rothenfield1

Not sure this is the right forum, but I'm putting together a parts list for the build of my first touring bike and I'm trying to decide on the best brakes for a loaded tourer. Cantilever are the traditional favs, but I've been reading that linear pull has advantages over canti. Other than possibly having issues with rack clearance, are v brakes a good choice for a touring bike?

zzyzx_xyzzy

Fine if you get the long pull levers to match.

badamsjr

I set up my tourer with V-brakes, stabilizers (brake boosters), and Travel Agents (for brifter use). With Kool Stop pads, it was like having 26" discs! After reading numerous articles om loaded self-contained touring, I decided to upgrade the front to disc, to avoid any possibility of overheating the front rim on a long downhill towing my trailer. I had to get a different fork, so took the opportunity to use a 29er disc fork (frame is 26), to raise the front a bit, and get the bars a tad higher. It has worked very well. I still have the V-brake/booster/Travel Agent on the rear, and am careful to use it judiciously on long downhills.

KDC1956

I only use Cantilever on my touring bicycle.I don't like V brakes I have them on my mountain bicycle but I don't like them at all.
If I was building a touring I would use Cantilever brakes only.Make sure you use kool stops salmon color pads.My 2 cents on this.

AEO

once you properly setup some long arm cantis, they're comparable to V-brakes.

the hard part is properly setting up cantis as some models are considerably more difficult to setup than others.

I would say tektro CR-720 is one of the best cantis on the market, because the adjustments are easy, uses V-brake cartridge pads and the yoke cable and straddle is ingenious.

electrik

Not sure how far along you are, but you should consider disc brakes as there are a few touring frames out there with them.

operator

And the shifters you are planning to use are what? Flatbar? Sti? Ergo?

AEO

if you're a serious tourer and go to foreign countries, where it may be hard to come by for bike parts, especially advanced ones, disc and 700c is out of the question.

rothenfield1

Well, there's a whole other thread I posted on the Touring forum about brifters vs barcons and it seems to be sparking quit a debate. I'm leaning towards barcons on drop bars with Cane Creek Drop V levers if i go V brakes.

rothenfield1

That's very true, and if I was planning such a trip, as I was surprised to find out that many people do by reading the Touring Forum, I would build a different bike. I'm trying to get my head around building a modern touring bike for loaded touring along the West Coast. I know, I know, there are many that have done it with nothing more then a rubber band and a Popsicle stick,(just being funny), my issue is if v brakes are better than old fashioned cantis for a loaded touring bike?

LarDasse74

Cantis give more clearance for fat tires and fenders and racks - especially if you use travel agents (just found this out while mounting a rack to my new (to me) touring bike last night. :/ Also travel agents are uu-uu-ugly!

Cantis can (on paper) be set up to have more power then Vs, although a lot of people have trouble making this reality.

Cantis lose power as pads wear unless you regularily adjust them; Vs not so much.

Vs are dead easy to set up and give good braking 99% of the time.

Most Canti brakes don't come with the parts needed to be properly adjustable (really just a pet peeve)

V brakes are the most common on bikes in North America over the past ~12 years... if you had a complete brake failure on the road you can find a replacement set on a Huffy carcass in a ditch or dumpster.

What I am trying to say is - It's your choice. Either can be made to work well.

TimeTravel_0

I think the only reason to use cantis over v-brakes is clearance for fenders/racks.

I believe tektro makes an extra long v-brake that provides plenty of clearance.

operator

No.

It allows you to use ergo/sti without travel agents.

mijome07

Rollin' 2.1 Nano's on my 29er with v-brakes. I can go wider too.

AEO

cantis and v-brakes both, when setup properly, will open up enough to allow for fat tires.

campy levers work better with cantis since the QR is in the lever and cantis don't have QRs.
It would be a good idea to use inline cable adjusters with either V-brakes or cantis if you're going to use V-drops or STI/Ergo levers.

electrik

psst, the chainstay mounted discs are great if you're not going to tibet... just slide that wheel in and out, whatever size rim or tire you want and no digging around connecting cables through racks and panniers. gobs of power if you get hydraulic ones.

mijome07

I'm glad mine have the QR. I do however need to install adjusters in the cable line.

WillJL

I use Deore LX linear pull brakes and Tektro long-pull drop levers on my Surly Long Haul trucker touring bicycle. There are no frame/rack/tire/fender clearance issues whatsoever. The stopping power is magnificent, particularly in the rain.

