Cyclocross - Mini V brakes?

I cant get my avid short 4's to stop squealling (front only), and ive heard a lot of good things about "mini" v brakes like the tektro RX5. Are there any negatives to it? I would need to use it with drop brifter style levers (9 sp dura ace). Also, whats some good mini V's to look at on the budget? I only need one as my back canti works awesome (locks the wheel just fine, zero squeaking).

just from what i've gathered, it works. the only thing is that you will probably have to set the pads very close to the rims, which may cause issues with mud clearance in a race, or when changing tires, etc. i'll be building up my kona jts with tektro rx5s and campy veloce ergo levers this coming week or two, i'll let you know how that goes.

Right now I have to set my avid's ULTA close to the rims (like one mm) or I dont get crap for braking power....how could this be any worse?

Are the tektro RX3/RX1 any worse? All three (rx5/3/1) seem to be in 85mm, with the new RX6 in 90 (would 90 be worse?)

get tektro CR 720
They are relatively new and work really well for the price. Much better than any avids.

Any more info? The mini V's are just so cheap...and I only need one! Would a BMX mini V work or is there not enough clearance? Do I want 90, 85, or 80 length arms?

Those cantis look nice, but Im not sure if I want another set of cantis....I do have a light (easton EC90X) carbon fork.

dunno if you've seen this, but it's pretty informative:
http://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?t=146309&highlight=tricross+brakes

Read that, I more just want recommendations on cheap ass V brakes (since I am poor). Or, alternatively, does anyone know where I can buy just ONE RX5 ? I dont need two, as my rear canti works perfect and I dont even feel like messing with it

mine squealed a lot too. i just ordered the tektro CR720 from treefortbikes.com, on sale for $19 each right now.

Right now I have to set my avid's ULTA close to the rims (like one mm) or I dont get crap for braking power....how could this be any worse?

Are the tektro RX3/RX1 any worse? All three (rx5/3/1) seem to be in 85mm, with the new RX6 in 90 (would 90 be worse?)

IIRC I've got one 80mm arm and one 85mm. Don't remember what model but I can look at them if needed.
A buddy set his up with travel agents so he could run more pad clearance and is very happy. I just run the pads tight and am very happy. Both were Tektro BMX mini v's of some sort.

They were cheap and work loads better than the stock Tektro canti's that came on the bike, even after those were swapped to Kool Stop pads.

So the bottom line is....should I go with a new canti front brake (and which one?) or just get one of these mini V's? I think ill leave the rear as avid and just change the pads

So the bottom line is....should I go with a new canti front brake (and which one?) or just get one of these mini V's?I've been quite happy with a mini-V plus travel agent:
http://www.jensonusa.com/store/product/BR409Z01-Problem+Solvers+Travel+Agent.aspx

Without the travel agent, the brake lever doesn't pull quite enough cable, atmho, ymmv, etc. Just take the time to install the travel agent correctly.

I've been quite happy with a mini-V plus travel agent:
http://www.jensonusa.com/store/product/BR409Z01-Problem+Solvers+Travel+Agent.aspx

Without the travel agent, the brake lever doesn't pull quite enough cable, atmho, ymmv, etc. Just take the time to install the travel agent correctly.

Instead of a Travl Agent, which is kind of cludgy, use the Tektro V-Brake levers. They cost about the same as a Travel Agent. Total package should weigh less because you're using 2 less parts per bike.

Instead of a Travl Agent, which is kind of cludgy, use the Tektro V-Brake levers. They cost about the same as a Travel Agent. Total package should weigh less because you're using 2 less parts per bike.Travel agents are no kludgier than cable noodles and the weight is negligible (10g, I believe). OP is using Shimano STI, so he couldn't use the long-pull levers anyway.

I just finished mounting Tektro mini-vs on my Fuji Cross this weekend. Front brakes were a simple bolt on and set up. Rear required a travel agent which added a whole 2 minutes to the install process. Short ride around the neighborhood only so far but they feel better than the Avid 4 cantis that came with the bike. More control (it's easier to apply light brake pressure) and more total stopping power (and I had put koolstops on the cantis).

I got the Tektro Mini V's on my Focuc Mares. Worked OK at the front but sucked at the rear. (105 brifters, not enough cable pull). Took some old XT 91 cantis with black Koolstop pads and put them on the rear. This seems to be a very good setup, good braking and no shudder or squeels.

How much clearance do you get though on the fronts? Im about to order tektro CR720s or these miniV's....but I will do cross racing for sure. I dont need one for the back

just from what i've gathered, it works. the only thing is that you will probably have to set the pads very close to the rims, which may cause issues with mud clearance in a race, or when changing tires, etc. i'll be building up my kona jts with tektro rx5s and campy veloce ergo levers this coming week or two, i'll let you know how that goes.

Did you consider Campy's own Veloce mini-v? They're supposed to be hot in Europe.

How much clearance do you get though on the fronts? Im about to order tektro CR720s or these miniV's....but I will do cross racing for sure. I dont need one for the back


The clearance at the front wheel is quite OK, you do have to squeese the arms quite hard to loosen the wire though, but punctures don't happen all that often with the front wheel anyway. I am not impressed with the way the Mini-V's handle dirt and salt, the bushings need to be well oiled for the brakes to stay centered.

