Recommendations please: Good V-brakes

[William]

So what do you mtb’ers recommend as a decent V-brake? Good quality and performance but not necessarily break the bank either.




Thanks!

William

[Bruce K]

Is this for an MTB or are you copying Zank?

BK

[William]

Is this for an MTB or are you copying Zank?

BK


I'm thinking of copying Mike. Canti's suck at stopping my big self quickly...and that's needed at times around here. It's worth trying out imo.





William

[VTCaraco]

I had great luck with older XTR v-brakes on my mountain bike.

The Avid Arch 50s were also very good, but I'm not sure that that style would work with a cross. As a rule of thumb, the Avids work very well and are a great value; at least from my experience.

[jchasse]

I always used XTRs or Avid Arch Rivals. Don't know if they still make the latter, but you may be able to find some on the 'bay.

I've actualy got a pair that I'm putting on my wife's mountain bike and will be taking off the existing cheapo Avids, if you are interested in those...

[jchasse]

Check out ebay item #330355494231...just wat you're looking for - $59

on edit: oops - the auction i pointed to is for just one actual brake and a bunch of levers!? But a place online called cycletechinc.com seems to have some for $44.99 per. Good luck!

[markie]

I found these to be the best....

http://www.jensonusa.com/store/product/BR707A00-Avid+Single+Digit+Ultimate+Brake.aspx?sc=FRGL

Although I find cantis that are set up properly to work good enough as well.....

[Bruce K]

William;

What are you using on your cross bike now?

There might be something better out there for you to use from the canti world as well.

To my knowledge, Mike hasn't figured out if he needs the Travel Agent wheelie thingys (technical term) to make those work. Also 99.9% of the cross world is using some form of cantis without major issue.

I know you're a big guy and all but I'd wait for some practical field results from Mike before jumping in.

BK

[Dave B]

I hate to say it, but the XTR's really are a great brake. Sure there will be some weight advantages, but very slim and that is great for mud build up. I ran them on my old IF and loved it.

Also whatever brake you get, I say spring for the Kool Stop dual compound v-brake pads. Their "MTB" pads

http://www.koolstop.com/brakes/index.php#Anchor-Formulated-4676


They rock!

[old fat man]

i don't think you want traditional v-brakes on a cross bike. the mini v brakes (tektro makes them) integrate better with the amount of cable pull in a road lever.

you may still need a travel agent to assist in the cable pull but from what i've heard the mini v brakes are a better match. i can tell you in a month or so when i get mine installed on my new cross frame.

[xjoex]

I hate to say it, but the XTR's really are a great brake. Sure there will be some weight advantages, but very slim and that is great for mud build up. I ran them on my old IF and loved it.

Also whatever brake you get, I say spring for the Kool Stop dual compound v-brake pads. Their "MTB" pads

http://www.koolstop.com/brakes/index.php#Anchor-Formulated-4676


They rock!

I bought a set of XTR V-brakes off of Mr. Pres, they are in fact, the bees knees.

-Joe

[WadePatton]

never wanted anything more than xt's.

'cept discs.

[RPS]

If you don’t need a lot of clearance for fenders the shorter Mini-Vs may be a good choice – as mentioned above.

Whether a Travel Agent or other device is needed depends a lot on where the pads fall on the adjustment range along the arms (which is a function of where the bosses are located on frame). This makes a significant amount of difference on mechanical advantage and amount of required cable pull.

I have Mini-Vs on my Cannondale tandem and the pads fall in the middle of the range, so I have fairly good mechanical advantage to stop while not bottoming out the brake levers. To be safe I set the brake pads a little closer to the rims than I normally would just to make sure I don’t run out of cable. Just requires a nice straight wheel.

Arm length is also important. It seems some of the Mini-Vs have gotten longer over the years which also require more cable pull.

[EddieBirdsell]

i don't think you want traditional v-brakes on a cross bike. the mini v brakes (tektro makes them) integrate better with the amount of cable pull in a road lever.

you may still need a travel agent to assist in the cable pull but from what i've heard the mini v brakes are a better match. i can tell you in a month or so when i get mine installed on my new cross frame.

What old fat man says, unless, of course, you want to use the Travel Agent. I'd rather not, but that's just me.

Road levers pull more cable and have higher mechanical advantage than modern mountain bike levers. If you use the Google, and search for some combination of "brakes" "Sheldon" and "mechanical advantage," the late Sheldon will describe it all to you in excruciating detail. I'd include a link, but the damn web filters here at work won't let me access the site directly.

I was about to go the route of some Pauls for my new build, but then read the threat started by Zank across the hall and I'm thinking of giving those Tektros a whirl, especially considering the price.

[zap]

I'm thinking of copying Mike. Canti's suck at stopping my big self quickly...and that's needed at times around here. It's worth trying out imo.





