I've been wondering, what types of brakes are best (excluding disc)?
On my bike i currently have tektro oryx brakes (cantileiver) and was wondering whether V-brakes are better and worth upgrading to.
Does Anyone Know About Brakes?
- Thread starter Joshua.Arnold
- Start date
I've been wondering, what types of brakes are best (excluding disc)?
On my bike i currently have tektro oryx brakes (cantileiver) and was wondering whether V-brakes are better and worth upgrading to.
The ones that stop the bike!Joshua.Arnold said:
V brakes are used extensively on mountain bikes, and seem to be avoided just as extensively on road bikes. Therefore, I suspect that there are characterstics that make certain brakes more suitable for certain types of riding or conditions. I don't know what those conditions are, but if you describe what type of riding you do, and what it is about your current brakes that bothers or concerns you, you will probably get some good advice for either tweaking your current brakes or upgrading.Joshua.Arnold said:
dgregory57 said:
I mainly do touring cycling and day trips, my current brakes are mostly okay, but they don't seem as responsive as my mountain bikes v-brakes, does my touring bikes brakes need tightening or changing or are they just fine?
On the road, I haven't noticed a lot of difference in brakes. My old 'Dale tandem has Scott cantis, which get a bit more leverage than the usual side pulls that one finds on road bikes, but the tandem needs more braking force - loaded, it weighs a lot more. Otherwise, road brakes don't get used much, so Campy side pulls do me just fine.
The mtb is a different situation, because one tends to use brakes a lot more, and a lot harder. I did switch my mtb's from brake to a disc, largely because mud on the front rim was decreasing braking force and increasing rim wear.
The mtb is a different situation, because one tends to use brakes a lot more, and a lot harder. I did switch my mtb's from brake to a disc, largely because mud on the front rim was decreasing braking force and increasing rim wear.
Joshua.Arnold said:
I've been wondering, what types of brakes are best (excluding disc)?
On my bike i currently have tektro oryx brakes (cantileiver) and was wondering whether V-brakes are better and worth upgrading to.
Generally speaking v-brakes would be more powerful than cantilevers. The only place you'll find canti's anymore is on cyclocross bikes.
If you're looking for an upgrade the nicest v's I've used are avid speed dial sl's, but i would guess that most of the rest of the avid range performs just as well - just with more weight and less cost. Shimano Deore looks like good value too.
Cantilevers can be adjusted to have almost as much power as decent V-brakes but, from what I hear, V-brakes don't modulate well. They have a lot of power, which makes them difficult to modulate. My last mountain bike had the cantilevers adjusted so that they stopped really well. Better pads probably would have given me V-brake power without the lack of modulation. The trick is to adjust it so that the crossover cable is about 1/4 to 3/8" above the tire, putting the cable as close to 90 degrees from the lever arm as possible. After that you just need better pads.
I had Dia-Compe two-finger brake levers pulling on Dia-Compe 986 cantis. If I wasn't careful with two fingers pulling on the left lever I could actually put myself over the bars on that bike.
In your situation, did you mis-match long-throw V-brake levers with cantis? This will give you very little braking power. The opposite (cantilever levers with V-brakes) will give you absolutely no modulation whatsoever and extremely grabby brakes.
I had Dia-Compe two-finger brake levers pulling on Dia-Compe 986 cantis. If I wasn't careful with two fingers pulling on the left lever I could actually put myself over the bars on that bike.
In your situation, did you mis-match long-throw V-brake levers with cantis? This will give you very little braking power. The opposite (cantilever levers with V-brakes) will give you absolutely no modulation whatsoever and extremely grabby brakes.
Not so at all! I've used 1992 canti levers with 2003 XT v-brakes for several years. Braking power is excellent, and I've had no problems with grabbing or modulation. The only downside is that the rim must be perfectly true and the pads adjusted to sit close to the rim when idle.PCC said:
Clearly, in this instance the guru is wrong! Although what he says about wet weather would be true if the pads were not adjusted to lie very close to a true rim, when idle.PCC said:
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