The wrong Shimano brakes/shifters and cantilever brakes

[Mike Ayling]

I think your brake levers are V brake compatible and you have older canti brakes.
Easiest thing is to get v brakes.

Agree. Also they need a lot less pressure on the levers.
Before I changed my Surly LHT to V brakes I built up fore arms like Popeye from pulling the Cantis.

 

[raleighnut]

You can get a set of Shimano Deore V-brakes for £20-30, fit on the same pivot bosses and no clearance issues.................no brainer to me

 

[Ajax Bay]

Comrade just wants to buy new brake levers. Must replace shifters too. This bullsh!t is high on the list of reasons I despise Shi**no?

Think you're being unkind. The OP has inherited flat bar combi trigger shifter/brakes. They'll be fine with V-brakes, which is what they were designed to work with, but the previous owner has, for ?15 years, put up with (or likely not ridden because of) the poor performance/modulation of cantis.

 

[mickle]

Think you're being unkind. The OP has inherited flat bar combi trigger shifter/brakes. They'll be fine with V-brakes, which is what they were designed to work with, but the previous owner has, for ?15 years, put up with (or likely not ridden because of) the poor performance/modulation of cantis.

I'm being unkind to Shi**no.

 

[gom]

If I remember this aright, V-brake levers will pull more cable for a given lever movement than lever for cantis meaningthat they will move less than canti lever and so, on the lever principle, need more force. I have found that not all (people who work at) bike shops seem to realise this. (To be fair, I didn't always realise that different levers might pull different amounts of cable. Found out the hard way.)

 

[Reynard]

That said, the straddle wire on the front brakes is far too slack. Which is why the brakes are awful.

I suggest the OP takes the cheapest option first, and increases the tension on the straddle wire. Yes, it can take a little bit of time to get right, but if it saves getting a whole new bunch of parts, it's worth a try if nothing else. As it stands, the lever's pull just takes up the slack on the front, rather than actually operating the brakes.

My Raleigh Max build still has the original canti brakes (one of the few parts that I actually kept after the strip down), and they are actually quite effective once you get the bite point right. I've got MTB combi brake-shifter pods fitted btw. So it does work.

 

[All uphill]

I'm being unkind to Shi**no.

One day you must tell us what Mr Shimano ever did to you.

 

[mickle]

One day you must tell us what Mr Shimano ever did to you.

He used to bully me at school.

 

[All uphill]

He used to bully me at school.

I always thought he was a bit shifty. Did he brake your glasses?

 

[Cnnchi]

Nice modern pair of Deore V brakes will improve braking no end. Or you might find a used set would just mount and work just as well.

 

[Aston]

Nice modern pair of Deore V brakes will improve braking no end. Or you might find a used set would just mount and work just as well.

That is/was the plan, a set of Deore V brakes, however there's a bit of a set back, the LBS has said that the front rim is too wide, it's a Mavic T261, with 27mm external width, he recommends a thinner rim, which I think he has - he has lots of used bikes and spares. None of which I understand, the wheels were changed from 26" to 700 some years ago by previous owner.

 

[Cnnchi]

That is/was the plan, a set of Deore V brakes, however there's a bit of a set back, the LBS has said that the front rim is too wide, it's a Mavic T261, with 27mm external width, he recommends a thinner rim, which I think he has - he has lots of used bikes and spares. None of which I understand, the wheels were changed from 26" to 700 some years ago by previous owner.

Oh that is wide! Well it’s always good to have access to a healthy supply of spares at least, hope the solution is forthcoming and effective.

 

[Aston]

An update, I have the bike back home, LBS did a fudge which still doesn't seem right, new shorter pads on but the wrong around.

Anyway, I have measured the rim, it's 24mm wide, not 27mm as I was told. However the brake bosses on the forks are 67mm wide, would this be too narrow or Ok to fit the deore v-brakes? I understand that the brake bosses on newer bikes are 80mm wide to suit v-brakes. I'd like to do this, but don't want to spend out for something which won't fit. Think I'll ping a message to SJS Cycles/Thorn and see what they say, unless anyone here knows? Thanks folks

 

[Ming the Merciless]

I always thought he was a bit shifty. Did he brake your glasses?

I heard he was a bit of a crank