William

Have you tried adjusting canti cable geo per Avid recommendations and switching pads.

I ask because we had canti brakes on our tandem for over 12 years. The first were xtr then I switched to Avid Tri-Align. Our combined weight is greater than your's and we never lacked braking power on anything but the longest steep descents and that was due to rim heat buildup.

[gdw]

http://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=63020&highlight=avid

The Black Ops are exceptional and a steal at this price.

[RPS]

Road levers pull more cable and have higher mechanical advantage than modern mountain bike levers.Road levers generally pull less cable -- about half -- which is what gives them more mechanical advantage. When used with standard V-brakes they can generate a lot of stopping power (i.e. -- force) but may run out of cable pull and bottom the levers against the bars; which can lead to an accident.

Also, the excessive amount of leverage (mechanical advantage) will make the brakes feel odd (I'll leave it at that since it's not the question asked).

[EddieBirdsell]

Road levers generally pull less cable -- about half -- which is what gives them more mechanical advantage. When used with standard V-brakes they can generate a lot of stopping power (i.e. -- force) but may run out of cable pull and bottom the levers against the bars; which can lead to an accident.

Also, the excessive amount of leverage (mechanical advantage) will make the brakes feel odd (I'll leave it at that since it's not the question asked).


Thanks RPS. That's what I meant to type. I knew I'd screw it up somehow. Listen to this guy, or Sheldon, not me.

[RPS]

Thanks RPS. That's what I meant to type.
That’s what I figured Eddie ………. just wanted to avoid someone becoming confused.

In reality I don’t think they make much difference as long as the leverage and brake pads are the same – I just prefer Mini-Vs over cantis because they are fool proof – very little to screw up. I also prefer that they don’t stick out to the sides as far so they don’t get caught on all kinds of stuff.

[Peter P.]

I use Avid Single Digit 5's on my MTB. Stainless hardware has not rusted in 10 years. Simple setup; simple pad changes. You'll likely need a Travel Agent if you're using them with road levers. I honestly can't tell the difference between my V-brakes and cantilevers.

[soupless]

I'll second and third the avids. Really easy to set up and incredible stopping power. They really know how to make good brakes.

[William]

i don't think you want traditional v-brakes on a cross bike. the mini v brakes (tektro makes them) integrate better with the amount of cable pull in a road lever.

you may still need a travel agent to assist in the cable pull but from what i've heard the mini v brakes are a better match. i can tell you in a month or so when i get mine installed on my new cross frame.

So I guess I'm in the mood to resurrect old threads today. :)

OFM (or any one else who has), did you go through with it? Any one else out there try it out?

I was working on or children's bikes this weekend and after adjusting the Avids I spun them around the yard (yeah, pretty funny looking) and tried out the brakes and almost flipped my self over the bars. No matter how I've adjusted my cantis I can't get them to work any where close to the stopping power of the V's. Time to go through with it IMO. Just wanted to check in and see if any of you went through with it?



William

[dogdriver]

+8 the Avid Single Digits. Love the brakes (used them for 3 years on my mtb ss and running a pair now on my monster cross bike), work great, don't cost too much. FWIW, I did have some problems with Avid levers, and am now using Cane Creek levers on the ss with no complaints.

Travel agents with Ultegra brifters on the CX bike.

Effin William-- I do have a pair of SD's available for cheap if you're interested...

Best, Chris

[William]

Hi Chris,

I Pimmed you.




William

[Steve in SLO]

Tektro RX5 mini-v's + Kool Stop dual compound pads + Ergolevers work really well on my CX bikes. No need for a travel agent. I think I got the Tektros on eBay for something like $25. The stock pads weren't bad, either.

[dogdriver]

Wm-- Back @ you...

[fogrider]

I've had paul cantis on my cross bike for years...I could never get rid of the front wheel shutter when braking. I adjusted the brakes every which way and the shutter got better, but it would just be less and the brakes were not as powerful. the problem was the exposed cable from the hanger. the stretch was out of control.

I went with v brakes and problem solver travel agent and it works good. I would recommend using the one with the screw adjustment. it also helps to have the top cross levers which also have adjustment screws. these were pretty easy to setup: http://store.icyclesusa.com/koski-engineering-mountain-bike-v-brakeset-fr-p40866.aspx

[sevencyclist]

Avid Ultimate brakes paired with Avid Ultimate levers can't be beat. If you add on ceramic rims, the combination is amazing.

[Volant]

Mrazek MOC V's - if you can find a pair ( http://www.mrazek.com/brake.html )
. I've got a set in a box somewhere and they are light, stop on a dime and easy to set up (came with Kool-stop pads). These were my race brakes until I went to disks. One of the best V's hands-down and in many cases I prefer them over disks.