Winter Cycling - V-brakes or calipers for winter?

whats more robust in the winter for both braking power , and power to not break, v-brake or cantilever?

Discs should give you a little better stopping power, especially under adverse conditions such as when the snow/ice is sticking to the rims.

Discs also seem to give more issues with dragging as temperature changes etc. In short, V-brakes seem much less prone to breakage.

No issue with my v-braks but they are parallel push and servo-wave, so plenty of stopping power(in the dry - goes south in the cold slop)... canti's can squeal a lot.

I noticed my V-brakes squeal like banshees in the cold. I'd go disc if I had money to start over.

I noticed my V-brakes squeal like banshees in the cold. I'd go disc if I had money to start over.

Yeah, but they all squeal.. even discs. If i was stating anew i would aim for at least one disc on the fork

II'd go disc if I had money to start over.
Its just that this is my utility/winter bike i dont ice/offroad or anything.
Discs make the bike more steal-worthy + my frame wont work with discs :P
I think i will get drums some day :D

and both V brakes and cantilevers are more reliable than cantilevers in the winter right?

No problems or sqealing with my v-brakes (on my winter beater bike) since purchase 2002. Minor adjustments only. I´m actually baffled by the endurance!

and both V brakes and cantilevers are more reliable than cantilevers in the winter right?
whoops I meant to say both V brakes and cantilevers are more reliable than calipers in the winter, right?

whoops I meant to say both V brakes and cantilevers are more reliable than calipers in the winter, right?

Oh? Well.. i think the most reliable would be a hydraulic brake since it wouldn't ice up. You have to look at what the caliper or v-brake in question is constructed out of. I know one buy who's avid bb5 seized/rusted out but his bb7 didn't... There are other reasons to call something reliable like consistent stopping ability of disc over rims.

All rim brakes work exactly the same during winter.
That is, if enough road grime and ice gets onto them, they can get sticky and if there's ice on the rims, they all don't work as good.

having said that, callipers are the hardest to clean, while both cantilevers and V-brakes are easy, because everything is exposed.

higher quality parts will use materials that don't rust out, btw.

whats more robust in the winter for both braking power , and power to not break, v-brake or cantilever?

I think a bigger issue is not if you have v-brakes or cantilevers but if they are adjusted properly and have good brake pads and you are using aluminum wheels. Steel wheels are heavy and have really poor stopping power when wet. Aluminum wheels also loose some of their stopping power when wet but not as bad as steel ones. However, most all bikes now use aluminum wheels. But if you are using an old bike as a commuter it may have steel wheels.

I prefer V-brakes because they generate more force perpendicular to the wheel rim for the amount of hand force used. Thus, I think they offer more control if properly setup.

I've found V-brakes allow the rim to ice up easier because of the amount of clearance between the pads and the rim.
well actually, they all ice, but the ice with the V-brake setup is thicker and harder to clear.
cantis and calipers naturally have the pads closer to the rim, making the ice build up thinner and easier to clear.

All of them offer the same stopping power when setup correctly, even with the same amount of dirt, ice and snow thrown onto them. Cantis are a bit harder to setup and are often setup incorrectly, leading to poor performance.

Definitely discs. By far the most efficient stopper. V-brakes second choice.

i use v-brakes on my bike in the winter and they work fine as long as i leave my bike up-right when i'm not riding it. if if ends up on its side is when i start to have problems.

I find that they all suck in the winter here in Calgary. I did switch my original cantis from the 20 yr old mtb I'm riding to the super-cheap v-brakes they sell at Canadian Tire, price is right, and the most important thing about v-brakes is that you can have the entire cable covered by the casing.

V's give better power for a lot of tire & fender clearance. Personally I've found that in conditions where the brakes don't work well you don't really have a lot of traction, either, so the loss of braking power is moot. Better consistency would definitely be an asset, but in bad weather you don't have the traction to stop very fast so you have time to compensate. IMHO most important factor is how prone they are to sticking.

*Edit: Rims icing up is a frequent problem. Given the choice, I'd go discs or drum/roller brakes.

I've had caliper brakes ice up in the winter during rides so I'm not a big fan of them. Discs and then v-brakes are what I prefer and find to be the most reliable and consistent performance-wise.

Got over 20 years of trouble free use from My Sturmey Archer Elite Drum Brakes, never need replacement brake shoes ,
at least in My lifetime.

Now the Taiwan made versions include a Dynamo in the front, hub too.. ..

Mechanical disk brakes far superior to anything else out there for winter commuting. You can always upgrade your front fork to use disks.

You know...there really *are* plenty of people out there who are using rim brakes in the winter, winter after winter, and they've worked fine. Discs are probably better if you're willing the spend the money. We get it - ok?

Any chance we could get back to the original question, which was wondering if one style of rim brake would work better than another?

I noticed my V-brakes squeal like banshees in the cold. I'd go disc if I had money to start over.

This is funny - it is only my discs that squeal like banshees in the cold. Or if they get wet. It's a pretty common thing with disc brakes.

Don't have that problem with my rim brakes, though to be fair I don't ride my rim brakes when there's snow on the ground (have ridden them below freezing a few times before the snow though).

Has anyone thought up a crud scraper for the rim brake? Seem like an obvious must have. Hard plastic, like a cheep ice scraper, spring mounted to the pad, or the brake that will contact the rim, when brakes are engaged, and take off the majority of the grit, ice, and snow, before it gets to the pads and loads them up with nasty stuff.
I road last year with canti's and did not really have much of a problem with stopping power, but the springs did get loaded with snow/ice. I have a new bike for rain/winter this year and the short V brakes will not allow the touring fenders on the cross fork. I have a two pair of canti's in my Amazon basket for $20, and they have sealed springs. Brake cables did not freeze last winter, only shifter cables, so I not really worried about that this year.
The wife has decided to get a winter bike too and she liked a model with a disc brake on the fork and a roller in the rear. Both cable, we will see how they preform. And you can guess who will be fixing any problem/discomfort that happen to plague the bikes.

Has anyone thought up a crud scraper for the rim brake? Seem like an obvious must have. Hard plastic, like a cheep ice scraper, spring mounted to the pad, or the brake that will contact the rim, when brakes are engaged, and take off the majority of the grit, ice, and snow, before it gets to the pads and loads them up with nasty stuff.
I road last year with canti's and did not really have much of a problem with stopping power, but the springs did get loaded with snow/ice. I have a new bike for rain/winter this year and the short V brakes will not allow the touring fenders on the cross fork. I have a two pair of canti's in my Amazon basket for $20, and they have sealed springs. Brake cables did not freeze last winter, only shifter cables, so I not really worried about that this year.
The wife has decided to get a winter bike too and she liked a model with a disc brake on the fork and a roller in the rear. Both cable, we will see how they preform. And you can guess who will be fixing any problem/discomfort that happen to plague the bikes.


MTB cartridge already have a chevron on the front to plow dirt off... if you want to clean the rims - drag your brake. For most people this would be annoying.