Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Noob V brake Question

So I'm parting out a mountain bike to fund a new SS/fixie build. MTB has XTR V brakes. Can I re-use them on my build or are they incompatible?

IDK, can you mount them?

Depends on the frame you're gonna use. You'll also want to choose your brake levers carefully, especially if you're planning on using drops on your build.

they will only work if your new build has cantilever mounts on the fork and frame. what frame do you intend to build up?

also, as said, the v-brake calipers will NOT work well with road levers... so hopefully you will be running flat bars or risers.

Cane Creek makes road levers for Vees.

And I guess what I said about frame doesn't matter on all builds. You could do a front brake only build if you get a fork with bosses.

nope, send them to me.

Looking at a Surly Cross Check or Pake C'Mute. Geometry, horizontal dropouts, and room for wide tires and fenders all appeal to me. Keeps my options open.

And no, I will not be riding drops. Whatever I get's gonna have risers or flats (the C'Mute seems like it'd be upright enough with flats).

also, as said, the v-brake calipers will NOT work well with road levers... so hopefully you will be running flat bars or risers.

What? I have cantis hooked up with a road lever and it works fine. Just pull the cable a little tighter. I don't even have a barrel adjuster and my brake works fine.

cantis and vees are a little different.

V brakes will work with road levers but not well.

yea, but v's technically are cantis.

And V-brakes technically kinda suck a little when actuated with short-pull brake levers.

OP: As long as your frameset of choice has mounting posts, and you use brake levers appropriate for v-brakes (or Travel Agents), your existing brakes will most likely be fine for your new bike. There are certain cases where a set of brakes would fit one bike but not another, but that's another discussion.



yea, but v's technically are cantis.

You're just full of good advice.

and apparently so are you striknein

There are certain cases where a set of brakes would fit one bike but not another, but that's another discussion.


I've heard that some CX frames and/or forks have the bosses too close to each other for some MTB brakes to work well but don't know the details offhand. And that may have been touring frames I heard that about...cannot recall.

and apparently so are you striknein

he's right, you're wrong.

normal V-brakes with levers that work with road actuation ratio = pads need to be really close to the rim in order to work.
the only exceptions are mini Vees

I stand corrected.

wow...

v-brakes are not cantilever...they are linear
v-brakes work well with short-pull mtb levers
mtb levers work decent with road calipers
road levers do not work very well with v-brakes
many cx frames/forks won't fit mtb brakes (if you were referring to linears) because those were meant for cantis

op did you ever get your question answered? you can use your xtrs if the frame & fork have v-brake bosses

have fun & good luck

wow...

v-brakes are not cantilever...they are linear
v-brakes work well with short-pull mtb levers
mtb levers work decent with road calipers
road levers do not work very well with v-brakes
many cx frames/forks won't fit mtb brakes (if you were referring to linears) because those were meant for cantis

op did you ever get your question answered? you can use your xtrs if the frame & fork have v-brake bosses

have fun & good luck

V-brakes and cantis use the same mounting points. Lots of people who ride CX use mini V brakes with road levers.

And V-brakes technically kinda suck a little when actuated with short-pull brake levers.

http://www.jensonusa.com/store/product/BL307A00-Tektro+Rl520+Ergo+Brake+Levers.aspx

Voila. Designed to work with V's.

I already mentioned Cane Creek's V-brake road levers, but thanks for the additional input ;)

OP hates drops anyways, so no worries for him.

If you aren't in the mood to buy new levers and want to continue to use the original (road) levers with V-brakes, you'll need to get one of these. Which will adapt the amount of cable pull of your road levers, to become compatible with V-brakes.

Check the Cyclocross forum for better info, and the merits of V-brakes and road levers.

http://problemsolversbike.com/images/sized/files/prod_grp/br0311-390x390.png
http://problemsolversbike.com/products/travel_agents/

yea, but v's technically are cantis.

V brakes are technically cantis but because of their differences they require a different rate of pull which cannot be provided with a conventional road lever.

