Nitto Front Rack / Canti Link Wire Interference

[opa...@gmail.com]

Ever since I installed the Nitto Mini Front Rack on my Atlantis, the mounting rod that mounts through the fork crown hole interferes with the link wire of my IRD cantis.  You can see a picture of the IRD cantis and how low the link wire sits here:

http://www.interlocracing.com/brake_canti.html
and Riv's picture showing all kinds of clearance with theirs here:
http://www.rivbike.com/PhotoGallery.asp?ProductCode=r2

The link wire actually sits on the threaded rod when the brakes are open, enough so that when I put new brake pads on, I can't open them all the way.  Is it possible to get a different link wire that sits higher up, and still gives the same amount of braking power, or do I just need new brakes, or a new rack?  I don't really use the rack except to hold my front basket, btw.

Cheers,
Robert Opalko

[William]

How about a picture of your setup?

The Riv picture shows oodles of clearance using brakes that aren't IRD. 

Your brake pads probably have a set of spacers that have a thick side and a thin side.  If the thick side is on the rim side of the setup now, swapping the thin side spacer to the inside will move the pads off the rim, which you'll fix by pulling out some slack in the cable, raising the arch and getting you some clearance.  Raising the arch on low profile cantilevers does change the brake geometry, and will reduce your mechanical advantage somewhat. 

Throwing out that arch wire and replacing it with a separate straddle cable and carrier will enable to keep your straddle height as low as possible while still clearing your rack. 

[Minh]

there are link wires that are shorter/longer that could help with the
height. but easiest would be to use a straddle carrier style instead
of a link wire, like this http://www.rivbike.com/product-p/ca21.htm

i'm used a similiar one on my sam h with the same rack and same
brakes.
that rack is now on my quickbeam (but with paul brakes instead of the
irds) but same issue solved,

[opa...@gmail.com]

Here's the best I could do trying to get it all in one shot:

http://bit.ly/taKfSA

I'll try the brake spacers.  Seems like it would get it nowhere near the kind of clearance Riv show?

Cheers

[William]

Yeah, that looks like you already have the skinny pair on the rim side.  I recommend a carrier and straddle wire. 

[EricP]

+1. A carrier and straddle wire works easier with a front rack, IMO.
Had that setup on my Sam Hillborne with Nitto Front Rack until I
decided to go with V brakes instead.

But a longer link wire would also work if you have one. And if there
is enough extra length in your remaining brake cable.

Eric Platt
St. Paul, MN

[Corwin]

Not sure how important this is - but the image from Riv looks more
like the Shimano brakse than the iRD cantilevers.

I agree that a longer straddle wire will help - be careful not to
lengthen it too much, as that may reduce the mechanical advantage,
thereby "de-powereing" your brakes.

Corwin

[dougP]

When I added the Nitto mini to my Atlantis with the stock Shimano low
profile cantis I had the same situation. Between fiddling around with
the adjustable side and the barrel adjuster, I could just get the link
wire to come off after slackening up on the barrel adjuster. Kind of
a pain. The straddle cable idea sounds like you'll get a lot more
freedom & ease of set up.

For me, braking power was poor so I eventually went to the Tektro 720
cantis, really easy to set up.

dougP

On Dec 5, 3:44 pm, "opa...@gmail.com" <opa...@gmail.com> wrote:

[Andrew Johnson]

Link wires are available in different sizes. See Sheldon Brown's site for info

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/cantilever-geometry.html#ca

But can't your wire slip out of the non-anchored side, to allow your brakes to fully open?

Beyond that, why not eschew the link wire altogether and use a simple straddle cable and yoke? You can then get the yoke up as high as you want, for clearance above the rack bolt.

- Andrew, Berkeley

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[opa...@gmail.com]

Sorry, didn't mean to imply those were IRD's in the photo.  I was just using the photo for comparison purposes.

[opa...@gmail.com]

I've got an extra straddle cable from an old mountain bike I'll try.  Didn't have a chance to work on it last night.

Cheers!

[Ginz]

I had the same problem. Raising the yoke to the height shown in the
Rivendell photo reduced the mechanical advantage far too much. Some
folks will say it is no big deal, but I disagree. So, I went with the
Tektro CR720's which, with their wide profile, compensate for the high
yoke. However, having a very short head tube, I couldn't get the yoke
high enough to make the brakes feel good. So, I used the Problem
Solvers wide yoke which similates a high yoke,

In the end, it works. In the future, I will look for a rack that does
not occupy the fork crown!

Good Luck,
Ginz