Brake conversion - Cantilever to calliper

[Davidc]

I'm completely fed up with the cantilever brakes on my bike.

They squeal no matter what's done to stop them, they work but not as well as any other type of brake I've used since I had rod brakes, and keeping them correctly adjusted is a nightmare. They nearly landed me in trouble again when I needed to do an emergency stop this week so they're going.

I've bought a set of calliper dual pivot brakes to replace them. Cheap but with good reviews, made by Miche.

I'm happy that they will physically fit, and realise that I need to drill out the existing mudguard bolt holes by an extra 1.5mm, then re-cable for the new brakes (and replace the bar tape of course). This is however one of the things I've never done before to a bike so if there's anything I've missed, or any pitfalls you're aware of I'd be ever so grateful if you'd post them here.

Any ideas for covering and protecting the cantilever pivots also welcome.

Thanks.

 

[Howard]

Dual pivot calipers? Wut? Are they super long drop or something?

Personally I'd have gone for mini-v brakes and used the existing canti mounts.

Obviously you don't have to buy pricey Paul ones

 

[Amanda P]

All cantilevers are not created equal. when they were first thought of, they had long, stiff arms, were powerful and didn't squeal (because they were stiff). Then someone decided they didn't look nice, sticking out to the side so far, and the arms got shorter and slimmer, but the brakes lost their effectiveness and tended to squeal.

Better, beefier cantis might have been the answer. Or V-brakes would use the same bosses. Good V-brakes are cheap and easy to find on Ebay (although I find them a pain to set up - they're always getting jogged when the bike's parked and seem to need re-balancing every five minutes. I'd rather have cantis).

But now that you have dual pivots (I know the ones; my fixed has a pair) I think you have everything covered. Be aware that there may be a recessed fitting, requiring the holes in the bridge and fork crown to be bigger on one side than the other. Drilling a hole in the rear brake bridge from the seat tube side is a pain (ask me how I know this).

Lots of cheap mountain bikes have V-brake bosses but have disc brakes. The bosses often have little plastic caps on them: that's what you need (although they rarely stay on long). If you don't want to buy a cheap mountain bike just for the plastic caps, see if you can find some suitable end caps from one of those specialist suppliers of fastenings (round here, I'd suggest these guys).

Or how about a lick of suitable paint? If you ever want the bosses again, it'll be easy enough to sand it off, and meanwhile it'll stay put better and longer than a cap or tape or whatever.

 

[Davidc]

Thanks. I considered V brakes, but would end up with needing one of the devices for converting the cable pull for them.

I'll have a look for the pivot covers - such things had to exist, now it's a case of finding them - thanks for the link.

Having looked at the setup I've decided that although the Miche brakes will fit it's a case of only just, so have returned those and ordered Tektro 559 instead, as they'll leave a bit of adjustment room. Again reasonably priced with good reviews.

I've always got on well with caliper brakes, so changing from cantilever which I've never liked is, for me, the obvious choice.

 

[RecordAceFromNew]

Having looked at the setup I've decided that although the Miche brakes will fit it's a case of only just, so have returned those and ordered Tektro 559 instead, as they'll leave a bit of adjustment room. Again reasonably priced with good reviews.

In case you are unaware, they come in recessed or nutted fitting. The latter might be better for you.

 

[Davidc]

Well - the front is done.

I can lift the back wheel at 10 mph with me sitting on the saddle. That's with the blocks they came with. And there's absolutely no squealing.

Couldn't do that before. When I get the chance I'll take it for a ride involving some reasonable downhills.

Doing the back will involve some drilling out so there'll be a delay while I decide if it's worthwhile.