mikejavo

I have a 7 speed DX shifter-brake combo from 1993, and was wondering if these levers would work with V-brakes. The current brakes are DX cantis, which I thought were good, until I tried Avid Vees. From research here, I know that some Shimano levers have a V and C, or L and H setting, but these don't seem to have any adjustability. The shifters are rapid fire, and work great, so I don't really want to mess with them. The setup is on an aluminum bike, so I can't really go to 8/9 speed.

Thank you in advance for any insight.

Svr

You'll never get them to work well with v brakes unless you use a pulley type travel adapter like a QBP Travel Agent.

Why does an aluminum bike mean no 8/9 speed?

Waldo

Alu frame means spreading the dropouts is unwise.

Svr

Why would he need to spread the dropouts? 135mm spacing was introduced in 1989 along with 7 speed hyperglide.

Waldo

You're right, I'm on too many medications. Thanks for the fix.

mikejavo

Thank you, I'll check the spacing tonight, and maybe start bidding on some V brake levers. I have 8 speed LX shifters which should be alright.

I'll check my medications as well. :-)

Svr

I'm just wondering why the topic starter assumes an aluminum frame equals no 8/9 speed. Even if the frame is spaced to 130, most current road hubs will fit and allow 8/9 speed cassettes to be used.

mikejavo

Hi svr, I just assumed by the age of the bike, that it wouldn't accommodate wider spacing. It's a 1993 Rocky Mountain Stratos, 7000 series aluminum. My other bikes (road and hybrid) are steel, so I've had no concerns about upgrading.

Thanks again for all the great insight. It's really too bad about the levers, I like the way the feel.