So should I just go with a more traditional tektro Cr720? They are the wide style ones......such debates!

ffs it's been two weeks just do something

Whatever I do will be my final decission though, as I have no way to afford an alternative. I think I am just going to go with the mini V's because they are so much cheaper.

Go with the cr720, you wont regret it.

i think that if you're racing, you'd probably still be better off with cantis. but i did get my mini-v brakes installed finally.

http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r34/jch3n/IMG_1732.jpg

that's about how much clearance you get, probably a little less cuz i think my brake is off centered in this pic. and here's a pic of lever pull:

http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r34/jch3n/IMG_1733.jpg

as you can see, i don't bottom out even without travel agents in order to get effective braking. the lever feel is a little mushy but the brakes stop the bike wonderfully, about as well as any dual pivot brake i'd say (with my limited experience).

i think that if you're racing, you'd probably still be better off with cantis. but i did get my mini-v brakes installed finally.

that's about how much clearance you get, probably a little less cuz i think my brake is off centered in this pic. and here's a pic of lever pull:

as you can see, i don't bottom out even without travel agents in order to get effective braking. the lever feel is a little mushy but the brakes stop the bike wonderfully, about as well as any dual pivot brake i'd say (with my limited experience).Clearance is wider than the fork.

Not bottoming out is a minimal requirement for a brake. In order not to bottom out, you need to place the pads very close to the rims, which is a much more important factor in mud clearance than the arms (which, again, are wider than the fork itself).

Install travel agents and experience better braking with less fidgety setup.

Clearance is wider than the fork.

Not bottoming out is a minimal requirement for a brake. In order not to bottom out, you need to place the pads very close to the rims, which is a much more important factor in mud clearance than the arms (which, again, are wider than the fork itself).

Install travel agents and experience better braking with less fidgety setup.

eh, i meant pad clearance. and true, the pads are pretty close to the rims, but i'm not racing cross anytime soon so i'm pretty happy with the way it is.

eh, i meant pad clearance. and true, the pads are pretty close to the rims, but i'm not racing cross anytime soon so i'm pretty happy with the way it is.Fair nuff. But also consider that your short cable pull might have something to do with the "mushy" feeling you are describing. FWIW YMMV etc etc

I think that if you get mini v's and you don't like the amount of cable pull they require, you'll end up getting travel agents and there's another $22 including tax and shipping.

My Tricross came with mini-v's and they really did work with my Tiagra levers but I had to run my pads super close to the rim. That was relevant for me as my car's roof bike rack requires me to remove the front wheel and every time I would, I would have to carefully reset the brake tension to get that delicate balance between too much and too little front pad clearance which I found tiresome and annoying.

Think about how often you remove your wheels in order to change flats, do any work on the bike or if you transport your bike in your car. That may be a deciding factor.

Also consider how well your front wheel maintains its truth. When I ran my pads very close to the rim, any time my wheel would lose its truth, I would have to adjust and fine tune my pads.

I have a JTS with some sort of Shimano Cantis on front and back.. and I find adjusting them to be a pain in the ass (not to mention, coming from disc brakes on a MTB, the stopping power feels real weak) so I'm looking into these: http://biketoolsetc.com/index.cgi?id=219027813592&d=single&c=Components&sc=Brakes&tc=Cyclocross-Brakes-Linear-Pull&item_id=TK-MINIVB

The description says "may not accomodate oversize tires." Has anyone used these brakes? What size tires can fit? Also, I assume with 105 brifters, two travel agents are in order?

I ended up getting a new front cable hanger without the three screws, its just a simple self adjusting one. Works way better.

I ended up getting a new front cable hanger without the three screws, its just a simple self adjusting one. Works way better.

Care to elaborate and/or provide pics/links?

I'm using a full sized V up front with a travel agent. I've got plenty of clearance and lots of braking and the shudder and squeeling are gone. I B Happy.

If it helps any- i wasn't getting much braking force with my pads close to the rim, you need to make sure the bike is set up so that you're maximizing the mechanical advantage of the brake lever. It's less tricky with mtb style levers, but with road style to canti i've found you need to leave more room between the pads and the rim. Not for mud necessarily but to give the brake lever enough travel so it can maximize it's pull on the brake which is often more near the end of the travel of the lever rather than the begining.

You can read more on sheldon browns website about it. The help from his site combined with some advice from my lbs has my shorty's working fine like this and they have good grip.

With no experience on this setup, I used to think that it must work, otherwise Specialized wouldn't spec the Tricross with it.

Then I saw a Tricross at a bike shop a couple of weeks ago, I was very curious to see the mini-v brake setup.

Two thumbs down. Those pads were set so close to the rim to achieve decent braking that it was ridiculous. Fiddling around with wheel removal, and a test ride, were both highly unimpressive and unconvincing.

Maybe a Travel Agent would solve it. Either way, I'm shocked that Specialized opted for this "solution" rather than fix their crappy fork.