Ok 'cross people what fork would you choose, True Temper or Wound Up? I want to remove the tektro mini-v brakes and go with canti's....any recommendations?



Thanks
Buddy B

i just saw the alpha-q at the shop yesterday. it's amazingly light. we ordered it for a ferarri build of a major jake frame. we also ordered a winwood for another build and the difference was amazing. incredible workmanship, laterally stiff, beautiful and way, way, way too expensive. same with te wound-up. if you're building a cross bike for racing, and you're not a pro, then it's overkill.

as for brakes, we went with the new shimano 550 cantis for the ferarri. i personally can't stand avids. if you have an unlimited budget, look at the paul's neo retros, if you are reasonable, look at the shimanos. they seem to be stiffer than the avids [less machining at the back], not much heavier, but with an almost identical profile.

OK, I have to ask since velocipedio brought 'em up, what is UP with my Avids?

They squeal to the point of complete obnoxiousness when I'm on the front brake. I can handle a little squeal, but this is unacceptable. They're strong, just so darn noisy. Anyone have any suggested cures? (They're the 15c's)

I've heard great things about Paul's, just don't have the money for 'em right now.

Thanks everyone!

avids sqeal like a banshee. this seems to be due to brake arm flex. they're heavily machined at the back of the arms and, if you look down while clamping on, you can actually see a bit of flex. this is not as noticeable on a really stiff steel or alu fork, but put 'em on a carbon fork and your bike sounds like a cat in heat.

there's not much you can do about it. radical toe-in helps for a while, but you go through pads like crazy.

they're fussy to set up and i find that they don't hold up well to the rigours of racing. the little hook at the end of the brake arm that holds the straddle cable tends to crack and break. all cantis are prone to this to some extent -- though the avids seem a bit more so -- but at the price you pay for them, you'd expect them to be a bit tougher.

Thanks for your detailed response--makes a lot of sense.

I did get new pads this weekend which helps a lot.

I spoke with someone at my LBS who said she loves her Paul brakes (neo-retro in front, touring canti in back). She said they're strong, quiet, easy to modulate, and she's NEVER had to adjust them.

The Paul Neo Retro brakes, on the website they have a warning about the power of these brakes. I first thought that it was a marketing thing, but when I looked at bikes of pro Crossers, they also use Paul Touring Cantis on the rear.

Are the Neo Retro really THAT powerful? Would you/she say that they're comparable to V-Brakes on an MTB?