trickdog

I have an older MTB with cantilever brakes on the front. Is it possible to swap the cantilevers to v-brakes? Any things I need to watch for in terms of fit etc.

Thanks

mtbikerinpa

The cable pull of v-brakes is higher than that of cantilevers. The levers used on canti create more force but cannot pull enough travel to make V calipers engage propperly. There are adapters available, such as the Travel-Agent pulley. It matches the pull ratio of the old levers to the new calipers.
Honestly, new levers are not all that expensive, almost that of the adapters, so I would just as soon get new levers and have it all setup. The newer levers such as Avid's speed dial variety are adjustible for feel, a nice feature.

Raiyn

New levers are as cheap as $10 https://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?c...eid=&pagename=

Neenermt

And pricepoint had these:
https://www.pricepoint.com/detail/119...D-7-Levers.htm
For super cheap last week.. like 69 bucks for both front and back brakes and levers....
D

Dougmt

ARRRGGGGHHHH I posted as my wife LOL. At any rate, they had the brakes, which are VERY well rated, for pretty cheap.
D

Raiyn

THAT boys and girls is a nice setup

Rowan

That's OK. Crossdressing is permitted.

Raiyn

Wow now that boys and girls is a man with issues!

Dougmt

HEY NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!
I set her up an account so that she could get Koffee's permission to join the women's only forum... And NOT use my manly log on, and of course forgot to log out.
At least I admitted my mistake. Which, had I not, would have went COMPLETELY un-noticed.
Sugar coating the facts,
D

Raiyn

You of course realize that I AM playing with you.

Dougmt

Yeah, I forgot to put a smiley on the end of my post..
:-)
D

Raiyn

I was hoping.

Dougmt

For some reason my smileys are disabled.....
:-(
I feel like I'm on a BB from the early 90's
Should I start typing in BB-esque? LOL
D

Retro Grouch 

Converting the rear brake from canty to linear-pull is usually where problems arise because of the type and location of the cable guides on the frame. The front is generally just a straight bolt up. Like the other poster said, the brake levers have to be designed to pull enough cable for linear-pull use.

ScituateJohn

When my rear LX cantis broke, I replaced the front and rear brakes with Avid Single Digit Sevens. I love the new levers I got; they are SRAM 5.0 plastic; they work and feel great, but they don't look like they would make it through a crash. I like them a lot better than the aluminum DiaComp canti levers that I ditched. Anyway, the Avid linear-pull brake and SRAM lever combo works much better than the DiaComp lever and Deore LX canti brake setup that I used to have.

halfbiked

Going WAY OT here. If you are sharing the same computer, you might consider creating two user ids on the one machine so you can each have your own setup.

jim-bob

I found a pretty nice little clamp-on cable guide when I converted my canti-esque frame to v-brakes.

tmac-100

As a frequent purchaser on E-bay I note there are all sorts of brake "things' for sale in the cycling part of "sporting goods". Many good deals. I am having a custom touring/expedition frame built as I type and have purchased many parts - including almost-new Phil Wood 48 spoke hubs, Brooks saddles (almost new), handlebars (drop bars), etc. Look hard enough and wait long enough and you can find almost anything you require.

In addition, you can put your cantilever brakes up for sale. I am looking for another set - for one of my son's bicycles that he may take on the tour. Contact me if you wanna sell. We can talk.