Upgrading to v-brakes, using STI levers - is it possible ?



Dont know if anyone can give advice - Ive got a Dawes Sardar 26" wheel
tourer, and would like to upgrade the Tektro Canti brakes to v-brakes.
Is this possible, as it has STI levers fitted - do I need to use some
gadget in combination with the brake levers, or is it not going to work
?
 
[email protected] wrote:
> Dont know if anyone can give advice - Ive got a Dawes Sardar 26" wheel
> tourer, and would like to upgrade the Tektro Canti brakes to v-brakes.
> Is this possible, as it has STI levers fitted - do I need to use some
> gadget in combination with the brake levers, or is it not going to work
> ?
>


Not directly because V-brakes need a different amount of cable pull to
caliper or cantilever brakes. There are drop bar levers for V-brakes but
not STI ones. What you need is a thing called a Travel Agent available
from Wiggle for fifteen or eighteen British Pounds.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/ProductDeta...e=Brakes - Spares&ProdID=5360012819&UberCat=0
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/ProductDeta...e=Brakes - Spares&ProdID=5360012820&UberCat=0


--
Tony

"Anyone who conducts an argument by appealing to authority is not using
his intelligence; he is just using his memory."
- Leonardo da Vinci
 
In article <[email protected]>
<[email protected]> wrote:
> Dont know if anyone can give advice - Ive got a Dawes Sardar 26" wheel
> tourer, and would like to upgrade the Tektro Canti brakes to v-brakes.
> Is this possible, as it has STI levers fitted - do I need to use some
> gadget in combination with the brake levers, or is it not going to work
> ?
>
>

Before the advent of V-brakes I made a simple modification to the
cantilevers on my ATB by fitting a roller to the fork crown. The cable
was run through a gizmo that was basically a combined cable stop and
pinch bolt, with the shortened straddle wire running over the roller, so
the end result was much like a V-brake. It had the effect of increasing
the mechanical advantage of the lever, so improving modulation and
reducing the pressure required at the lever. This came at the expense
of increased lever travel, but I found that this wasn't a problem with
properly adjusted brakes. I'd have done it on the back too but that was
a U-brake. Of course if you want to switch to V-brakes because they
present a lower profile, or because they are more readily available,
then none of this will be relevant.
 
[email protected] wrote:
> Dont know if anyone can give advice - Ive got a Dawes Sardar 26" wheel
> tourer, and would like to upgrade the Tektro Canti brakes to v-brakes.


Have you considered dual pivot calipers (maybe just for the front)? The
deep drop ones tend to accommodate mudguards and wide tyres, and provide
strong braking with a light action.

~PB
 
[email protected] wrote:
> Dont know if anyone can give advice - Ive got a Dawes Sardar 26" wheel
> tourer, and would like to upgrade the Tektro Canti brakes to v-brakes.
> Is this possible, as it has STI levers fitted - do I need to use some
> gadget in combination with the brake levers, or is it not going to work
> ?
>


No, as it is not an /Up/grade

--
---
Marten Gerritsen

INFOapestaartjeM-GINEERINGpuntNL
www.m-gineering.nl
 
in message <[email protected]>,
[email protected] ('[email protected]') wrote:

> Dont know if anyone can give advice - Ive got a Dawes Sardar 26" wheel
> tourer, and would like to upgrade the Tektro Canti brakes to v-brakes.
> Is this possible, as it has STI levers fitted - do I need to use some
> gadget in combination with the brake levers, or is it not going to work
> ?


It is possible. But, don't do it, because you're going to be
disappointed. V brakes do not have more leverage than cantis, so they
don't have more power. They're just another way of doing the same thing.
So unless your reasons are purely cosmetic, you will get no benefit.

--
[email protected] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

;; When all else fails, read the distractions.