bmx v-brakes
 

i'm building up my first cross bike and trying to get around using canti's. has anyone got experience running bmx racing mini-v's with aero/road break levers? i'm thinking the shorter length of the bmx v brakes will allow enough clearance for cross tires and wheels, and will require less cable movement to be effective - any thoughts?

I've seen them used on several cross bikes in pictures but I not heard about anyone's experience with them. I do have a set that I plan on using but just haven't gotten around to installing them. The Mini-Vs would certainly solve the problem with cable hangers not hanging low enough to have low stem heights.

Cycling Plus magazine recommends them highly, but Bhikku (sp?) on here couldn't get them to work properly. If I remember Tektro's Mini Vs are only £10 ($15) so it's not a huge waste of money if they don't work.

thanks guys. i can get a set for 10$, so i think i'm going to order them and give it a shot - i had some traumatic experiences with canti's during my courriering days, and don't think i could go back to trusting them.

I asked a guy at the bike shop and he was less than encouraging. I would love to hear someone say, "Yes, the tektro mini-V's work great with shimano STI!" I mean isn't the issue with STI that they don't pull enough cable for normal linear. But with mini-V's you only have half of the lever arm so that should mean half of the linear pull required?

After some estimating, I'm doubtfull that it will work. The geometry of cantilever brakes make them equivalent to road brake pull. Linear pull is an entirely different situation even when scaled down to mini-V's. Here is a drawing of how I came to my conclusion... The top is a mini, the middle is a canti, and the last is a full size. The decimals are hard to see and the actual dimensions may vary, but I think this shows the point well enough. I assumed a 1/8" gap between the pad and the rim. To close the brakes, the pads have to move 1/4" collectively. So the large V-brakes ratio is 7 to 1 cable pull, the mini-V's ratio is 4 to 1 and the canti's ratio is about 2 to 1.

Very interesting. Boomforreal, any updates on how the mini v's you ordered are working out?

In theory, the Tektro mini-v brake is designed to work with road levers. By having 75-mm arms instead of 103-mm arms, the brakes need to pull about the same cable length as cantis.

Their main drawback is, precisely, that their arms are only 75 mm. They work well with tires up to 32-35 mm (37 would be a tight fit) if you don't have fenders, or with tires up to 25-28 m, if you have fenders.

Other objections I have heard were related to either squeeking noise or crappy brake pads. Replace these with a set of Kool Stop and you should be in business.

Regards,

I just installed Tektro Mini-Vs on my touring bike today. They work fine with road levers, mine are cheap Tektro road levers. They are a tight fit on my setup. I'm running Panaracer 37mm tires with Freddy Fenders. The cable cover does touch the fenders, but the brakes work fine. Excellent braking power on the front, a bit mushy on the rear. I may be able to fine tune that a bit. One alternative may be better cable housings to get rid of the mushyness. Bottom line--they work fine with road levers.

Good info. I'd be using them with Freddys and 35mm tires so it sounds like they would fit.

You should be able to fit them just fine. I'm still tweaking a bit, I lowered the Freddys as low as I could and the metal crosspiece that the noodle fits into just rubs the fender a little when braking. I notice the front fender tip drop just slightly when I apply the brakes. You may be able to get a bit more clearance with the 35mm tires. Good luck!