R
Robert Taylor
Guest
I find the currently fashionable long brake shoes (V-brake shoes and many canti shoes) to be a real
pai on two counts:
1. The extra length is almost entirely at the rear of the shoe which isn't a problem at the rear of
the bike but at the front the long shoes extend inside the fork blades. In order to use them on
a bike with a road type fork very thin (and short lived) shoes must be used and even then you
nearly always have to deflate the tire to remove or install the front wheel. Even in the case of
mountain bikes it's often necessary to deflate the front tire unless the thin shoes are used.
2. The extra length of the shoes adds nothing to braking performance so far as I can tell. I can
slide the rear wheel with the rear brake or pick it off the ground with the front one if I
choose so I can't gain any performance with long shoes, only problems.
I made short brake shoes for my canti brakes by installing the smooth post adapters from some old
Aztec brake shoes onto threaded post short brake shoes. (Aztec brake shoes were made in both
threaded and smooth post versions, the only difference being that the smooth post ones were just the
threaded post ones with a sleeve screwed on over the threaded post. This sleeve has an 8mm hex at
the bottom so it can easily be screwed off and reused)
Those thin V-brake shoes remind me of the old lady who swallowed the fly and then swallowed a bird
to catch the fly, then swallowed a cat to. . . well you know.
Bob Taylor
pai on two counts:
1. The extra length is almost entirely at the rear of the shoe which isn't a problem at the rear of
the bike but at the front the long shoes extend inside the fork blades. In order to use them on
a bike with a road type fork very thin (and short lived) shoes must be used and even then you
nearly always have to deflate the tire to remove or install the front wheel. Even in the case of
mountain bikes it's often necessary to deflate the front tire unless the thin shoes are used.
2. The extra length of the shoes adds nothing to braking performance so far as I can tell. I can
slide the rear wheel with the rear brake or pick it off the ground with the front one if I
choose so I can't gain any performance with long shoes, only problems.
I made short brake shoes for my canti brakes by installing the smooth post adapters from some old
Aztec brake shoes onto threaded post short brake shoes. (Aztec brake shoes were made in both
threaded and smooth post versions, the only difference being that the smooth post ones were just the
threaded post ones with a sleeve screwed on over the threaded post. This sleeve has an 8mm hex at
the bottom so it can easily be screwed off and reused)
Those thin V-brake shoes remind me of the old lady who swallowed the fly and then swallowed a bird
to catch the fly, then swallowed a cat to. . . well you know.
Bob Taylor