V-brake to fender clearance on Appaloosa

[Nick Payne]

I'm building up an Appaloosa, and just fitted some Deore XT M780 v-brakes that I had. At the front, the brake blocks are at about the mid-point of the adjustment slot on the caliper, and the cable run between the arms at the top just clears the arch of the fender when it is mounted to give maximum clearance to the tyre. At the rear, the brake blocks are positioned higher in the slot, which means that the cable doesn't clear the arch of the fender unless I deliberately use a spacer between the fender and seatstay mount point to move the fender closer to the tyre, which I don't want to do. Are there any v-brakes with slightly longer arms than the Deore XT? Alternatively, I suppose I could use cantilever brakes, but I've found in the past that cantilever brakes tend to interfere with using panniers due to the brake arms sticking out. Plus the Appaloosa doesn't have a cable stop at the rear for use with cantilevers.

Nick

[Eric Daume]

The Tektro 849AL is the longest I know, 10mm longer than most. I don't know if they're still made, though.

On Sat, Aug 1, 2020 at 2:45 AM Nick Payne <njh...@gmail.com> wrote:

I'm building up an Appaloosa, and just fitted some Deore XT M780 v-brakes that I had. At the front, the brake blocks are at about the mid-point of the adjustment slot on the caliper, and the cable run between the arms at the top just clears the arch of the fender when it is mounted to give maximum clearance to the tyre. At the rear, the brake blocks are positioned higher in the slot, which means that the cable doesn't clear the arch of the fender unless I deliberately use a spacer between the fender and seatstay mount point to move the fender closer to the tyre, which I don't want to do. Are there any v-brakes with slightly longer arms than the Deore XT? Alternatively, I suppose I could use cantilever brakes, but I've found in the past that cantilever brakes tend to interfere with using panniers due to the brake arms sticking out. Plus the Appaloosa doesn't have a cable stop at the rear for use with cantilevers.

Nick

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[Julian Westerhout]

This will not solve your problem now, but Grant is working on a longer V-brake -- Will confirmed in an email that it is still in the works, but some time off. So someday perhaps you'll be able to order a Silver V-Brake with adequate clearance...

Until then this list of V-brake lengths might be useful    https://www.gravelbike.com/v-brake-arm-lengths/

As Eric mentioned the Tektro 849AL is the length champion, but is pretty scarce. They are available for about $17.50 a set here:  https://hollandbikeshop.com/en-gb/branded-bicycle-parts/contec/contec-bicycle-brakes/contec-brake-set-v-brake/contec-v-brake-br-849al-120mm-arms-silver/   but shipping to CONUS is as much as the brakes!   

Julian Westerhout

Bloomington, IL 

[Nick Payne]

I just checked the link you gave for the 849AL brake, but I'm in Australia, and shipping for the brake is two and a half times the cost of the brake itself, so I'll pass on that. I do have some cantilever brakes sitting around, and I think I have one of the Surly rear cable hangers that hangs off the seatpost bolt, and a hanger for the front that clamps around the quill stem, so I'll try the cantilevers and see how much of an obstacle they are for panniers.

Nick