Or you can just pre-bend the straddle wire where it passes over the bridge, once you have the lengths and angles sorted out.

I’ve tried that with some degree of success. It seems like that’s what everyone does anyway. There are just a handful of yokes with screws to hold the straddle cable in place, those vintage Mojo Peace signs, the triangle ones, but very few. If that was the way to go, they would be all over the place. But they’re not, hardly anyone uses them. The thing I hate most about the stock yoke that came with my BRMC70s is the main brake cable tightening bolt. When I tighten it, it wants to spin and place the main brake line off-center. For me, they are a PITA. I was looking at the Paul Components Moon Units. Tightens the main line easily and keeps it centered via a groove. Then I can just subtly bend the straddle cable at the guide ends after everything’s all dialed in for balance.

I'm good with the link units, but for a straddle carrier, these from Jagwire look decent. $15/pair.

I prefer the similar ones that have additional screw(s) that secure the straddle cable. The advantage is that you can then move the carrier to the side to center the brake pads. (On older brakes, the springs get funky and workhorse commuters sometimes lead less than pretty lives and don't always have properly dished wheels, straight forks ...) There are at least two versions with those screws. I got mine years ago and have no record or memory of the brands or suppliers My Mooney's been running a pair for the past 20 years or so with quite noticeably off-center carriers.. Used unknown history Shimano cantis that perform superbly despite the asymmetry. Rode the bike today. Never thought about the brakes other than the entire bike felt and worked just right. (Well, I did think about the rhino horn for a straddle cable catcher! See post above.)

And the Shimano straddle piece in your first post avoids this particular problem. At rest it is naturally at roughly the angle it needs to be. Not much bending necessary.

As I mentioned, I too have used the MC70 cantilever, and like the OP, since 1983. In regards to having some arc to the cable and is assumably causing brake springy-ness, not so fast, in my experience. My XC Pro cantis on an other bike have some arc to the cable with a very stout straddle cable and they are not springy/spongey at all. Very snappy, responsive, and respond with the lightest of touches, and the most best brake I've ever had.


Even the MC70's I have on the Bombadil, even with the correct 1.6mm straddle cable has some arc, and they too are very snappy and firm response. The spring is a little stronger in the middle position of the canti mounts that the infinite adustment that the XC PRo offers. I've not tried another of the three canti boss holes to see how they'd respond, but next time I'm doing something with them I will. I have my XC Pro spring set for a very light spring tension, for which they work great and the brake lever requires only a light touch.

Frankly, I wasn't terribly impressed with the Shimano era canti's that came after the MC70's, like the XTR in the photo or the ones coolhandjjl has in the first photo. At least the ones I had on my Bombadil. 73something series canti. I never got them to feel as snappy as the MC70's, despite trying all sorts of angles to the brakes. I never did try a 1.6mm straddle cable though before I took them off.

I've found though with varying canti boss widths, some brake just don't go well with certain frames.

One thing that'll make a front canti more responsive is a fork mounted cable stop. Tektro sold them but I think only sells them in Europe now, but Origin8 has one I think. This allows a housed cable run all the way to the brake, like a caliper. These are notably better than the headset mounted cable stops.

Those were mostly a bling thing in the late '80s early '90s when mountain bikes still used cantilevers - remember when anything with purple anodising was cool? NOS stuff still turns up occasionally on eBay at reasonable prices, I've had a few, but not in purple.

they're all over the place... and still sold new.

Canti braked CX bikes use them... touring bikes use them... BMX scissor brakes (post mounted Center pulls) use them....

search: Cantilever Front Brake Cable Hanger Fork Mount | Aluminium black
$13, plus $16 shipping, from germany.... complete with lawyer spur.

Many of them are so wide, 30mm, 36mm, etc. You’d think that would screw up the angle of the straddle cable as there is no longer a real apex.

i try to achieve a 45-ish deg. angle on the straddles... any steeper, and you lose braking force once you pull the lever.

now excuse me as i go drool on my keyboard while staring at that rockshox in pic one of mkane's post.... i thought the $25 Marzocchi Superfly on my Canny M400 was totally sweet... until that pic....

That’s the Avid Tri Dangle?


I’ve also seen a simpler version of something similar, sold under Sunlite or Tektro names.

Maybe either one of them is the way to go as you can lock in the straddle cable. So long as neither mashes the cables.

In functional black or silver, but no pretty colours or interesting shapes that I can find.

There are some on ebay but a little pricey

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw...sid=m570.l1313

They are for sale on eBay all the time.

Another rant: I've learned to dislike set screw secured cable clamping. Knarps and"cool/fancy" straddle cable pull up yokes included. The set screws indent the cable and often split apart the cable's wound form. Both serve to make reusing these cables a lot harder and cause damage.


Is this damage a real life safety problem? Generally no as long as the cable's clamping is done only once, or any future clamping is done on the cable head to now indented set screw clamping "fossils" portion. As in shortening the inner cable's length. If the cable was to be lengthened the previously clamped spot will now be in the load path of that cable, not good.


Most pull up yokes' cable anchor bolts have a wrench fitting on the bolt's head and, thus, could be held from rotating with a wrenh while the nut is tightened. Often enough the bolt will still slightly rotate off center but this is usually easy to reverse by turning that bolt's head while holding the yoke and stopping when the cable points directly up.. Andy

+1 on the set screws being a questionable idea. On some of those bling fixtures the screws tend to be quite small and I'd be concerned that they might not hold the cable securely enough in a panic stop. Yet another reason I don't mind the link units.

I don't think they do more damage than the traditional straddle with the hole in the bolt.

On a loosely related note: after finishing setting up and tuning up this version of cantilever:

Does this cantilever brake variety have a dedicated name?

I was quite impressed with how effective this brake is, at least with brand new brake pads.

Set screwed straddle on the Kestrels been that way for at least 20 years.

I'm not saying that set screw cable clamps don't hold the cable well enough. Far from the truth IME. Just that with the smaller surface contact the set screw has, compared to an anchor bolt using a cable pass through hole, that set screw tip has to really imprint into the cable to hold.

Poorly made pull up yokes using said anchor bolts can be nearly as cable injuring but I have "straightened" the kinks a poor anchor bolt makes so many times and had to replace an otherwise perfectly good inner cable set screw anchors too many times.

Your experience might differ, and that's alright Andy

The main brake cable fixing on the Paul Moon Unit seems pretty robust. Not a pass-through bolt, more like a nut head over a groove the cable sits in, similar to some derailuer anchors. I did order some Avid Tri-Dangles, maybe I'll get a couple of Moon Units too. See what works best for me.

I hate 'em both. Love the Shimano asymmetric thingers that just squeeze the cable.

Pauls moon unit out back for many years also.