cantilever brake+new front shock= a lot of hassle

vertextr said:

I have a 1994 DBR Vertex and my old Manitou 4 is finally finished. I started shopping for a new fork and found out that every one that I looked at was only compatible with V-brakes or disks. I would upgrade my brakes, but then I would have to ditch my XT shifters/levers. My cantilevers have worked well enough for me for 10 years and I would rather not go through all of the trouble to switch. Does anyone know of any gadget or adapter that may help me. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

World Class "V-Daptor." In this case, it has been installed on a conventional Shimano LX cantilever, thus converting a traditional center-pull cantilever into a direct-pull unit. Not usually enough clearance to let this modification work with fat mountain-bike tires--for them, you need a purpose-built direct-pull brake. Take a look and see if it might work:

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/cantilever-geometry.html#vbrake

Otherwise you will need to improvise a hanger and deal with the geometry involved.
My suggestion is to go through all the trouble to switch as V brakes are very good and their prices are quite resonable. The biggest expense will be if you have combined shift/brake levers.

vertextr said:

I have a 1994 DBR Vertex and my old Manitou 4 is finally finished. I started shopping for a new fork and found out that every one that I looked at was only compatible with V-brakes or disks. I would upgrade my brakes, but then I would have to ditch my XT shifters/levers. My cantilevers have worked well enough for me for 10 years and I would rather not go through all of the trouble to switch. Does anyone know of any gadget or adapter that may help me. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Or you could try a travel agent, a topic that has popped up several times recently. You need the v-brake of your choice + a $20 gadget and you're all set.

Thanks for the feedback guys. I would just switch to v-brakes if I didn't have xt shifter/levers that can't be separated. I spoke to Marzocchi today and they told me that any of their 30mm forks (marathon and mx) include an adapter that should allow me to use canti's. I am probably going to give it a try unless anybody knows a reason not to.

vertextr said:

Thanks for the feedback guys. I would just switch to v-brakes if I didn't have xt shifter/levers that can't be separated. I spoke to Marzocchi today and they told me that any of their 30mm forks (marathon and mx) include an adapter that should allow me to use canti's. I am probably going to give it a try unless anybody knows a reason not to.

I looked at some Marzocchi forks today. They appear to have a "cradle" for a cable adjuster (or cable housing end if you have adjusters built in by your existing shift/brake levers).
Do you have low profile cantilevers (cantilever angle of less than 90 degrees)?Narrow profile cantilevers are also capable of excellent performance, but only if properly set up. A carelessly set-up low-profile cantilever may have very low braking power, even though it feels great on the workstand.
You need to know the yoke angle specification for your brakes and which link wire makes them meet the specification. Shimano has link wires from 63 to 106 mm. There is only one right one for your brakes.
You should find out, or measure your existing setup (assuming it provides correct operation and braking power) the height above the cantilever pivots to the housing end to make sure you have clearance for the proper link wire and travel. From the forks I looked at this should not be any problem.