brakes on drop bars



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Matt Ashbrook

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I just converted a hybrid bike to a touring/commuting bike. I guess the biggest change is flat bars
to drop bars. Everything seems to work OK, but the road brake levers paired with the cantilever
brakes leaves alot to be desired. I wouldn't mind mechanical disc brakes, but I'm under the
impression they require special hubs and I ain't even opening that can of worms! How about using a
complete mountain bike brake/shift system butted right up against the stem? Any other ideas? I might
be able to put side pull road brakes up front, but I'm not sure about the back. Plus I've got a 700
x 38 tire and fenders on this bike, which probably would eliminate road brakes Yes? No? Help me out
with this, please!

Matt A.
 
In article <Yxr6b.280099$Oz4.74053@rwcrnsc54>, "Matt Ashbrook" <[email protected]> writes:

>I just converted a hybrid bike to a touring/commuting bike. I guess the biggest change is flat bars
>to drop bars. Everything seems to work OK, but the road brake levers paired with the cantilever
>brakes leaves alot to be desired. I wouldn't mind mechanical disc brakes, but I'm under the
>impression they require special hubs and I ain't even opening that can of worms! How about using a
>complete mountain bike brake/shift system butted right up against the stem? Any other ideas? I
>might be able to put side pull road brakes up front, but I'm not sure about the back. Plus I've got
>a 700 x 38 tire and fenders on this bike, which probably would eliminate road brakes Yes? No? Help
>me out with this, please!

There are a couple of devices designed to make "road" levers more compatible with cantis. "Travel
agent" is one of them. Check the Nashbar catalog or web site, it's item TA-WT-S.

Tom Gibb <[email protected]
 
>I just converted a hybrid bike to a touring/commuting bike. I guess the biggest change is flat bars
>to drop bars. Everything seems to work OK, but the road brake levers paired with the cantilever
>brakes leaves alot to be desired.

Most road brake levers are designed for use with sidepull brakes, and will pull less cable than
a corresponding mountain lever will. This will usually lead to poor brake performance such as
you describe.

If this is your situation, you have a couple of options:

1) Switch to a brake lever designed for use with cantilever brakes.

2) Install an adaptor which will modify the cable pull of your existing brake lever. An example can
be seen at: http://tinyurl.com/mhgx

(My experience with such gadgets is they do work as advertised, but brake lever feel still leaves
something to be desired)

Good luck!

Chris Neary [email protected]

"Science, freedom, beauty, adventure: what more could you ask of life? Bicycling combined all the
elements I loved" - Adapted from a quotation by Charles Lindbergh
 
"Matt Ashbrook" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<Yxr6b.280099$Oz4.74053@rwcrnsc54>...
> I just converted a hybrid bike to a touring/commuting bike. I guess the biggest change is flat
> bars to drop bars. Everything seems to work OK, but the road brake levers paired with the
> cantilever brakes leaves alot to be desired. ....Any other ideas? I might be able to put side pull
> road brakes up front, but I'm not sure about the back. Plus I've got a 700 x 38 tire and fenders
> on this bike, which probably would eliminate road brakes Yes? No?

Indeed sidepull brakes won't work with anything larger than 700x25 without fenders. The long-reach
sidepull brakes would work with something slightly larger, but not much... and the longer the brake
reach, the harder they are to use.

There are a few options.

1. Use v-brakes with Dia-Compe 287-V brake levers. These levers are designed to pull more cable and
therefore work appropriately with v-brakes. However, you need either bar-end or downtube
shifters. Probably not what you had in mind.

2. Use STI or Ergo briefters (shifter-brake lever combo) with v-brakes and a gizmo called either
V-daptor or Travel Agent.

3. Readjust your cantilever brakes. This is certainly the cheapest option. Cantilever brakes allow a
lot of adjustment, especially if you use a traditional straddle cable. I'd suggest you read
http://sheldonbrown.com/cantilever-adjustment.html to see how you could adjust them.

Regards,

Michel Gagnon
 
Actually, I already am using Bar-ends and plan to keep them. Are the Dia-Comp 287V levers the "aero"
type or does the cable come out of the "horn"? "Michel Gagnon" <[email protected]> wrote in
message news:[email protected]...
> "Matt Ashbrook" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<Yxr6b.280099$Oz4.74053@rwcrnsc54>...
> > I just converted a hybrid bike to a touring/commuting bike. I guess the biggest change is flat
> > bars to drop bars. Everything seems to work OK,
but
> > the road brake levers paired with the cantilever brakes leaves alot to
be
> > desired. ....Any other ideas? I might be able to put side pull road brakes up front, but I'm not
> > sure about the back. Plus I've got a 700 x 38 tire
and
> > fenders on this bike, which probably would eliminate road brakes Yes?
No?
>
>
> Indeed sidepull brakes won't work with anything larger than 700x25 without fenders. The long-reach
> sidepull brakes would work with something slightly larger, but not much... and the longer the
> brake reach, the harder they are to use.
>
> There are a few options.
>
> 1. Use v-brakes with Dia-Compe 287-V brake levers. These levers are designed to pull more cable
> and therefore work appropriately with v-brakes. However, you need either bar-end or downtube
> shifters. Probably not what you had in mind.
>
> 2. Use STI or Ergo briefters (shifter-brake lever combo) with v-brakes and a gizmo called either
> V-daptor or Travel Agent.
>
> 3. Readjust your cantilever brakes. This is certainly the cheapest option. Cantilever brakes allow
> a lot of adjustment, especially if you use a traditional straddle cable. I'd suggest you read
> http://sheldonbrown.com/cantilever-adjustment.html to see how you could adjust them.
>
> Regards,
>
> Michel Gagnon
 
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