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Old 12-14-21, 05:41 PM
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kaos joe
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Join Date: Nov 2008
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Bikes: Trek 5200, Rivendell Atlantis, Soma DoubleCross, Bilenky Signature tandem, Cannondale RT3000 tandem, Santa Cruz TallBoy, Kona Explosif, Bridgestone MB2

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What is your brake setup?

Our RT3000 came with XTR V-brakes and Ultegra 9 speed STI shifters. "TravelAgent" adapters were fitted to amplify cable pull so the V-brakes would play nice with the road STI shifters. These increase the cable pull/pad travel at the expense of mechanical advantage. This spring, after breaking my arm and having the mess screwed back together, I found I lacked the grip strength to adequately squeeze the brake. So, I modified the setup and use the TravelAgents as simple pulleys, bypassing the increased pull and increasing the mechanical advantage dramatically. The brakes are now incredibly powerful, like the hydraulic disk brakes on my MTB. On the minus side, the brake pad travel is now much reduced and the pads have to be set very close to the rims. I can ONLY get away with this because my rims are very accurately trued and thus the pads don't rub. My arm is fine now but I'm going to stay with this setup as I feel the increased braking power enhances safety. If we ever break a spoke on the road, and the wheel goes out of true, it's going to be a bit of a problem......

You might consider this if your braking is not up to your satisfaction.
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