After searching the forum, I am still a little bit unsure about what would be the best brake levers for the avid shorty's. The avids are cantilever style, which are short pull and so any road lever would work, right? Any suggestions for which levers are better for this application?

Thanks!

Find another brake.......

uh, i think the previous poster didn;t understand your quetion ;-)
I use avid shorty 4's on my tricross, and it has dura ace brifters, so yes, I think any road shifter would work.

I think nowheels maybe doesn't like shorty 6's. I have them and I don't like them too much either, but have been using them for years anyway. I currently have them hooked up to plain old Shimano brake levers (not brifters). Over the years, I have used them with Shimano and Campy brifters, and LX levers too. All work fine.

OK, so pretty much any road levers will do. What about the dia compe v-287, which are obviously meant for long pull v brakes? Will they work, too?

It seems like the Avids are the default choice for a cross build. Is there a better choice out there?

thanks for the input!

The Avid Shortys are just fine. I've been using them for the whole year on my commuter bike without problems other than the squealing from the front (only happens when it's cold). I'm not to worried about the noise though since the bike stops just fine. I've got a set of Kool Stop pads ready to go when the original pads wear out though.

That's good to know...

I've just heard and read so much about the squeeling these brakes are infamous for, that I wondered if it was worth looking into other options. But on the other hand, they work well enough, and their seems to be some halfway decent options for reducing the noise (like the Kool Stop pads)

I have never really liked them all that much....... both the 4's and the 6's. I rode them for about a year an a half before I went to Spooky's and 4AZ's. I tried to run them on a varity of frame and fork combinations........ they shudder a lot and are nosier than my 10 yr old.

Was it the squeeling, or was there another issue with them?

It was a combination of things..... gave 2 pair away to some unsuspecting souls.... I'll probably go to @##@ for that.

A couple of years ago there was a big discussion on these.... and how they did not work well with carbon forks and just in general. Another issue is adjustability..... there are some forks where there is just not enough room to adjust them.

It's just that the avids are inexpensive and from what I can gather, work well enough. I will be upgrading to full carbon fiber fork, so I hope they don't give me any problems!

I hade the problem on a Ridley, Vandessel and Kona....... all with carbon forks.

hmmm. any thoughts on the shimano R550 cantilevers? I think I want to stick with a low profile brake, if possible.

From what I understand, that is a much better brake. I have used the Cane Creek version and they were just fine. http://www.greenfishsports.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=858

I'm running the shorties and after changing to different pads they are great. Koolstops are the only way to go.

I'm not saying that they do not work........... but I truley believe they are evil . I use avids on my MTB ..... no issues (V or disc). But the 4's and 6's, on some frame and fork combinations were never intended to be tougher, even with the kool-stop pads.

There were some threads on this about a year ago...... you either hate them or just put up with them.