Canti's or Vees ?

[gbb]

Just rebuilding a donated MTB frame....summits just occured to me.

There were no brakes fitted on the bosses and i've taken off the existing handlebars in favour for a bootsale setup i got for £3...adjustable stem/bars and nearly new Shimano gripshifts.
Ive put some Vbrakes on, ready to start cabling up, then ....there's a Canti style hanger on the headset...you know, centrally mounted to take the cable to the straddle cable. At least that's what i assume this bracket is for, cant think of another use for this bracket.

So....i'm wondering, did it originally have canti's ?. If so, can i fit Vees ? or am i trying to do the impossible.

 

[fossyant]

You can fit vee's instead. Just be careful with the brake levers as canti levers pull a different amount to vee levers..

 

[RedBike]

V's should be fine.
The frames cable stops might not be in the right locations. This is often easily solved by using a full length outer and zip ties.

 

[gbb]

Muchos obligardos

I 'assumed' the position of the bosses in relation to the wheel was the same...but 'assumings' a dangerous business B)

Down the LBS tomorrow for some bits n bobs...noodles, crank bolts, etc etc.

So far this 'free' alloy frames cost...

£3 handlebars/shifters/adjustable stem ( carboot sale)
£2 front wheel (like new, carboot sale)
£0 7 speed freewheel (like new, donated by a fellow freecycler)
£2 rear wheel (like new, carboot sale)
£1 set of vee brakes ( carboot sale)



and from my bits n bobs box..all stuff from old bikes and car boots..
saddle and a good alloy post
various cables and outers
Pair of cranks in good order

Just got to get a front derailleur from somewhere. Ironically i've got a brand new Acera one, too big...and a secondhand one, too small

Well on the way to a good strong bike that'll cost IRO £15 hopefully. My sons already got his eyes on it

 

[andrew_s]

Issues converting cantis to Vs...

a) Canti brake levers pull less cable harder compared with V levers. This will mean that you have to keep the pads adjusted very close to the rim, and that braking will be more sudden. A "V-dapter" pulley thing may be helpful.

Cantis generally had the cable adjusters on the hanger. Vs have them on the lever, so running V with Canti brake levers may mean no cable adjuster. In-line adjusters are available.

c) Canti pivots tended to be closer together than V pivots. To keep the arms of the Vs upright, you may have to take care to keep the pads as close to the V arm as possible.

 

[gbb]

Issues converting cantis to Vs...

a) Canti brake levers pull less cable harder compared with V levers. This will mean that you have to keep the pads adjusted very close to the rim, and that braking will be more sudden. A "V-dapter" pulley thing may be helpful.

B) Cantis generally had the cable adjusters on the hanger. Vs have them on the lever, so running V with Canti brake levers may mean no cable adjuster. In-line adjusters are available.

c) Canti pivots tended to be closer together than V pivots. To keep the arms of the Vs upright, you may have to take care to keep the pads as close to the V arm as possible.

This is the bit i've just noticed on the frame. On the plus side, the bars/shifters/levers i've just fitted are vee brake type, so that's half the problem solved.

Interesting about the pivots...i'll have a lookee tomorrow (darkness has stopped me tonight)
Many thanks andrew

 

[02GF74]

yep - I have the headset hanger on my Saracen - it acts ass a spacer, the cable for the V-brakes does not use it.

Either leave as is, cut off the hanger or replace with spacer.

 

[Jonathan M]

Issues converting cantis to Vs...

a) Canti brake levers pull less cable harder compared with V levers. This will mean that you have to keep the pads adjusted very close to the rim, and that braking will be more sudden. A "V-dapter" pulley thing may be helpful.

Cantis generally had the cable adjusters on the hanger. Vs have them on the lever, so running V with Canti brake levers may mean no cable adjuster. In-line adjusters are available.

c) Canti pivots tended to be closer together than V pivots. To keep the arms of the Vs upright, you may have to take care to keep the pads as close to the V arm as possible.

This problem is usually addressed with decent Vee's by the differing width spacers that allow them to be swapped to achieve the best postioning.