Will V-Brakes work on a cyclocross bike?

[Germanboxers]

I've just picked up a Lemond Poprad and it has Avid shorty 6 centerpull brake calipers. I can't stand them for many reasons and would like to use the same V-brakes I have on my MTB bike; however, I haven't seen any cyclocross sites that sell (or even show) V-brakes as an option??? Any reason why they wouldn't work? Thanks!!

[Bruce K]

Gb-

Why don't you like the Avids? They seem to be the brake of choice for the more mainstream manufacturers like Trek, LeMond (I know), and Redline.

I can't remember seeing V-brakes on cross bikes.

If you are looking for more braking power there are several options that you can see on the cyclocrossworld.com website.

I have Empellas on my Cannondale and they work pretty well. There are also choices from Spooky and Paul to consider.

BK

[kokies]

It is the distains of pull. Cantiliever have a shorter pull and will work with road levers. V-brakes need more. You could try V-brakes with (i believe) a cantiliever adapter. It was designed to use v-brakes on cantiliver levers. Looks ugly but may solve your problem.

[DfCas]

can be used with road brake levers if you use a cable pull adaptor from QBP called a "problem solver".Note that these usually cause more problems than they solve.

The biggest problem for racers is the pad to rim clearance is very small,leaving almost no room for mud clearance.Also modulation is not as good.

You may want to look at Sheldon Brown's info on the Harris cyclery site for setting up canti's.

Dan C.

[Germanboxers]

Well, I've noticed a couple of things with the Avid Shorty 6's. First, I get some serious chatter when hitting the front brake even just moderately. Second, It's darn near impossible to disconnect the cantilever cable without loosening it. Third, it doesn't seem like the springs are strong enough to recenter every time. Fourth, and this is probably just a defect, the spring wire/rod pops off the pin during heavy braking.

I've seen some of the options at cycloworld.com and they are expensive. I'd like to just pick up some Performance fortes' V-brakes for cheap as I don't plan to race cyclocross this year. However, I also don't want to utilize an inappropriate tool if V-brakes are indeed inappropriate for cross applications? It just seems like such a simple solution for MTB's and I'm really impressed with the breaking power of my Avid V-brakes on my Stumpjumper Pro.

Any other suggestions? Thanks!!!

[gdw]

Save yourself some money and pick up a set of the last generation LX, XT, or XTR cantilevers on Ebay. They work as well if not better than the high zoot born again modern cantilevers a lot of racers are currently running. It might take a little more work to initially set them up but they will outperform any v brake with adapter. You can further improve their performance with Kool Stop salmon pads if you ride in the rain and mud.