Picked up a Rob Roy frameset at IRO's Customer Appreciation Day, and I'm planning to build it up as a single speed this winter. Any thoughts on brakes for it? Cantis or V-brakes or something else? Thanks.

I'm a big big fan of V-brakes (linear pull) but haven't had a chance to use them in the snow yet. For winter conditions disc brakes are supposedly the ideal since they won't get jammed up with ice and slush

Disc brakes aren't an option with the Roy Roy, at least not a rear one. You could run a disc compatible fork and run a mullet configuration if you wanted to though.

I'm running Tektro Oryx's on my Rob Roy and they have plenty of stopping power for me. A nice set of V-brakes would probably be better, but these are more than acceptable as long as I do my part and keep the braking surface clean.

I've had good luck buying cantilevers that take V brake pads. The setup is really much easier with the V brake pads over the traditional canti pads, and they'll grind you to a quick halt with a set of salmon Kool Stops. I will admit that V brakes are usually superior, but I honestly just don't like how they look on road frames and I don't really need more stopping power than I already have.

You could go hydraulic https://www.magura.com/english/frameset/frameset.htm

I had some hydraulic rim brakes on a XC bike back in 1996 or so. Maybe I was just a moron back then, but I found that they were completely not worth all of the extra effort. I ended up selling them to a friend who was even more hamfisted than myself and he ended up selling them to someone else.

Are you running drop bars? Do you run interrupters for winter?

I think it depends on what levers you want to run, but Vs will give better stopping power.

(canti's run road pull, Vs run straight lever pull. There are work-arounds, but generally more expense will be incurred if you try to mix and match.)

Tektro also makes v brake road levers, so lever choice shouldn't really be an issue. They even cost the same as their normal road levers, so if you're building the bike from scratch that won't be an issue either.

Not being a dick, just throwing that out there.

Drop bars w/o interruptors. Rivendell sells some aero levers that work with V-brakes, and I'll go with those if I use Vs.

The Tektro RL520s work with V-Brakes. I've thought of getting them and running mtn BB7s on a future monstercross build.

I've thought about having someone weld some disk tabs on my cross check for this sole purpose. Of course, I think about a lot of things and usually don't end up doing them.

I wouldn't think that the V-pull drop levers would work with interrupters, cuz the interrupter wouldn't pull the right amount of cable, is the only reason I mentioned that.

I know about the drop V levers, just thought if you had some regular ones kicking around, it would be cheaper. I'd run the Vs for better stopping power, if I was buying all new parts, and definitely those Riv levers. They look great and not too $$$.

I'm too lazy for that. I'd just build up the bike with a 29er frame and some Origin Gary Bars. I've been eyeing that new Vassago CX/29er frame that's coming out in the near future.

There's a road version of the BB7, work with standard drop levers.

True, but there's a pair of mtn BB7s sitting in my parts bin waiting for a new life.

I know that this doesn't affect the original poster at all, but I'm thinking of myself right now. Besides, I addressed his question earlier.

My only real beef with my Tektro levers is that the rubber has gotten kind of floppy over time. I'm thinking about putting some Cane Creek hoods on there and seeing if they last any longer, since apparently the levers themselves are supposed to be the same thing.

If snow and slush are serious issues for you, you might want to consider a wide profile mafac-style canti...The reason I say this is the pads sit farther away from the rim than a v-brake and they won't get gummed up with icy-slush as quickly as a v-brake...Also, if installed correctly, they'll give you as much power as a v-brake with a lot more modulation...

^If you go that route, here is a cheap option.

https://www.velo-orange.com/grcabr.html

Those are cheaper than the Tektro CR720s. I wonder how they perform.

I agree on using cantis for rim clearance, and modulation. Though I would sooner recommend a canti brake that lets you use threaded v-brake pads, as opposed to traditional canti brake pad/post such as:

https://cyclocrossworld.stores.yahoo....cr720cabr.html
Though, boo to cyclocrossworld for being out of stock. If you wanna go bling, Paul's Neo Retro is widely regarded as the best canti, ever, that (lots of) money can buy.



On older style canti pads, to achieve any level of toe-in/out adjustment you have to physically bend the brake pad post, with pliers, and you'll be adjusting them this way to accommodate for pad wear, to maintain toe-in/out. Also, you will more than likely encounter brake squeal and/or chatter, in which case, toe-in/out adjustment will be a Good Thing. Unless you like screaming/squealing when braking.

The Canti VS V-brake topic is, usually, heavily discussed in cyclocross forums.

To take up even more space, you could also think about Mini Vs. It is a "mini v-brake" with shorter arms, that was created specifically to work with road levers, without having to buy special linear pull levers. I don't have any experience with Mini Vs, but I'm unsure about the pad/rim clearance, and I would imagine they could get pretty clogged the snow and slush, but I have read reviews from users that say otherwise.


OK... Long boring post over.

V-brakes should be your first choice, always. Unless there is a specific reason why your bike will NOT work with them.

Easier to maintain, easier to adjust. Less idiotic altogether.

Whoever invented cantis should be shot, along with the guy who invented cottered cranks and coaster hubs.

V-brakes provide better stopping power...if you too ham fisted or impatient to set up your cantilevers right. Sheldon Brown has a lot to say on the matter.

I run quite a wide range of components and specifically went with cantis on my hybrid to tourer/commuter conversion so that I did not have to fuss with special brake levers on the drop bars.

Avid Shorty's and Kool Stop v type pads provide as much stopping power as the old v brakes (massive power actually) and have much better modulation... the set up was easy enough and the only issue was that the front brake squealed like a cat in heat.

This is a common problem on these brakes and was remedied by reversing the brake pads, which does not have an adverse effect on stopping.

Of course.. you have to know how to set them up properly.

Those mini v's are very nice brakes but may interfere if you want to run fenders as the cable that straddles the brake arms sits much lower than a standard v brake.