Cyclocross - Paul Neo Retro Brakes

Hey Guys I just got a pair of paul's neo retro cantis for my cross bike, I ve got them installed but the fine tuning is becoming a beyotch!! any advice?

They are awesome brakes but I just spent way too long setting them up. If I had too do it all again I would still probably take forever getting them just right.

There's no trick. It's all in the eye. It simply takes some experience setting up all sorts of cantilevers. Avid shorties usually just screw on and work. I have been picking up sets of Coda brakes off of Ebay and they're even easier to set up.

Thanks guys, got them set up and took them for a ride, they work suprisingly well for "old school" style cantis at least as well if not better than the Avids I was riding on.

Be sure not to do a "front wheely" or you'll be accused of having a disk brake.

HA HA!! Yeah, Ive been following that thread. Looks like it's getting pretty fiesty.

cheers, Mike

I value Cyclintom's opinion on the Avids, but I myself cannot get them to work without squealing for more that a few hours; and that's on wideish T221 rims, narrowish ME14A, and everything in between. This includes various different toe-in amounts, every pad that has ever been recommended (Kool-Stop MTB Dual Compound, Salmon, Low-Profile, etc, and the stock Avids) Seems Andrew Muzi and other experienced mechanics can't get it right either: http://tinyurl.com/hgl46

So what am I doing wrong? This is not at all a flame, it's a question.

Hey, they squeal for me as well. My suspicion is that they're a little bit too flexible. If you get them set up perfectly they'll be quiet most of the time. But it could be the pads as well.

I'm not that particular and I don't bother much with that sort of thing unless it squeals so loudly that it bothers me. And I do notice that eventually the squealing goes away.

you guys need to think outside the box. instead of radically toeing-in, try a mild heel-in aka toe-out. i have had it work many times on customer bikes with badly squealing brakes. other things to try: no toe in/out, but have the top or bottom edge of the pad contact the rim first. or a combination thereof.

Well, after reading all this, I'm not going to mess with mine. someone else set them up for me and they work great! no squealing, smooth and strong with good modulation.

I value Cyclintom's opinion on the Avids, but I myself cannot get them to work without squealing for more that a few hours; and that's on wideish T221 rims, narrowish ME14A, and everything in between. This includes various different toe-in amounts, every pad that has ever been recommended (Kool-Stop MTB Dual Compound, Salmon, Low-Profile, etc, and the stock Avids) Seems Andrew Muzi and other experienced mechanics can't get it right either: http://tinyurl.com/hgl46

So what am I doing wrong? This is not at all a flame, it's a question.
I put a set of the super cheap Radius canti's on my bike last year. They don't squeal and they stop. Problem is they don't have the Bling or Snob Appeal of Paul's either. Oh well, I guess cool comes with a price. LOL

Tim

I just got some Paul Neo Retro brakes, polished actually, though the matt would have been fine for me. One thing that bugs me about them is that they mount way out there on the canti mounts. The spring is front mounted, and so the space on the back is not used by the brake, I thought the sleave would fit over the whole mess, but it holds the brake out front. Seems as though a purpose built boss would be a big improvement.

What about something like these?

http://www.novacycles.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=61_137_141&products_id=780

Merckx rider, what fine tuning aspects are you talking about exactly? I have the same brakes, and they were pretty easy to set up for me. I love them since they stop and don't squeak at all.