Cantilever brake recommendation

[sokyroadie]

I finished the build on the vintage Litespeed MTB frameset I bought here, but the front cantilevers new Tektro Oryx have horrible (terrifying) shudder. The cable hanger is in the stem, so a lot of wire to the straddle cable. I have tried to adjust the toe in on the pads, but not much improvement. I can't run a fork mounted hanger and don't want to use V brakes.

The Oryx brakes seem to be very flexible and have a lot of play. Any stiffer Canti's for MTB use recommendation.

BTW the frame and fork are Ti.

Thanks,
Jeff

[gdw]

Last generation LX/XT.

[p nut]

Paul?

[vqdriver]

.

[Gummee]

Depends on whether you want to stay retro or go modern.

If you want to stay retro, ask me about my bag o' OnZa HO brakes. I can sell em to ya cheap. You'll get the whole bag. Some of em aren't cracked yet! (You'll have to find your own Chill Pill tho)

If you want to go modern, mini-vs are your best bet for powerful braking

All depends on what you want the bike to look like when you're done

M

[Aaron O]

. Realized it's for a MTB and you probably want low profile. I've never found one I liked.

[zap]

Avid Tri-Align canti brakes. Easy to adjust and work very well.

Road tandem approved too.

[sokyroadie]

I had a set of Campy (Tektro) cantilever brakes that I took off the Serotta cross I sold. I decided to try them and amazingly all my problems were solved.

Thanks for the suggestions. Any one know the equivalent Tektro part no. for the Campy brakes?

Jeff

[thirdgenbird]

I had a set of Campy (Tektro) cantilever brakes that I took off the Serotta cross I sold. I decided to try them and amazingly all my problems were solved.

Thanks for the suggestions. Any one know the equivalent Tektro part no. for the Campy brakes?

Jeff

I'm pretty sure the campy brakes are specific to Campagnolo despite sharing features with other tektros. The closest you can probably get are the 720s. I've set up and tried both and thought the campsgnolo brakes were nicer all round and worth the price difference. It may have been other aspects of the setup however.

If I were using cantilevers, I would get the campagnolo's.

[donevwil]

Avid Tri-Align canti brakes. Easy to adjust and work very well.

Road tandem approved too.

Tri-Aligns are/were awesome, but sourcing them may be a challenge. I really like Suntour XC-Pro canti's (not the self-energizing variant). They have an internal spring (like Pauls) and use post mount pads, a definite plus for optimum set-up. Include the Suntour Power Hanger and you'll have about the best canti setup possible IMO. Older Shimanos are good as well. As with any "good" canti, set-up (pad alignment, arm angle, yoke height) is the real challenge and at the end of the day they'll never be as powerful as V's, but will work fine and have better modulation.

[dawgie]

On a budget, the Tektro 720s are fantastic brakes if you replace the pads with Koolstops. For a little more money, the Shimano CX 50s are a little more adjustable and don't stick out as much. Both brake equally well but the stock Shimano pads are better than Tektros.

[Ttx1]

The Dia-Compe 986 was/is a simple, light, effective solution. They were OE on my early 90s MB-zip (Thanks, G) - I never should have sold that bike.

I'm presently running Paul cantis, which can bridge the retro-modern divide, IMO. Availability of parts and complete rebuild-ability are huge positives.

[Ken Robb]

The Dia-Compe 986 was/is a simple, light, effective solution. They were OE on my early 90s MB-zip (Thanks, G) - I never should have sold that bike.

I'm presently running Paul cantis, which can bridge the retro-modern divide, IMO. Availability of parts and complete rebuild-ability are huge positives.

I think I have a minty set of these that I'm not using. I swapped them for Paul cantis. I think the performance was similar.

[zap]

Tri-Aligns are/were awesome, but sourcing them may be a challenge.

Yours truly has 4 sets :banana:

[curlybro]

Are you really set on cantis? V-brakes will work way better.

[hida yanra]

V's will be vastly better- on setup/annoyance/power/shudder, but if you'd really rather work w/ cantis.... Campy or Spooky.

[bfd]

Tri-Aligns are/were awesome, but sourcing them may be a challenge. I really like Suntour XC-Pro canti's (not the self-energizing variant). They have an internal spring (like Pauls) and use post mount pads, a definite plus for optimum set-up. Include the Suntour Power Hanger and you'll have about the best canti setup possible IMO. Older Shimanos are good as well. As with any "good" canti, set-up (pad alignment, arm angle, yoke height) is the real challenge and at the end of the day they'll never be as powerful as V's, but will work fine and have better modulation.

In contrast, I had a terrible experience with Suntour xc-pro cantis! I got nothing but squealing and shuddering from the fork. I tried toe-ing in the pads and that help for a bit, then it was back to the squealing and shuddering. I tried different pads, Kool-stop salmon, and again that helped a bit, but always went back to the squealing and shuddering! :mad::no:

Finally, swapped out the front Suntour for a cheapie Tektro mini-v brake (Tektro 926al) that cost about $20 and wow, what a difference! :eek::banana: Felt like I had $500 brakes on the bike! No more squealing or shuddering. They just worked! Of course, YMMV! :eek::butt::banana: Good Luck!