700C wheels and 27" cantilever brakes - any match possible?

Brian Huntley

Someone on Crazyguyonabike.com raised the question as to what, if any,
brakes work well when a bike designed for 27" (630mm) wheels has 700C
(622mm) brakes on it.

My own cantilevers (on a 700C bike) look like they'd adjust up far
enough to work, but don't seem like they'd have enough adjustability
to go the other way.

Are there cantilevers available that have longer slots than most?

Tom Kunich

"Brian Huntley" <brian.huntley@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:00e52868-916b-428a-a11b-8aaa4281fd7c@z66g2000hsc.googlegroups.com...
>
> Someone on Crazyguyonabike.com raised the question as to what, if any,
> brakes work well when a bike designed for 27" (630mm) wheels has 700C
> (622mm) brakes on it.
>
> My own cantilevers (on a 700C bike) look like they'd adjust up far
> enough to work, but don't seem like they'd have enough adjustability
> to go the other way.
>
> Are there cantilevers available that have longer slots than most?

The placement of the axles for the brakes are set in the factory. They are
usually different for 700C or 27" wheels and you need to try the brakes on
each in order to see if they fit.

Anthony DeLorenzo

On Jun 11, 1:58 pm, Brian Huntley <brian.hunt...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Someone on Crazyguyonabike.com raised the question as to what, if any,
> brakes work well when a bike designed for 27" (630mm) wheels has 700C
> (622mm) brakes on it.
>
> My own cantilevers (on a 700C bike) look like they'd adjust up far
> enough to work, but don't seem like they'd have enough adjustability
> to go the other way.
>
> Are there cantilevers available that have longer slots than most?

I'm not quite sure here, are the wheels 700C or 27"?

I'm running 700C wheels on an old 27" bike. The stock calipers didn't
work. After trying a few different brakes I ended up using a cheap-o
BMX sidepull. It cost like $7 at LBS and is made of stamped metal, but
it works just fine. It's a front brake on a fixie commuter.

Brian Huntley

On Jun 11, 5:20 pm, Anthony DeLorenzo <anthony.delore...@gmail.com>
wrote:
> On Jun 11, 1:58 pm, Brian Huntley <brian.hunt...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Someone on Crazyguyonabike.com raised the question as to what, if any,
> > brakes work well when a bike designed for 27" (630mm) wheels has 700C
> > (622mm) brakes on it.
>
> > My own cantilevers (on a 700C bike) look like they'd adjust up far
> > enough to work, but don't seem like they'd have enough adjustability
> > to go the other way.
>
> > Are there cantilevers available that have longer slots than most?
>
> I'm not quite sure here, are the wheels 700C or 27"?
>
> I'm running 700C wheels on an old 27" bike. The stock calipers didn't
> work. After trying a few different brakes I ended up using a cheap-o
> BMX sidepull. It cost like $7 at LBS and is made of stamped metal, but
> it works just fine. It's a front brake on a fixie commuter.


Yes, that the setup he's looking for, a 700C wheel on a 27" bike. But
to complicate matters, he's got 50mm fenders and 37mm tires and want
to avoid calipers. Plus a touring bike needs a good front brake due to
weight and the chance of being on a hilly route.

Thanks for the input all the same.

Tom Kunich

"Brian Huntley" <brian.huntley@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:a331d2b6-2150-49f9-8fc7-4aaf4e4bd2f9@26g2000hsk.googlegroups.com...
>
> Yes, that the setup he's looking for, a 700C wheel on a 27" bike. But
> to complicate matters, he's got 50mm fenders and 37mm tires and want
> to avoid calipers. Plus a touring bike needs a good front brake due to
> weight and the chance of being on a hilly route.

I just went down and looked at a Raleigh Kodiak that I'm putting together to
sell and tried on a 700c wheel. It would easily adjust down to the wheel and
had a brake similar to this one:

http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?...%20ATB%20Brakes


That's what I mean when I say that you have to test each case individually -
there's never been a REAL(tm) standard for cantilever boss placement and
every company plays it by ear and often every MODEL is a little different.