I used a variety of styles of cantilever brakes for years before I switched to "v-brakes". I can assure you that the stopping power of v-brakes is superior in all conditions.The proof is in the geometry. Cantilevers simply cannot provide the leverage and power that linear pull brakes are capable of. Only the most technically-proficient setup of very wide-arm cantilever brakes can begin to compare with even a mediocre setup of v-brakes. Even so, such a setup of canitlever brakes usually necessitates a very long straddle wire (which can get occasionally get in the way of a front rack setup), and your stopping power will decrease as the pad wears. It used to be thought that the thickness of a canitlever pad provided an economical advantage over thin v-brake pads, but you'll find that there are a variety of pad thicknesses available for both canti and v-brakes, and that modern canitlevers share the same pads (hex-adjustable, not post style) as v-brakes for the most part.

Given the current availability of long-pull drop levers, there is no reason to use any kind of inline pull adjuster. The only thing that may necessitate such a device is the use of "brifters", but any self-respecting touring cyclist is not going to have brifters, right?

snafu21

I like V-brakes, to the extent I've pulled off the cantis on my 1990 Ebay 'vintage' MTB. I find them lighter, with more feel, especially if driven by a pair of light-pull levers. Adjustment is very easy. All three of my three bikes have V-brakes, set to the lightest pull possible.Braking is extremely repsonsive.
I've had cable disk brakes, they were no better, but folk say they are preferable on mud as the braking surface is further away from the goo. Others say mud clogs disk brakes.

I don't like the straddle cables on canti's - it's just more exposed metal to corrode, or be stolen if the bike is left unattended. One more spare to carry if you're away from civilisation, although you could always put the one from the back on the front, unless they are both stolen.

But it's a personal preference. I've got 2.5" tyres on the MTB with no clearance issues. Longer straddle wires, I believe, sap power. I could be wrong as I haven't used cantis for years.

Your choice. Deore V-brakes are pretty, as are the Avid ones.

TurbineBlade

Great contribution!

cyccommute 

Disc brakes and touring bike racks open a whole can of worms It makes mounting the racks and/or fenders much more...um...interesting.


V-brakes certainly make fender mounting more difficult. You can do it but you may need to do some surgery on the fenders so that the brakes can close properly without hitting the fender. Canti's don't have those problems.

V-brakes can have issues with rack mounts too. The noodle has to be mounted outboard of the rack stay and can hit the stay when the brake is used. This may or may not cause problems. If the frame is small, the arm of the brake could hit the rack stay. That would be very bad.

Back in the day, some straddle cable hangers had quick releases built into them. I've never found the cable to hard to release so the quick releases were unnecessary.

I fully agree that an inline cable adjuster is a good idea no matter what kind of cable actuated brake is used.

cyccommute 

Now that is cold Although I have a hard time envisioning why anyone would need to steal a straddle cable. It's not like they are all that easy to remove...or valuable!? I can see the exchange:

Tony's Pawn and Fencing

"Hey, Tony! I gots here some really nice diamond bracelets and a couple of pearl necklaces. How much you gonna give me for 'em?"

"Well, Frankie, the ice looks like it's glass and the pearls are just polished bone. Both of 'em are worth less than $5 on the open market. I've give you $0.01 on the dollar, soos I owes you a nickel. But...wait a minute here...what's that I see in your bag. Are them cantilever straddle cables?"

"Yea, Tony. I boosted them off some touring guy's bike. What'll you give me for 'em?"

"Those are really rare, Frankie. Hard to get. I'll give you $500 for the pair."

LarDasse74

Tell the big nurse she forgot to give you your meds again. If they made an extra long V brake it would work less well with ergo/sti without travel agents. You would have to double up on travel agents to make it work.

They make a shorter V brake designed to work with short-pull levers.

digger

Either will be fine for touring. You MAY have some adjustment issues with cantis. I use Avid Shortys (cantis) on my touring bike because I have brifters (hence cannot use linear-pull without a travel agent) and I find them easy to adjust. I have had cantis in the past that I am sure damned my soul to hell for the amount of swearing I did trying to adjust them.

Yup, you also may have some fender or rack issues with linear-pulls, but I had never had anything to serious.

As one being better braking than the other.....never noticed a difference really. Obviously the manufacturer, set up, levers and type of brake pad used will make a difference.

Just make sure you have the correct type of lever for the brake type being used.

DMF 

Discs can overheat too.