Bicycle Mechanics - Do V-Brake Levers work with Caliper Brakes?

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shubonker
08-05-08, 10:31 AM
Do V-Brake Levers work with Caliper Brakes?

Bought one of these http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000IQCN42 need to know if they'll work with my caliper brakes, thanks!

Sekine
08-05-08, 10:47 AM
Well, they'll pull cable, but unless you've got popeye like forearms, you're going to have a hard time stopping your bike. V-Brake leavers pull twice as much cable half as hard, so you'll feel kind of like your brakes just hit a brick wall, and aren't really stopping you.
tellyho
08-05-08, 11:07 AM
In other words, no.

shubonker
08-05-08, 11:32 AM
Okay, thanks guys, i just canceled my order.
griftereck
08-05-08, 11:52 AM
Ive put v brake levers on an old bike with a Weinnmann 1020 rear brake.

The brake just feels solid. No feel at all.
I tried loosening the brake cable. Helped a bit.
Maybe it was partly the ancient pads I was using on the new alloy rims though.
roadfix
08-05-08, 12:00 PM
It depends.
I've had them set up with dual pivot calipers and I thought they worked well, although these levers provided less mechanical advantage due to the extra cable pull. The plus side was that they provided a solid lever action (not mushy) and you were able to position the pads a bit further away from the rim.
ultraman6970
08-05-08, 07:08 PM
I agree with road fix, It depends. Some of those integrated hybrid type of brake levers can work with both types of brakes. Did you check in the internet if that model in specific worked with regular calipers? I believe some of them do work fine with calipers. Other brands use a pin inside that can be moved to adjust the pull tension to short, so they could be used with regular caliper brakes (tektro and cane creek i believe)

Campagnolo does a brifter for flatbars 10 sp compatible with calipers also. No idea about v-brakes but probably it works also. Worse case scenario u can use a travel agent to correct the problem.

Thanks.