daveizdum

As parts have broken or worn out, I've replaced them with better parts. My generic v-brakes have survived many years without need of replacing (they have a hidden Chang Star logo inside). I've been using these brakes for so long, that I don't know what good v-brakes are like. I get plenty of stopping power (I think) from having made a good choice for brake pads.

I know that "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." But what improvements might I see if I swapped cheap generic brakes for something like Avid Single Digit 7? My levers are also cheap generic ones. What difference might an aftermarket lever make?

I'm not asking "Should I upgrade?", I'm asking about what differences people have seen when they did upgrade.

Thanks in advance for any shared knowledge and experience.

AEO

all metal sleeve and pin that keeps the return spring from cracking it. a cracked sleeve leads to a brake arm that won't return as smoothly. When the arm doesn't return, it can rub the rim and cause unnecessary drag.
better cable routing and anchor point.
bolt heads that don't strip out as easily
doesn't rust as badly
comes with cartridge style pad holders instead of single block.

I'm not sure if they're slightly more rigid, but I noticed an improvement when switching from stock tektro to single digit 7 using the same pads.

HillRider

I can't speak to V-brakes but I have ridden a wide spectrum of double pivot road brakes. I have RSX (predecessor to Sora) on one bike, 6400-series Ultegras on two others and 7700-series Dura Ace on one more bike. I have installed Kool Stop Salmon pads on all of them and pad holders on the brakes that didn't come with them (RSX and Ultegra) so the pad quality is not part of the evaluation. They also all have the same good quality cables and cable housing.

The higher line brakes are, in turn, lighter, prettier, better finished and the pivots are somewhat smoother and probably more durable. However, if I were to ride each bike with the brakes hidden, I probably couldn't tell you which was which. The feel and stopping power are all so similar that the differences are very hard to discern.

I've concluded that once you get into the respectable lines of components, the performance differences relatively minor even though the cost differences can be huge.

531phile 

I've noticed the really cheap ones have so much play that they cause the brakes pads to squeal sometimes. No matter how much you tighten down the bolts, there still some play.

daveizdum

I guess I've been lucky to not have trouble with stripping and rusting. I also did my own cabling and chose good pads. When you say "anchor point," what do you mean?

Mine definitely do not tighten down. There is a small wiggle, always. I've often wondered if this was by design, or a flaw. I haven't had much trouble with squeal. I guess I've been lucky with pad choice and toeing.

FastJake

I believe this allows you to crank down the bolt and bottom it out against the canti stud. Otherwise it would be like setting up an old side pull brake, where tightening the main bolt too much doesn't allow the brakes to pivot freely. I've only used "lower" end V-brakes like Promax and Tektro, but they've always worked great for me with proper setup, and I've never had issues with squeal.

Compared to cantilevers, I feel like V-brakes are easier to achieve a good feel and impressive stopping power. I have to get a cantiliever setup just right or it won't work as well as I want it to.

AEO

by anchor point I mean they are designed in such a way that maintenance is just a bit easier.
just compare single digit 5 to 7.

some other makers offer a more extreme solution.

ivan_yulaev

My experience is also mostly in road bike brakes (double pivot). I find that once you get above bargain-basement brakes, the difference in feel and performance is quite minimal. Pads make a much bigger difference at this point. More expensive brakes can be lighter, but I don't think this is the cheapest marginal gram on your bike just yet.

In mountain bike brakes, I've found that even cheap brakes can produce nutty stopping power with good (kool-stop salmon) pads. I put some of these on the front brake of my girlfriend's city bike (equipped with v-brakes). The thing stops when you sneeze. It's a little much I think.

daveizdum

Ah, thanks. That confirms my suspicions. The slight looseness seems to invite dirt to creep in. It has always bothered me. At least now I know that it's normal.

daveizdum

In using the search feature I've seen the term "brake modulation" thrown around. I know what it is, but I've not heard anyone explain clearly why some sets of v-brakes naturally have it and some don't. Is good modulation something I'd see from a higher quality v-brake? Is there something specific to the design or materials that would tell me if a brake had this quality? Or is it something you have to test to confirm?

BCRider

The actual arms are all the same in terms of length. As mentioned already the pivot bushings and return springs may be a bit more precision a fit to aid in reducing the chance of squeal but mostly the arms and noodles are all the same for the basic V brakes.

Mind you once you move up to the more exotic solutions you get more for your money. The XT parallel push design from Shimano and the Arch series from Avid and there's a couple of other higher end parallel pad push designs. These all make the pad push against the rim more evenly since they avoid the pads moving in a short radius arc like the basic V brake design provides.

The first and best upgrade to any braking system is better pads. If you feel you're not braking as well as you think you should swap out the pads for Koolstop salmon or half salmon and half black pads. If you still don't get one finger performance then look around for better levers and lower stretch premium cables and housings. The Avid Speedial levers are excellent as you can dial in your mechanical advantage to suit yourself. And good slick finish die drawn cables in low compression or "compresionless" brake rated housing will really do a lot to reduce the sponginess in a mechanical brake system.

The actual V brake arms are the last part that needs any upgrade in the big majority of cases. In fact I would suggest adding brake booster arches for the final mod to reduce lever sponginess before I'd even consider replacing the arms as long as the arm design is trouble free.

daveizdum

BCRider, great advice on the upgrade sequence. Thank you.

Thanks to everyone else as well. I think this may be my first BF post where everyone was nice to each other and offered nothing but helpful advice.