Originally Posted by
nolefan
Looks like the V brakes will be the way to go. I was also trying to keep my current levers. I have a cheap donor bike that has V brakes and levers, so I may switch them over to test them out. Only thing is, is I have my first riding event next weekend, so the question is do I go ahead and switch them out, or wait?
I'd wait. That can be a bigger job than you're probably thinking.
You're going to need new cables and housings. Also, almost surely, you're going to have to re-engineer the rear cable run. V-brakes need a section of cable housing to work and many canty brake equipped bikes don't have a rear cable stop where you need one.
The simplest solution is to run cable housing all the way from the brake lever and zip tie it to the top tube. If you want it to look more "factory" it's possible to buy a clamp-on cable stop but be careful to find one that matches your top tube diameter.