Bicycle Mechanics - Brake Upgrade

I'm wanting to upgrade from cantilever to V brakes, I was wondering if its possible with my current bike, or do they have different mounting points. Or can I just go by the parts and put them on and also which parts should I get... Any help would be great.


thanks
JJ

I have no suggestion for specific models, but cantilever brakes use the same bosses whether traditional or direct pull (V-brakes).

Short answer:

V brakes are cantilever brakes.

:D

EDIT: Actually V brakes and traditional cantilevers do use different cable pull, so even though there will be no difference in the bosses for attaching (at least in general) you will need different brake levers.

Yes, V-brakes are parallel-pull cantilever brakes. BUT, the cable routing is very different. Older bikes are not set up for the new cable routing. The pull rate of the levers is also different, so you can't use the old levers.

Yes, V-brakes are parallel-pull cantilever brakes. BUT, the cable routing is very different. Older bikes are not set up for the new cable routing. The pull rate of the levers is also different, so you can't use the old levers.

Cable routing is of little concern. It is often easier to route the cables to v-brakes, since they can go right to the cantilever arms instead of having to meet a cable stop directly above them. V-brakes generally simplify cable routing, rather than complicating it. If you prefer to have the right lever control the front brake, then it could potentially be a bit tricky to set this up on a road bike (with Dia-Compe v-brake road levers), but even those come with the extra noodle bits. In fact, if it were possible to fit v-brakes on my bicycle, it would greatly facilitate my cable routing - as it is, I need to use a v-brake noodle to get my inner cable from the underside of the handlebar to the cable stop. Not so good, I think.