Two odd coincidences:
- I live near one of the best bike shops in the UK, Ron Spencers. They outfit most of the racers in this area and are one of the main places to go for a crosser when cross racing season starts.
- I had to take my bike there for emergency surgery (something nasty happened to the stem expander bolt) and the ultra-experienced mechanic told me he could tune the squealing cantis to complete silence, other than the rub or rubber on the rim, without a fork mounted hanger.
He did! I'm still trying to work out how. But one obvious change he made was to rotate the pads so that they were long sides forwards instead of back. But this can't be everything because I'm sure I've tried that myself. I'll take a photo and very careful measurements then play around when I have time...
Modulation and power are very, very good - not quite as good as my Lava Dome MTB with its fork mounted hanger, but it also has a much beefier stem, possibly stiffer cant mounts, different pads, etc.
Edited to add:
I'm less impressed now that I have new and grippier tyres on my crosser. The brakes could put the old tyres into a braking skid on a slope, but not the new ones. As much grip as the tyres have I don't think they're better than the Lava Dome's: I'll order a fork mounted hanger and finish the job myself.
Last edited by meanwhile; 04-06-11 at 02:49 PM.