I'm looking to upgrade the brakes and shifter for our 95 Cannondale MT1000 Tandem. I'm looking at purchasing Shimano Deore XT BR-T780/M780 V-brakes and the EF-51 Shifters/Brake Levers (3x7). I'm wanting to improve the braking capability and move away from the grip shift. The bike has the original CODA brakes and levers. It looks like this would work. Any issues I should be aware of?

Thanks Mark

This using V/ cantilever brake posts on the frame?

I really like Magura's hydraulic rim brakes HS 33..
NB: they are really easy to replace the single bike length hose with a longer hose, and have the rear brakes,
work as well as the front, because its using a non compressible Fluid, not a long cable and housing.
Better than V brakes in that regard.

Like; 7 speed stuff is long gone and you have to substitute things you actually can get?
AFAIK "coda" is something rebadged made by someone else..

how wide is the rear spacing on the Frame for the rear wheel?

Living in Seattle for many years we were debating about upgrade the bikes wheel and group, but now that we've moved to Florida I generally stay in 3-4 gears on a typical ride. The only hills we have are largely bridges over waterways... ;-)

maybe a Sturmey 3 speed IGH would be fine or 5 speed .. then use thumb shifters ..

wide chain , stronger wheels because the hub does not have to be moved to the side by tensioning half the spokes more.
for the many external gears ..




Used Phi's rear hub for freewheels They have such a strong axle, so one of cassette hubs benefit
shifting the axle bearing to the extreme right is not required.. axle never bends..

My 'stoker' was my Touring gear . and though another person was not there the weight was there..

once that, weak axles, is resolved, Freewheels are fine .. ..

I toured all over Europe on a bike with a 7 speed freewheel. triple crank.

Are the brakes V brakes or canti's?
You have to pay attention to get the correct brake pull to match the calipers.
See this discussion for some details-
https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...brake-shifters.

IF you are riding mostly flat, you might want to swap your 13-30 cassette for one a bit more 'roadish", like a 13-26 or 12-28?

if you've got a triple in front and a Shimano 7-speed cassette or freewheel, those EF-51's will work just fine. There are supposedly two versions of the EF-51's -- both will work with v-brakes but only one version will work with cantilevers.

Thanks to everyone for the help. I think the Magura hydraulic rim brakes are going to be ticket for us.