rear canti brake- wierd yoke/cable stop/ what the **???



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Dan Daniel

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A curiosity question.....

I just bought a ten year old Trek 950. In overhauling it, I was trying to make sense of the way that
the rear cantilever brake cable and cable housing were attached.

There was a metal block, L-shaped, maybe 1 inch on each long side, 1/2 inch thick in other
dimensions. It has a large bolt through it that mounts it on what would be the brake bridge for a
road bike The cable housing goes into one leg of the 'L' and the cable itself goes to one side of
the brake. The other side of the brake is attached to the other leg of the 'L' block by a cable
which is removable.

The whole unit has a spring on the back side.

Well, ok, I can't describe it well, but I am wondering if that is enough for somebody to remember
these things (early '90s?) and tell
me..... What the h*** was Trek thinking? Did these things ever work? What is the trick to adjusting
them for even braking? Was the $2 saved by not brazing on a cable stop worth bad braking and
extra set-up and adjustment time?

I couldn't get it to work at all. When I went to a bike shop to ask if I could remove it and put in
a hanger instead, they told me to toss
mf. So with a hanger it's like a normal canti.... Anyway, just curious. Any info on the web about
these things?
 
"Dan Daniel" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> A curiosity question.....
>
> I just bought a ten year old Trek 950. In overhauling it, I was trying to make sense of the way
> that the rear cantilever brake cable and cable housing were attached.
>
> There was a metal block, L-shaped, maybe 1 inch on each long side, 1/2 inch thick in other
> dimensions. It has a large bolt through it that mounts it on what would be the brake bridge for a
> road bike The cable housing goes into one leg of the 'L' and the cable itself goes to one side of
> the brake. The other side of the brake is attached to the other leg of the 'L' block by a cable
> which is removable.
>
> The whole unit has a spring on the back side.
>
> Well, ok, I can't describe it well, but I am wondering if that is enough for somebody to remember
> these things (early '90s?) and tell
> me..... What the h*** was Trek thinking? Did these things ever work? What is the trick to
> adjusting them for even braking? Was the $2 saved by not brazing on a cable stop worth bad
> braking and extra set-up and adjustment time?
>
>
> I couldn't get it to work at all. When I went to a bike shop to ask if I could remove it and put
> in a hanger instead, they told me to toss
> it. So with a hanger it's like a normal canti.... Anyway, just curious. Any info on the web about
> these things?
In the days before VBrakes, that mounting allowed a cantilever in places unfavorable to a cable
housing stop such as a shock fork or a small MTB frame. One of the prime reasons for VBrakes is the
freedom to mount in places such as the back of an F/S frame and that part was an early answer to
the problem.

Marzocchi made one and supplied it with their forks at one time.

I don't know what it is called either. A pivoting segmented transverse wire substitute?

--
Andrew Muzi http://www.yellowjersey.org Open every day since 1 April 1971
 
"A Muzi" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>... <snip>
> In the days before VBrakes, that mounting allowed a cantilever in places unfavorable to a cable
> housing stop such as a shock fork or a small MTB frame. One of the prime reasons for VBrakes is
> the freedom to mount in places such as the back of an F/S frame and that part was an early answer
> to the problem.
>
> Marzocchi made one and supplied it with their forks at one time.
>
> I don't know what it is called either. A pivoting segmented transverse wire substitute?

I had a couple of these to allow cantilever brakes to be mounted behind the fork (weird bike...).
They were available as an aftermarket item from Suntour, while similar devices came on Cannondale
and Trek bikes. I want to call them "Powercams", but somehow that doesn't sound right. They were a
***** to set up and didn't work all that well, either.

Jeff
 
"Terje Tho" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> Would you consider it safe to put a USE 1 Carbon Alien seat post in a 2003 OCLV 120 (5500) frame?
> I have picked up somewhere that this might not be
the
> best idea.
>
> Thanks, Terje
>

I've had that seatpost in my '01 Trek 5200 for a couple of years. The only problem I've had with it
is that the cammed clamping mechanism for the saddle rails is not very "field serviceable". It's
nearly impossible (for me, anyway) to adjust in the field, due to difficulties in getting the cammed
clamp to release.

GG
 
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