I have mini-V brakes on my Quickbeam and like them a lot. I took off the 720's because they stick out so far they were a pain in crowded bike racks, not because of the stopping performance. I started with some really short arms - 85mm - but they were just a tiny bit tight to clear fenders and 35mm tires. They cleared, but the cross-over yoke (or whatever it's called) would rattle against the top of the fenders over the slightest bump. I got a version with 90mm arms and they work great. I'm using MTB levers on Alba bars with no issues, pull-wise.
I put Deore V-brakes (and V-brake levers) from the Riv sale on my LHT to replace lousy low-profile cantis and they work great - and they clear 60mm fenders over 50mm Big Apples with no problem. -Pete n CT On Friday, May 11, 2012 12:53:04 PM UTC-4, Mike On A Bike wrote: > > This discussion and my frustrating experiences with cantilevers has > made me question why Rivendell pushes them as the bee's knees of > brakes. I have had relentless problems with adjusting my cantis, the > boys at my LBS are no help in that regard either, and even when they > seem to be adjusted fairly close, the stopping power is crappy. I have > Paul Neo-Retros and CR-720s and the Pauls are only marginally less > crappy. Maybe the use of an aero lever with these compounds the > problem, but that's another setup that Rivendell pushes (came stock on > my Quickbeam). > > I really wish I had wised up to V-brakes as the sensible and cost- > effective option before lacquering on the shellac on my Hillborne. Now > those dysfunctional levers are stuck on that bike unless I want to > undo my many hours of precious work...damnit. I am going to put a > cheap Tektro V setup on my Quickbeam (as per Jim Thill's suggestion) > and see if stopping the insanity is necessary on both bikes. > > On May 11, 10:13 am, Jim Thill - Hiawatha Cyclery > <thill....@gmail.com> wrote: > > This is wrong. I ride almost everyday with v-brakes, and find that I can > > apply the brakes in a wide range of modulation from zero to "locked". > After > > years with cantilevers, the first time with the added power of v-brakes > did > > take some practice to modulate (two or three stops was enough practice), > > but now when I ride others' bikes with cantilevers, I get scared when I > > squeeze the lever and nothing happens beyond a hissing noise (until I > > squeeze really hard, which I can because I have strong hands). Most > women > > and lots of men don't have cow-milking hand-strength and can't > effectively > > use cantilevers with aero levers, but v-brakes will work well even for > > those who have less than a kung-fu grip. > > > > I just put some Avid Elixir 5 hydraulic discs on my Surly Disc Trucker. > Now > > THAT is a powerful brake. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > On Thursday, May 10, 2012 9:32:54 PM UTC-5, Steve Palincsar wrote: > > > > > On Thu, 2012-05-10 at 17:02 -0700, Jim Thill - Hiawatha Cyclery wrote: > > > > I wonder why folks value modulation so highly? In my view, the > primary > > > > purpose of brakes is to stop effectively, and therefore, the more > > > > powerful brake is my usual preference. > > > > > It's because when I put the brakes on I do not always want to lock > them. > > > Sometimes I just want to slow down a little bit, without locking the > > > brakes. > > > > > > With v-brakes, scrubbing speed in tight downhill corners or whatever > > > > isn't difficult at all to modulate, UNLESS you are accustomed to > > > > squeezing the bejeezus out of cantilevers to get the same result, in > > > > which case the v-brake will seem to lack modulation. In that case, > the > > > > brake is hard to modulate because the rider has no finesse on the > > > > brake lever. No problem though, because it's easy to learn the > > > > necessary finesse. > > > > > Right. If you want full lock, touch the levers, or just blow on them. > > > If you want anything else, keep your hands in your pockets and your > lips > > > sealed. We call that "modulation." > > > > > 8=) > > > > On Thursday, May 10, 2012 9:32:54 PM UTC-5, Steve Palincsar wrote: > > > > > On Thu, 2012-05-10 at 17:02 -0700, Jim Thill - Hiawatha Cyclery wrote: > > > > I wonder why folks value modulation so highly? In my view, the > primary > > > > purpose of brakes is to stop effectively, and therefore, the more > > > > powerful brake is my usual preference. > > > > > It's because when I put the brakes on I do not always want to lock > them. > > > Sometimes I just want to slow down a little bit, without locking the > > > brakes. > > > > > > With v-brakes, scrubbing speed in tight downhill corners or whatever > > > > isn't difficult at all to modulate, UNLESS you are accustomed to > > > > squeezing the bejeezus out of cantilevers to get the same result, in > > > > which case the v-brake will seem to lack modulation. In that case, > the > > > > brake is hard to modulate because the rider has no finesse on the > > > > brake lever. No problem though, because it's easy to learn the > > > > necessary finesse. > > > > > Right. If you want full lock, touch the levers, or just blow on them. > > > If you want anything else, keep your hands in your pockets and your > lips > > > sealed. We call that "modulation." > > > > > 8=) -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msg/rbw-owners-bunch/-/kqP68V-Os-oJ. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
