Improving Touring Bike Brakes - Cantis to Mini V conversion

[auww08]

Thanks all for the advice. Have fitted the tektro mini v brakes and am really happy with the result. A marked improvement for me. Attached is the after photos. I'm still interested in using them with travel agents and might take the plunge. Found them on eBay for £21 each. Has anybody tried using mini v brakes with travel agents? Thanks again and best wishes

 

[roadrash]

Decided to try this and replace the cantis on my cx bike , I have a set of shimano v brakes with koolstop pads that are doing nowt in the shed , so going to order a pair of the noodles with adjusters and see how it goes.

 

[Vantage]

Thanks all for the advice. Have fitted the tektro mini v brakes and am really happy with the result. A marked improvement for me. Attached is the after photos. I'm still interested in using them with travel agents and might take the plunge. Found them on eBay for £21 each. Has anybody tried using mini v brakes with travel agents? Thanks again and best wishes

If you're happy with the brakes current performance then I would advise against travel agents. Think of them as a derailleur setup.
You're currently using a 34T ring and 26T rear sprocket which gives you a bit of pulling power. A travel agent would be changing gear to a 46T ring and 16T sprocket which will make the bike travel further but at the expense of power. This is basically what a travel agent does. You'll lose braking power to gain a mm or so pad clearance on the rim.
Plus they distort the hell out of inner cables permanently.
They're worth the trouble if using full size V's because they give some very much needed pad clearance but for your set up, they're just not worth it imo.

 

[Nigelnightmare]

On my old Saracen Powertrax MTB with alivio canti's. The original pads were Shimano M65/T, "Orrible"noisey and not very good.
I found a marked improvement by fitting "Clarks" 70mm XTR upgrade non-threaded post type cartridge brake's as another poster said "So quiet" and only £5.99 per set with spare pad set.
Fibrax and Shimano also do a version of them though the shimano's are expensive!

Replacement pads are available from 99p inc retaining clips

 

[mcshroom]

I got fed up with the brake judder on my Dawes Horizon with the Oryx canti front brake, and tried CR720s which still had the same problem. I solved it in the end by switching out the front brake for some Tektro RX5 mini-vs.

I thought about replacing the back one as well, but it works well enough so I didn't bother. This also means that there's no chance of fouling the rack when I refit it. The only annoying thing I find, is that I can't release the brake at the noodle so I can take the wheel in and out, so I have to deflate the tyre.

 

[raleighnut]

I got fed up with the brake judder on my Dawes Horizon with the Oryx canti front brake, and tried CR720s which still had the same problem. I solved it in the end by switching out the front brake for some Tektro RX5 mini-vs.
View attachment 415240

I thought about replacing the back one as well, but it works well enough so I didn't bother. This also means that there's no chance of fouling the rack when I refit it. The only annoying thing I find, is that I can't release the brake at the noodle so I can take the wheel in and out, so I have to deflate the tyre.

Fit narrower tyres.

 

[mcshroom]

Fit narrower tyres.

How narrow? Those are 32s, but I've also had problems with a 25mm Pro4 Endurance

 

[roadrash]

@Dirk I think the arm length on the shimano XTR v brakes I have are 100mm, am I likely to need a travel agent pull adjuster if im using brifters.

these are the brakes..
https://www.evanscycles.com/shimano-xtr-m970-v-brake-00120271

 

[raleighnut]

How narrow? Those are 32s, but I've also had problems with a 25mm Pro4 Endurance

That would annoy me but with this bike,

The back wheel fouls the frame before the axle clears the dropout when the (25mm) tyre is inflated.

 

[roadrash]

these are the brakes..
https://www.evanscycles.com/shimano-xtr-m970-v-brake-00120271[/QUOTE

I have front and rear and levers, just seen how much these are going for on ebay...

 

[Vantage]

The only annoying thing I find, is that I can't release the brake at the noodle so I can take the wheel in and out, so I have to deflate the tyre.

Is this worth a go? Gotta be easier than letting all that air out then having to reinflate.

 

[andrew_s]

The only annoying thing I find, is that I can't release the brake at the noodle so I can take the wheel in and out, so I have to deflate the tyre.

What's the problem?

If you take the wheel out at home, you've got a track pump (I hope), if you take the wheel out for transport you put the track pump in the car, otherwise it's a puncture out on the road, and there's no air when you take the wheel out, and you'll soon get used to not pumping it up again until after you've put the wheel back on the bike.

 

[Dirk]

@Dirk I think the arm length on the shimano XTR v brakes I have are 100mm, am I likely to need a travel agent pull adjuster if im using brifters.

these are the brakes..
https://www.evanscycles.com/shimano-xtr-m970-v-brake-00120271

I don't claim to be the font of all knowledge regarding canti / V brake mechanics. All I know is what worked for me, after doing some internet research. From what I can make out, Travel Agents are only really necessary if using standard V brakes instead of mini Vs. But then again, someone will probably come along and say they ain't required........