Your opinion on the various options for big-tire rim brakes?

[robin3mj]

For cantis, Tektro 720’s punch way above their price point in my experience. Just great brakes all around. If you’re looking for justification to NOT move the posts or otherwise adjust the frame.

I had mid reach TRP 957 on a bike for a short while and could not distinguish much different between those and sram red brakes of the same era.

When I went to have an new Indy Fab built last year, I was torn between the Club Racer and Planet X. In the end I told them it’d be mainly paved and light gravel, 32mm slicks and maybe 33/35mm file treads. They recommended the PX and Minimotos and I haven’t looked back. Probably 1,500 miles and no regrets. And while not as classic looking as traditional CX brakes, I think they look pretty cool- definitely a good fit for the Sunday rambler ethos of the bike.

[slowpoke]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

What I do not like about mini-v's:

1) they generally require you to run the pads pretty close to the rims, which I dont like to NEED to do for various reasons, especially on a rough road bike.

2) in light of (1) above, they do require more precision to set up and require tweaking for system "upsets" more than wide stance cantis, which are more forgiving.

Yeah, I run Paul Mini-motos begrudgingly on my canti all-road bike, but dislike how close the pads sit to the rim. If the rim goes untrue during a ride, my braking quality will be greatly hindered. I originally tried wide-profile cantis, but the carbon fork shuddered horribly on steep descents and there's no way to mount a cable stop from the fork crown.

If you have a steel fork, I would try cantis. They may be harder to set up, but I think the extra margin for error later is worth it. For carbon forks, you probably have to go mini-v.

[Mr B]

The winning combo for me is...

Business up front



Party out back



Don't worry, I moved the fender tab behind the fork crown shortly after the photos were taken.

[fredd]

Originally Posted by Mr B

The winning combo for me is...

Business up front



Party out back



Don't worry, I moved the fender tab behind the fork crown shortly after the photos were taken.

Pretty sure I ogled your bike and chatted you up on Jay street a couple weeks back

[sailorboy]

I'm going with the VO grand crus for my next build which will be a Bishop road-plus bike that will take 32mm tires, with fenders if necessary, and up to 35-38s without them. I'm confident in this choice after seeing Dave Kirk's most recent posts about the first bike he has built for himself in several years, calling it the MRB 'Montana Road Bike'. He seems to have endorsed that brake set-up whole-heartedly.

[fredd]

Originally Posted by sailorboy

I'm going with the VO grand crus for my next build which will be a Bishop road-plus bike that will take 32mm tires, with fenders if necessary, and up to 35-38s without them. I'm confident in this choice after seeing Dave Kirk's most recent posts about the first bike he has built for himself in several years, calling it the MRB 'Montana Road Bike'. He seems to have endorsed that brake set-up whole-heartedly.

That, good sir, is the exact bike I lust for most in my life.

Hopefully you ride a 52 and like selling your bikes

[Dired]

Originally Posted by Mr B

The winning combo for me is...

Business up front



Party out back



Don't worry, I moved the fender tab behind the fork crown shortly after the photos were taken.

Very nice - what brand are those fenders?

[choke]

I would (and did) pick the Racer Ms. I love centerpulls and I think that they are the best style brake for a bicycle ever made. They have plenty of clearance and great modulation. Mine are also post mounted.

#2 would be cantis. They have good clearance and modulation.

I wouldn't even consider v-brakes or dual-pivots. I do not like either - I think that the modulation is terrible for both styles. V-brakes in particular are horrid IMO, they feel more like an on-off switch than something that works progressively. I know that I'm in the minority with that opinion....

[Mr B]

Originally Posted by Dired

Very nice - what brand are those fenders?

Cheers, they’re Portland Design Works - Full Metal Fenders (700c 45mm)

Originally Posted by fredd

Pretty sure I ogled your bike and chatted you up on Jay street a couple weeks back

Checks out, I ride through there plenty! Thanks for the compliments!

[charliedid]

Originally Posted by Mr B

Cheers, they’re Portland Design Works - Full Metal Fenders (700c 45mm)


Checks out, I ride through there plenty! Thanks for the compliments!

What bike is that?

[Mr B]

Originally Posted by charliedid

What bike is that?

It's my On-One Pompino v3.

[charliedid]

Originally Posted by Mr B

It's my On-One Pompino v3.

Nice

[Pastashop]

How much tire (and fender?) do you need to clear?..

Wide stance Tektro 720 is easy to set up and work remarkably well, and are remarkably cheap. I prefer them to Paul Mini-V — better clearance (50+ mm tire and fender no problem), almost equal power, easy to adjust, and can work better with narrower stud spacing. (Get the yoooge thinline pads that Paul uses, and you’ll get fully equal stopping power.) I also hate — HATE — the weird extension on the Paul brake arms that forces me to use a thick stand-off nut on the pad holder, and makes it a pain in frames with narrower stud spacing, wider rims, etc.

But if you don’t need to clear a lot of tire / fender, almost any Mini-V will work as well as the Paul. If you plan to run a full length V brake for more clearance, there are only one or two road brake levers on the market that’ll have enough cable pull to avoid the need for a Travel Agent.

[mhespenheide]

Originally Posted by donevwil

I've tried all the ones listed minus the VO dual pivots. IMO it's really a function of how heavy you are and how well/fast you want to stop (I'm 230# in a very hilly area).

190#, hilly, wet at times -- although this will be a nice-day bike, as I've already got a disc bike in the quiver.

Originally Posted by donevwil

I'd say Racer M's are my favorite of the bunch (mine are braze-on, never tired center mount). Not as "perfect" as a pair of quality road dual pivots, but close. Of course one has to be fine with the cable routing gymnastics required, especially in front.

Nice; that plays into my biases going in!

Originally Posted by donevwil

#4 would be mid reach dual pivots. I found the TRPs to be a bit weak and flexy for me and that was after swapping salmon pads in front. They were fine for 90% of my riding, but that last 10% caused some more excitement. I preferred the Shimano BR-600/650s, but power was still less than I wanted.

My #1 bike for a number of years had the TRP RG957's with the default pads and I never noticed a problem with them. Nor the Shimano BR-650's. But then, I rotate in a vintage Bianchi with old-school BR-1050 (early single pivot 105 brakes), so basically everything else feels powerful in comparison.

[GOTHBROOKS]

wide set cantis are the best brakes out there.