Bicycle Mechanics - V Brakes...parallel push and pull

I am loking to upgrade my brakes. I currently have a LX and an unknown rear. I like the way the front brake feels. I read that the Avids are very good. Do these have the same parallel linkage as the Shimano?

Are non-parallel linkae brakes harder to adjust. Any preferences or suggesions?

Thier advantage lies in the action of the parralelling pads. The pads on a standard solid arm have to travel in an arc/curve to reach the rim, due to having one pivot. To adjust for good clearance one has to make some compromises relatively speaking, as well as when the pads wear, the pad has to travel farther down the curve, potentially not contacting the rim surface effectively. The parallell push mechanism makes the pads move in a linear/direct motion that involves little or no curve. This allows the pads to be positioned in a more ideal position, as well as stay in a consistent relation to the rim for the entire pad wear. Another advantage of parrallell is it is reputed to have better lever feel/modulation than solid arm.
Parralell push mechanisms involve more parts and more things to wear out, so in really rough conditions the are a little more to maintain than standard V.
Ultimate strenght, as in trials riding, may be much better served in the long run with the solid arms. If I was to choose one personally, I would use an XTR V-brake. (As many know, I am a diehard disc fan, but I have used several levels).

I am loking to upgrade my brakes. I currently have a LX and an unknown rear. I like the way the front brake feels. I read that the Avids are very good. Do these have the same parallel linkage as the Shimano?

Are non-parallel linkae brakes harder to adjust. Any preferences or suggesions?
The Avid Arch Rivals have a superior pad alignment design. They are by far and away the best V-brakes I've ever encountered.
http://www.sram.com/en/avid/rimbrakes/archseries/

True, I forgot about that one.

True, I forgot about that one.

Another problem with the parallel linkage brakes is a higher tendency towards brake squeal. As the linkage wears (and sometimes new), it allows the rear of the pads to lift off the wheel resulting in brake chatter and squeal. Adjusting brake toe won't get rid of it either. The Avids don't have that problem.

Stuart Black

A friend of mine had the XTR units and had a bigtime squeal. His solution was to get Avid Rim Wrangler pads. Fixed it right up and they stopped pretty good.

A friend of mine had the XTR units and had a bigtime squeal. His solution was to get Avid Rim Wrangler pads. Fixed it right up and they stopped pretty good.

I had early XTs and tried all kinds of things. They still squealed like stuck pigs. Stopped fine, just announced to everyone in a 50 mile radius that I was stopping! The Avids are much better.

Stuart Black

It's kinda amusing to think about it. How many people here could name another avid product other than brakes? At the same time, anyone had bad things with said? Impressive if I do say so.

Perhaps other companies could learn from Avid. I mean if you focus on a particular component, rather then trying to make everything (i.e.Shimano), and are sucessful..thats awesome.Maybe the biking world would be a better place if each company worked on a specific aspect. just a thought.

Another question...given the choice of any avid brake system (SD, Arch, etc) which would you choose and why?

It's kinda amusing to think about it. How many people here could name another avid product other than brakes? At the same time, anyone had bad things with said? Impressive if I do say so.
Considering the fact that the only non-brake related item they make is the Rollamajig that's kind of a loaded question. They've got brake systems nailed

It's kinda amusing to think about it. How many people here could name another avid product other than brakes? At the same time, anyone had bad things with said? Impressive if I do say so.

Avid made a thing called a microadapter back when compact crankset first came out. It allowed the use of an 18 tooth chainring on a "regular" (110/74) crank. I had one on my bike and my wife still has one on her's. They also made cute little cable hangers for cantilever brakes. Other than that, I recall if they made anything else.

Stuart Black

Maybe the biking world would be a better place if each company worked on a specific aspect. just a thought.

With all due respect Matt, that's not a good thought. If you have no competition in business, quality goes down and prices go up. That's about as basic as it gets, right along with "buy low, sell high". The main reason a company, like Avid, makes a good product is to be better than someone else. It's good to have the little guys so that the Shimanos and Campys of the world are kept honest. Sorry about the political rant, but you might want to rethink that one.

I guess your right. I just figured that instead of companies all racing to try and make essentially the same components that it would be cool to see each company focus a a single component. Imagine how good Shimano could make a shifter...if that was the only component they made. Or imagine how good SRAM could make a deraileur...if that was all they made.

We already see similar trends in the bike industry today..Chris King...what comes to mind ...maybe hubs. Mavic...what comes to mind...maybe rims.

I would much rather dish out a lot of money (initially) to have a solid product than have to buy and continually replace mediocore products. I realize that some components will need replacement regardless of the quality..i.e. chains and cogs etc.. But i dont believe that there has been enough technlogical advancements in the cycle industry. I believe this is due to companies having to "spread themselves to thin"..no large company wants to take the plunge in hightech alloys or materials because the associated cost risk is too high.

When carbon fiber first came out it was unaccessible to most cyclists...but now that is not the case. Its the small, focused groups that make the major technological contributions to the cycling industry.

I see your point of how competition drives price reduction. But look it: Avid, from what i have read, seems to make the best braking systems..and yet their price are similar or if not less than Shimano.
You are probably right. This scenario will likely never happen and its maybe not a good thought. Simply making conversation.

I have XTR V-brakes(on both my bikes) and only get squealing when they're wet. Guess I must be doing something right, or I'm just lucky. I used to have Avid levers and a Rollamajig a long time ago, but the levers had a lot of play in them and I gave the Rollamajig away (I think) when I upgraded to XTR(sans chain/cassette) on my race bike. I tried out the Avid products on other people's bikes and I have to admit that I'd probably go with them now if I didn't have XTR already. They're solid!

I see your point of how competition drives price reduction. But look it: Avid, from what i have read, seems to make the best braking systems..and yet their price are similar or if not less than Shimano.
You are probably right. This scenario will likely never happen and its maybe not a good thought. Simply making conversation.


Sorry about piling on. There are, of course, plenty of good reasons to have both specialists and the vertically integrated big guys. Without Campy and Shimano we would not have quick releases and indexed shifting (OK, those may not be the best examples). They are much more motivated to make major advances in the technology than the little guy. I'm sure that many would argue that the cycling world is worse off for the loss of SunTour. If you can afford to get the Avid brakes, Chris King headsets, and all of the specialists components for your bike, then more power to you, but, in the end, you're likely to get off much cheaper with the gruppo sets. A la carte is always going to cost more.

Perhaps other companies could learn from Avid. I mean if you focus on a particular component, rather then trying to make everything (i.e.Shimano), and are sucessful..thats awesome.Maybe the biking world would be a better place if each company worked on a specific aspect. just a thought.

Another question...given the choice of any avid brake system (SD, Arch, etc) which would you choose and why?

I'd go for the Arch Rivals for mountain bike applications and the Shorty for touring bikes. The Arch Rivals look cool and they work very well. The Shorty's are superb for touring bikes! As strong as V-brake without having to use a travel assist on the cable (not a real good product). I've had mechanical discs but I don't like disc brakes.

Stuart Black

Back to the question. The reality is that linear pull pads are set up so close to the rims that they don't travel far enough to make 'ANY' difference with regard to "parallelograms, arcs, or any other techno-babble" stuff.

Avid and Shimano each have their idea of what makes a decent brake, both produce good products, and both have their fair share of supporters. In my experience, any well set up and maintained brake system (Road, mountain, center pull, roller cam, side pull, single/dual pivot, rods/levers, cantis, V/linear pull, mech/hydraulic disc, etc) works just fine. And, yes, finding the right pad can sometimes be a problem.