Spooky Brakes

[jahras]

i just got a set of spooky's and the lbc said they are clueless he was complaining about how there is no up/down adjustment of the pad does any one have any thoughts rim width sizing?/shaving the pads? ect. i know these brakes are good but there must be a trick thanx

[kartoffel]

AFAIK Spooky's and Frogglegs have no toe adjustment. Sometimes I wonder why these brakes are so popular if they're just fancy Mafac clones. "Good" as it applies to these brakes means they're lightweight and have few fiddly parts to pack up with mud, plus all the cool kids are using them.

On the original Mafacs you can bend the arms (once and only once), and after that the best you can manage is pad shaving and rotating.

I'd like to replace my Avid Shorty's with something higher profile and the lack of toe on some CX brakes has me worried. If only Pauls weren't so expensive.

[nowheels]

I'm running forgleggs on my Van Dessel with no toe in right now, and I have no issues, other than wanting to change the pads over to aztek's which I like better.

The problem with the avid's is that they shudder and squeel on a lot of bikes......you lkind of need a witch doctor to put a quite spell on them.

[i_r_beej]

I'd like to replace my Avid Shorty's with something higher profile and the lack of toe on some CX brakes has me worried. If only Pauls weren't so expensive.

You might want to consider "mini-v" linear-pull brakes. Regular linear-pull brake arms are 95mm. "Mini-v" arms are available with 80mm and 85mm arms. A poster on these forums has reported great luck with 85mm arms.

IMHO Spooky, Froglegs and other cantis of their ilk are a little too atavistic. Plus... they have NO adjustment capabilities and they cost HOW MUCH?? :^)

IRD produces a nice set of cantis they dub the "Cafam". (Get it?) Thye look like the Paul's Touring cantis and I've read good things about them. Like the Paul's brakes, they are very similar in appearance to the old Mafac cantis of yore.

[hairytoes]

Heealp

I have a frame with wide forks (98mm between bosses). Can't get the Sh!m Alvio's setup correctly because of size.

Can anyone suggest alternatives? V brakes won't work at all.

[nitropowered]

do they have spring tension adjustment? Looking to get a pair but my canti bosses aren't brazed on completely the same so one side will have more tension than the other.

[mgwadz]

AFAIK Spooky's and Frogglegs have no toe adjustment. Sometimes I wonder why these brakes are so popular if they're just fancy Mafac clones. "Good" as it applies to these brakes means they're lightweight and have few fiddly parts to pack up with mud, plus all the cool kids are using them.

On the original Mafacs you can bend the arms (once and only once), and after that the best you can manage is pad shaving and rotating.

I'd like to replace my Avid Shorty's with something higher profile and the lack of toe on some CX brakes has me worried. If only Pauls weren't so expensive.

I'm a fan of the spooky/empella version. they aren't very adjustable but I haven't had any problems.

I've burned thru a few pairs of avids and I think they have to be set up too close to the rim to work properly- so poor mud clearance. they can also shudder and squeal if not fiddled with. and the little parts can fail (springs, set screws, etc) cane creek canti's I have are very similar in design, but perhaps more durable. btw, the older avid's (15c) had longer arms- I think they made the brakes worse when they became "shorty"

the paul's look great but very expensive. I am interested to see how much the new Kore CX brakes cost.
If they are reasonably priced, this might be a better combo of adjustability, function (including mud clearance) and price.

http://www.kore-usa.com/products/sport_cantilver_brake.html


marc

[hairytoes]

I've just fitted Frogglegs.
No spring tension adjustment, but you can change the position of the saddle on the straddle wire. This will have the effect of pulling one caliper in more than the other, and may be what you need.

[mgwadz]

I've just fitted Frogglegs.
No spring tension adjustment, but you can change the position of the saddle on the straddle wire. This will have the effect of pulling one caliper in more than the other, and may be what you need.

or if the canti-bosses have more than one hole (or can be drilled) you could vary the tension...

marc

[CastIron]

Paul's can be had for $75 if you shop around. They are simple to install and keep adjusted and just flat work. Money well spent IMHO.