Originally Posted by
mtnbud
I picked up a small framed rigid Gary Fisher for next to nothing for my 12 yr old son to ride until he grows enough to fit on my old mountain bike. I put the wheels from my old mountain bike on the GF, replaced all the cables, added a new Acera RD, new brake pads, and replaced the 7sp Grip Shift with Suntour friction thumbshifters.
I'm not real happy with the braking performance yet. Would replacing the brake levers improve braking performance? If so, does anyone have a good suggestion for a good replacement lever for cantilever brakes?
I have some cheap linear pull brakes in my parts drawer I pulled off a Walmart bike I rescued from the dumpster. I could buy some linear pull brake levers for those brakes instead...
Yes. Longer lever would be more torque. There are 4 finger levers and even e-bike levers that are longer.
V brakes would be much easier to set up and can contribute to better braking.
Better pads also help, like Kool Stop branded ones.
Brake boosters also help.