So you just have to test.

jim beam

Brian Huntley wrote:
> On Jun 11, 5:20 pm, Anthony DeLorenzo <anthony.delore...@gmail.com>
> wrote:
>> On Jun 11, 1:58 pm, Brian Huntley <brian.hunt...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Someone on Crazyguyonabike.com raised the question as to what, if any,
>>> brakes work well when a bike designed for 27" (630mm) wheels has 700C
>>> (622mm) brakes on it.
>>> My own cantilevers (on a 700C bike) look like they'd adjust up far
>>> enough to work, but don't seem like they'd have enough adjustability
>>> to go the other way.
>>> Are there cantilevers available that have longer slots than most?
>> I'm not quite sure here, are the wheels 700C or 27"?
>>
>> I'm running 700C wheels on an old 27" bike. The stock calipers didn't
>> work. After trying a few different brakes I ended up using a cheap-o
>> BMX sidepull. It cost like $7 at LBS and is made of stamped metal, but
>> it works just fine. It's a front brake on a fixie commuter.
>
>
> Yes, that the setup he's looking for, a 700C wheel on a 27" bike. But
> to complicate matters, he's got 50mm fenders and 37mm tires and want
> to avoid calipers. Plus a touring bike needs a good front brake due to
> weight and the chance of being on a hilly route.
>
> Thanks for the input all the same.

1. there's nothing wrong with calipers.

2. in the circumstances, he's going to have to use what works. either
that or acquire a different frame to fit his brakes.

A Muzi

Brian Huntley wrote:
> Someone on Crazyguyonabike.com raised the question as to what, if any,
> brakes work well when a bike designed for 27" (630mm) wheels has 700C
> (622mm) brakes on it.
>
> My own cantilevers (on a 700C bike) look like they'd adjust up far
> enough to work, but don't seem like they'd have enough adjustability
> to go the other way.
>
> Are there cantilevers available that have longer slots than most?

Brake bosses are brazed within a range of both height and width so,
depending on the actual bike and rim width, "maybe". This is not a
simple question.
--
Andrew Muzi
<www.yellowjersey.org/>
Open every day since 1 April, 1971
** Posted from http://www.teranews.com **

philcycles

On Jun 11, 6:06 pm, A Muzi <a...@yellowjersey.org> wrote:
> Brake bosses are brazed within a range of both height and width so,
> depending on the actual bike and rim width, "maybe". This is not a
> simple question.
> --
> Andrew Muzi
> <www.yellowjersey.org/>
> Open every day since 1 April, 1971
> ** Posted fromhttp://www.teranews.com**

Not simple at all. Not only does it depend on the pivot placement but
some brakes have more adjustment than others. Some Shimano brakes have
almost a full cm while others-like Mafac-have none. You need 4mm down
to make this work.
Phil Brown

still just me

On Wed, 11 Jun 2008 14:20:06 -0700 (PDT), Anthony DeLorenzo
<anthony.delorenzo@gmail.com> wrote:

>It's a front brake on a fixie commuter.


Hey - you used "fixie" and "commuter" in the same sentence!

Brian Huntley

On Jun 12, 10:40*am, philcycles <philcyc...@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Jun 11, 6:06 pm, A Muzi <a...@yellowjersey.org> wrote:
>
> > Brake bosses are brazed within a range of both height and width so,
> > depending on the actual bike and rim width, "maybe". This is not a
> > simple question.
> > --
> > Andrew Muzi
> > * <www.yellowjersey.org/>
> > * Open every day since 1 April, 1971
> > ** Posted fromhttp://www.teranews.com**
>
> Not simple at all. Not only does it depend on the pivot placement but
> some brakes have more adjustment than others. Some Shimano brakes have
> almost a full cm while others-like Mafac-have none. You need 4mm down
> to make this work.
> Phil Brown

Can you name any of those Shimano models, Phil? That's more or less
what I started out looking for.