brakes

[Jay in Tel Aviv]

When I built my Sam last summer I selected what I thought were
reasonably priced drive train components that function reasonably
well. One result I am less than extatic about is brakes, which are
Deore v-brakes with kool stop pads and the Tektro drop bar levers that
work with vees. This combination stops the bike just fine, but has
nowhere near the modulated feel of the calipers on my Brompton. In
comparison the vees fell, for want of a better word, clunky.

So, what am I doing wrong and what can be done to fix it? A different
typre of brake? A different model? Different levers and j-tek
thingies?

I love the feeling of control that good brakes provide. How to I gwt
that on my canti Sam?

[Jay in Tel Aviv]

My wife tells me the correct spelling is "ecstatic"
I knew "extatic" didn't look right.

[PATRICK MOORE]

I was extatic about the IRD high-pro cantis Riv set up on the erstwhile Sam Hillborne, with salmon pads, of course. Best brakes I've used: as powerful as any V I've used, and as my Avid BB7s, and modulated better than either. Tektro levers, fwiw.

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group.
To post to this group, send email to rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bun...@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.

--

-------------------------
Patrick Moore, Albuquerque, NM, USA
For professional resumes, contact Patrick Moore, ACRW
http://resumespecialties.com/index.html
-------------------------

[Jim Mather]

On Sun, Nov 18, 2012 at 12:23 PM, Jay in Tel Aviv <jayi...@gmail.com> wrote:

So, what am I doing wrong and what can be done to fix it? A different
typre of brake? A different model? Different levers and j-tek
thingies?

I've tried Tektro and DiaCompe drop bar levers for v-brakes, and I've tried j-tek. I've been satisfied with none of them. I run canti's with drop bars for better stopping. I just set up a bike with Deore v-brakes and mountain levers, and I'm really impressed by the stopping power.

jim m
wc ca

[dougP]

Jay:

This is interesting. I have exactly the same set-up as you on my
Atlantis & couldn't be happier. The Deores are the plain ones that
Riv had on close-out last year, just plain Deore with no extra letters
or fiddly pads. Before that I had Tektro 720s for a long time (with
the appropriate levers) and they just took too much lever pull. The
Vs work great on long steep downhills and modulate better than the
cantis.

One variable may be cable housing. When I changed the brakes, I
bought some extremely stiff cable housing. Don't recall the brand but
was about 3X as pricey as Shimano standard housing. My cables run
under the bar tape, so plenty of tight bends.

Another variable I haven't personally tested is whether or not letting
the cables "run where they may" would be any different. Even though
the Tektro levers have the same pull as MTB levers, I suspect the
cable routing with the tight bends under the bar tape may create some
additional friction. I have a note to self to see what, if any,
effect freeing up the cables may have but that will have to wait until
the next time the bar tape needs replacing.

Keep us posted on whatever you try. I keep learning new stuff here.

dougP

[Jay in Tel Aviv]

You may be right about the cable routing. The rear brake has a lot
more friction than the front.

[Ron Mc]

Delta Aztec DuraCote cables are the slickest I've ever come across.  When I replaced a rear cable with one of these, using my same Yokozuna housings, I can feel no difference in the effort between front and rear - this is something I have ever experienced before.