RaleighSport

I couldn't make up my mind between posting this in C&V, cx, and Commuting, mechanics, but you guys have the biggest mix of all the above so here we are.

I've been doing a long term drop bar conversion of an 80's mtb, I know about the road FD thing etc, I know I shouldn't use regular V brakes, I also know standard calipers won't work either(not enough reach), I have to admit I'm HORRIBLE at adjusting cantilevers and IMO I don't have good enough canti's in the pile for this build anyhow.

I've read mini v-brakes can be problematic with STI's but I also seem to recall reading several threads on this site where the conversion worked like a charm, how problematic is it? Is there a major loss of mechanical advantage using mini-v's? Is it as bad as using a travel agent for regular V's? And are travel agents really all that terrible? I want to be able to stop in wet conditions well! I already know about kool-stop pads and all the different versions.

Random thought: I should see if my MAFAC racers have the reach.. and if they do, will they even work with STI levers properly? Would U-brakes be a possible option?

bobotech

The Mavac Racers will probably work fine.

I have used mini-v brakes with STI shifters and it does work but it was annoying. I had to set the pad to rim distance very close and it was very picky. That is just my experience. I ended up going back to canti-brakes.

Now I hate setting up the old style canti brakes. The ones with the smooth post, you have to adjust so many things all at once. The newer ones with the threaded posts are much easier to setup.

I have used travel agents with v-brakes and STI shifters and it was similar to setting up mini-v brakes. Just annoying how tight I had to make everything so that everything would work.

I currently use my travel agents with my disc brakes on my cross bike which has STI shifters. I got a set of free mountain bike calipers which use v-brake cable pull compatible levers so the STI levers didn't work. Using the travel agents, it works great now.

fietsbob

the shorter the arm on the V brake , the lower the MA, and the less cable pull across the top of the tire
it takes to squeeze the pads together ..

Tap into the BMX parts catalogs , there is an adapter plate with bosses for
either V or U brakes, It would use the center bolt hole in the fork or seat-stay-bridge
to mount the plate, then the brakes go on those pivot-post-bosses.

Wilfred Laurier

i have mini v brakes on my touring bike and they work brilliantly

i dont know what causes some combos to be finicky to set up
because that has not been my experience.

Andy_K 

Long-pull brake levers have long pull specifically to reduce mechanical advantage because regular V-brakes have too much leverage for standard levers. Mini-V's solve the same problem by having shorter arms on the brake. The result will be the same if the lever and brake are properly matched.

Mini-V's come in various lengths and getting the right length for your lever is important. For SRAM and older Shimano levers you want around 84mm arms. For newer Shimano (105 5700 series and above) you want 90mm arms. Shorter brake arms can be a problem if you want to use fenders. BTW, "standard" V-brakes also have some variation in their arm length. The longer the brake arm, the closer the pad needs to be to the rim.

Travel Agents work really well when set up properly, but they can be just a little tricky to get set up (not nearly as tough as cantilever brakes though). The trick is that you need to get the cable threaded through the pull in a way that allows a full range of rotation for the pulley throughout the brake pull. Once you have it set, things just work until you need to change the cable. In theory the Travel Agent can collect enough road grit to cause problems, but I never had that happen.

In my opinion, the best solution for non-racing purposes is long pull brake levers with standard V-brakes. I'm using this combination (with bar end shifters) on my Long Haul Trucker and the braking performance is outstanding. If you prefer to shift with your hands on the hoods, Retroshift sells a long-pull version of their shift+brake levers.

FastJake

Personally I'd skip the Mafacs. Using a caliper brake on a frame with canit studs looks silly and is a waste of studs that can provide you much better braking than you could ever get from a Racer. Forget U-brakes.

You have a lot of choices, what you choose is up to you. I've never used mini-V-brakes but I'm interested to try, since regular V-brakes are so stupid easy to setup well. But due to the parts I have I've always just used regular cants when setting up a drop-bar. Cantis can be a pain to setup but you only have to do it once, and then it's done.

My personal preference of options would be, in order:

- Normal levers with cantis (cheapest and simplest)
- V-brake specific levers with V-brakes (not an option with STI obviously)
- Normal levers with mini-Vs
- Normal levers with V-brakes and a travel agent.

RaleighSport

Thanks for all the info/input guys. I'm leaning towards using the STI's with Mini-V's for sure now, 84mm arms if I understand correctly. No travel agent nonsense, skipping u-brakes, and no calipers.

Andy_K 

It's not exactly STI, but...



This also solves the problem with front derailleur cable pull (since it uses a friction front shifter).

reptilezs

when using mini vs i prefer to find ones with the shortest arms

FastJake

I've been wanting to try Retroshift for a while. But when I can get a pair of new Veloce birfters for ~$125 on ebay it's hard to justify.

If I did try Retroshift it would definitely be the V-brake version, probably the single ring setup, and I'd put it on my cyclocross bike.

dave s

My winter bike is a Redline cross bike, set up with 5600 shifters and bmx mini-v's Braking and modulation is fantastic, I did replace the crappy stock pads with Kool-stops. The clearence issue for me is that I have to deflate the tire to get it past the brakes, but I'm running 37mm conti tires, and that's not that big of an issue. I tried some adjustable noodles, but still can't get enough clearence, though it might work with a smaller tire.