Replacement cantilever brakes

[Night Train]

I am going to rebuild my old Diamond Back frame as a bit of a rat bike/local shopping hack having given my last hack to my ex.

I will be using all the old bits of bike that I have lying around but I want decent brakes on it. The cantilever brakes are shot (actually they were good but I swapped them onto my other hack before giving it away) so I need to get new ones.

Is there anything or any brand I should look for, or avoid, on EBay or in the bike shop? Are there any compatability issues I should be aware of as I don't want to change the levers?

Thank you.

 

[Gerry Attrick]

A couple of mags have written favourable reviews of the Tektro CR520 cantis, so I specified them on my new Dave Yates tourer. I found the original blocks to be too hard and very noisy, so I swapped them out for Koolstop salmons. They are now as good as any cantis that I've tried, and better than most.

I believe they also do a 720 version (or some other number) for which the only difference is better quality blocks. Worth trying to track down.

 

[Gerry Attrick]

Copy of CTC review here: http://www.zepnat.com/images/cr520review.jpg

 

[Night Train]

Cheers for that. Is there much difference between frogs leg, low profile and 'L' shaped designs that would be of interest?

Last time I did brakes from scratch side pull was all the rage from rod operated brakes.

 

[Gerry Attrick]

I think the CTC review says it all. The wide profile type are more powerful and easier to modulate as they are not as spongy as the older type. The only small down side is that they stick out a bit more, but my priority is stopping power. I would recommend building into your budget some better pads though.

 

[mickle]

New-old stock Suntour XC Pro from Thorn off of eBay. They simply cannot be beat for performance and durability. Semi lo-pro and fitted with Aztecs as standard. Avoid the SE (self energising) version unless you intend to stop a goods train or very heavily loaded tourer, they don't modulate well.

 

[Night Train]

Cheers Mickle. I'll look out for them.

Should be better then using the tin foil V brakes off a Sub £100 full suspension MTB.

 

[simon_brooke]

Word to the wise - avoid genuine Frogglegs. I've got'em and I regret it so much. The original shoes they come with are truly bad - don't grip at all - and because they're the old fashioned stud-though-the-hole-in-the-bolt job they're hard to adjust (and you need a 13mm spanner which is not something I'd otherwise carry on the bike). Even with better replacement blocks they're still not good.

My experience with Frogglegs is so bad that I'd be wary of getting any of the froggleg clones - yes, I know they're a design classic and all that, but if they don't work it rather misses the point. I'm planning to replace mine with TRP CR950s, but this isn't actually a recommendation because I haven't tried them yet

 

[mickle]

What is a froggleg? It's not a term I'm familiar with.

 

[brodie]

"Froglegs" is a brand of cantilever brakes made by Empella, based on the old wide profile Mafac canti. I think they're used a lot by pros on cyclo cross bikes. Another similar brake is the Spooky.

 

[jpembroke]

Many top Cyclocross teams equip their bikes with Empella Frogglegs brakes so they can't be all that bad.

I have Tektro CR520s on my cross bike and they are OK - reasonable stopping power and modulation - but they are just so ugly. I'm about to swap them for Frogglegs, which just look nicer and don't stick out as far. I only use my 'cross bike for racing anyway so not worried about carrying spanners etc.

 

[chirk2000ad]

New-old stock Suntour XC Pro from Thorn off of eBay. They simply cannot be beat for performance and durability. Semi lo-pro and fitted with Aztecs as standard. Avoid the SE (self energising) version unless you intend to stop a goods train or very heavily loaded tourer, they don't modulate well

Can I ask what does modulate mean ?

I was thinking of some of these suntours for a sport/fast tourer project of mine

 

[Gerry Attrick]

Can I ask what does modulate mean ?

I was thinking of some of these suntours for a sport/fast tourer project of mine

Modulation is the relationship between the power applied at the lever and the braking force felt on the bike.

 

[mickle]

Modulation is the relationship between the power applied at the lever and the braking force felt on the bike.

I think of modulation as the ability to finely control the brake's power at the lever. Suntour SE brakes are very on/off because the body of the canti is mounted on a spiral and moves forward as the brake is applied. The rotation of the wheel pulls the brake on harder causing a big peak in the braking force at the block/ rim interface. Immensely powerful but impossible to control. Great on tandems, very prone to skidding on solo bikes.

 

[chirk2000ad]

Great on tandems, very prone to skidding on solo bikes

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Not so good for my project then
thanks mickle