. I have not had problems with "modulation", as is so often reported with a combination of high mechanical advantage caliper and high mechanical advantage lever. To be honest, 'though, I'm not sure that "modulation" is a useful term for describing brakes: one person's "weak and spongy" is another's "good modulation". Do I usually manage to stop as planned without lock-up or skids? -yes.
With a road lever, you won't have a barrel adjuster, so you'll always be using the allen key to take off the wheel or adjust pad trim UNLESS you get a barrel adjuster to go on the brake - such things are certainly available for v-brakes.
I'm planning to go to just such a combination for the front brake on my commuter when I fit drop bars to it some time soon; the cantilever on the rear will be fine for a road lever.
My experience with a Travel Agent was not favourable: there was so much friction in the system that the brake cable would not run back out when the lever was released, leaving the pads on the rim. I should mention that this was a cheapo copy; the real thing may be better.
Sorry for the long post, but I'm at home sick and bored today.

__________________
"All that we see and seem is but a dream, within a dream..."

thomas_cho

Hi all,
Thanks for all the feedback and useful posts.

The road brake/shifter does work with my mini-v brakes. Pads have to be set pretty close to the rim tho. But I trued up my wheels, and they worked pretty well much to my surprise. I managed to get around the quick-release issue by filing down the noodle, not sure if compromised safety, but I cant see the brake noodle coming out even if I shortened the part.

However, I have had to abandon the project, and return the bike to its before state. Thing is I have a triple crankset, and limited the FD to shift between 2 rings. However, turns out that I could not get the FD to do its job at certain combos. Not sure if its due to the narrower 10 spd chain I was using.

All in all, abt 8 hrs labor, and 2 brake cables wasted. I think I need to sell off this Apollo bike, and get a new frame to start the fun all over again.