Bicycle Mechanics - using top-mount cross lever with v brakes (and v brake set up in general)

i've set cross levers up (salsa levers and also the cheapy nashbar levers) to work with side-pull ultegra road brakes and also with old-school mountain cantilevers.

i'm using them as an only brake lever and both of the above setups have worked well.

i tried to set up a bike with contemporary V brakes and had some problems, though. semed difficult to get enough tension on the cable to pull the brake properly. if i tightened the cable more, the brake arms would no longer sit parallel to the rim.

i don't know if it has anything to do with the lever (they are cross levers after all, and i assume some cross bikes use V brakes) or just my lack of knowlege about mountain brakes (more likely).

any pointers on this setup?

thanks!

V brakes take about twice the amount of cable pull as most other brakes. If you're not using V brake specific levers, you'll probably need to use a Travel Agent or similar cable pull doubling device.

Travel agents, they replace the noodle on the brake arm. Can a little tricky to set up at first, but work like a charm. These will definitely solve your problem.
http://www.cambriabike.com/Images/product/travel_agent_pulleys.jpg

Did you put the narrow spacer to the inside? Try wide inside.
The v-pads have 2 cones\2 washers, the washer are 2 sizes. By putting the wider washer inside, you'll hit the rim with the caliper wider.

I'd use a lever specific to V's.
But the washer thing is a note =a wide rim and reverse, small washer inside.

That's the set up I have on my Trek 520: both 287V and "cross levers!

It works just fine, thank you very much!! No travel agents involved!!

Just make sure the "cross levers you get are compatible with a V-Brake set-up...some are, some are not.

Comaptible models include those 'cross levers made by Specialized and Salsa. The Tektro 2.0's, however, are not..and say so in the manufacturer's instructions!

V-Brakes tend to be "grabby" and rub a lot if the pads are set too close to the rim; setting them slightly "wide" will minimize this (MTB racers are known to do just that to minimize 'grabbiness' and rim-rubbing.).

Also, V-Brake pads rarely need to be "toed-in"--set the pads parallel to the rim to start. "Toe-in " slightly if they "squeal" too much--this usually eliminates the noise.

Perhaps you already read this Sheldon Brown article on mechanical advanage; but here it is just in case. Once again, Sheldon Brown to the rescue:

http://sheldonbrown.com/cantilever-geometry.html

Toward the bottom is a section on V-Brakes and STI shifters.

Contrary to advice from above, you can't just space the brake pads in toward the rim. It will look like the brakes are set properly; but there are leverage issues involved, not just how close the pads are in relation to the rim.

Lastly, most cross bikes do not use V-Brakes because cantilevers work with STI shifters without adapters.