Traditional cantilever brakes were designed to work with conventional road levers.

*eh-hem*



Mechanical Advantage and flex

Mechanical advantage is a key concept, which you must understand before you will be able to choose and service brakes. Mechanical advantage is commonly referred to as "power", when discussing brakes, and it is common for people to confuse this with quality. A brake may be designed for any amount of mechanical advantage, but there is a fairly narrow range that is useable.

A few models of brake levers have adjustable mechanical advantage. Mechanical advantage may also be adjusted by changing the brake shoe extension or the length of the transverse cable if a brake uses one, or by replacing the brake, the lever or both. Pulley devices such as the Travel Agent also are available to adjust mechanical advantage.

Too Much Mechanical Advantage
People with brake problems often think that they need more "power," when they actually need less! In particular, when modern low-profile cantilever brakes are used with drop-bar type brake levers, the combination produces excessive mechanical advantage. This problem also arises when using direct-pull cantilevers (such as Shimano's "V-Brakes") with levers made for other brakes.
If there is too much mechanical advantage, the lever will be all-too-easy to pull, but it will run out of travel and bump up against the handlebar before the brake is fully applied. Once the lever hits the handlebar, it doesn't matter how much harder you squeeze! If you try to correct this by tightening up the cable, you will wind up with the brake shoes too close to the rim when at rest, which will cause them to rub, especially if the wheel isn't perfectly true.

Too Little Mechanical Advantage
If your brakes too little mechanical advantage, when you squeeze your brake levers, you may feel a nice firm response. In fact, if you just squeeze the brakes of a bike that is not moving, your first impression may be that the brakes are in great shape, because they feel so solid and firm...the problem is, that they don't stop the bike, unless you squeeze very hard on the levers! A brake system with too little mechanical advantage will push the shoes against the rim quickly, but won't push them hard enough.

In some cases, what appears to be inadequate mechanical advantage turns out to be that the brake shoes are not "grippy" enough; they may be dirty, or dried out, or of low quality. Better-quality shoes can make a real difference. I particularly recommend Kool-Stop Salmon brake shoes, which have good grip and wear slowly.

Variable Mechanical Advantage
Mechanical advantage can vary as the brake is squeezed.

Ideally, it should start out low, so that the brake shoes can be set for generous rim clearance. The low initial mechanical advantage will allow the shoes to move in toward the rim fast, in response to a small amount of hand-lever movement.

As the shoes get close to the rim, the mechanical advantage should increase, so that a small amount of hand force will result in a strong force pressing the shoes against the rim.

Some high-end brake levers, most notably the upper-end Shimano models with the "servo-wave" feature, are designed to do exactly this.

Unfortunately, conventional center-pull brakes produce exactly the opposite variation! As the lever is pulled, the yoke angle gets sharper and sharper, while, in the case of low-profile cantilever brakes, the pivot-cable distance decreases. Both of these conditions reduce the mechanical advantage as the brake is applied.

Since the travel increases as the brake shoes wear down, braking performance degrades as the shoes wear, not because the shoes have any less grip, but because the mechanical advantage has decreased.

Just to be really clear "V" brakes are technically Shimano's name for a linear pull cantilever brake.

:)

yeah but no one markets their v-brakes as linear pull cantis.

i put some avid 10 linear pull cantis on my all city today. i love them.

yeah but no one markets their v-brakes as linear pull cantis.

i put some avid 10 linear pull cantis on my all city today. i love them.

They may not call them linear pull cantis but no-one but Shimano can call them "V Brakes".

Avid markets their linear pull cantilevers as "Single Digit" rim brakes... calling them "V Brakes" would violate trademarks and open them up to lawsuits from the 800 pound gorilla that is Shimano and they do not want that.

shimano is a total facist conspiracy, is what you're saying?

also, what the **** is this survey **** at the bottom of my screens, obscuring your quick reply box?

op did you ever get your question answered?

I think so. Seems like the two frames Im looking at are go. Any other suggestions?