Hi all ,

Looking for a set of cantilever brakes for a touring bike build . Please let me know what is powerful and good quality . Also is it possible that I could have mounting issues with an older eighties steel frame , mounts seem typical of all other vbrake and canti mounts I have seen .

Thanks ,

J

I don't use many cantilever brakes now, I find v-brakes easier to adjust. However, the inexpensive (about $15) Tektro Oryx style brakes work very well with good pads. I have seen reviews of these brakes claiming they don't work well, but I think most of the reviews are based on the default pads. Using Salmon Kool Stop pads makes braking very efficient. I find the Oryx brakes very easy to adjust, which is nice compared to adjustments of the old style (1990s and earlier) cantilever brakes.

V-brakes (or discs) for a new touring build. Why are you thinking canti?

cantis as the frame i have takes them and the brake levers i want to use don't pull the ratio for vbrakes . Whats wrong with cantis? dont cyclocross use them ?

Cantis are fine. However, you can set up a bike with V-brakes with STI shifters using a"Travel Agent". I did that on my wife's bike, because that is what she wanted. V-brakes do provide more stopping power, but my cantis are more than adequate. Travel Agents are really trouble free. I adjusted her's for the first time in 17,000 miles when I changed the brake cables. That is a long time to be running the same cable.


I have used Cane Creek SCX-5 Cantilever brakes on a couple of bikes. They were OEM on CX bike and I put them on a touring bike that I was building. Combined with Kool Stop salmon colored pads they work well. They are a good compromise between cost and quality. I switched over to Paul brakes on the CX bike which are quite a bit more expensive ( I got a heck of a deal on them). I really could not see any significant difference in braking dynamics or stopping power between the brakes. They both have Kool Stop Pads.

OTOH ... If you have a heavy fork...MY SA XL dyno DRUM all weather brake has done 20,500 miles with a bearing change at 17,000. NO pads or adjustments needed. I hardly need anything on the rear and it is that bad, a POS caliper. I wouldn't leave home without lights either, rain, fog, shadows, early sundown.

Some bikes from the 80s will have the canti posts too close together for modern canti brakes to work.
If thats the case, hit up ebay for whatever was originally on the bike ans use new koolstop pads. Properly set up, the brakes will stop perfectly fine.

What bike are you setting up?

Modern tektro cr720 brakes are a wide option that are well reviewed.
I have 3 sets of diacompe/suntour canti brakes from the late 80s and early 90s. All are different quality levels (xcd, xcm, and xce) and all work great with new pads. If you need older brakes and some xcd are available on ebay, id get em in a second. They are extremely adjustable and set up easily while being an older option.

There is nothing wrong with canti brakes; they are excellent once set up correctly. They also have lots of clearance for fatter tires and fenders.

Your best bet are the Tektro cr720s. Canti brakes would be my first choice on a new touring bike and the Tektros are excellent and reasonably priced.

Because vbrakes are like bumper lanes for bowling.
Ok ok not really, i just dont have any love for them unless its on a bike with a suspension fork where the vbrake is beneficial. Cantis allow for a wider tolerance in wheel trueness and dont lock up nearly as often since there is better modulation. They also allow for a wider tire and fender.
...all of what i just posted is based on my experiences riding my bikes and servicing mine and other bikes. It may be that i have experience with bad vbrakes.

Here is a good discussion of why you really want cantilevers for a touring bike from R&E Cycles, Disc Brakes vs. Cantilever Brakes

I have three cycle cross bike that I built up with canti's, the one I've adapted for touring. I had Shimano R550 canti brakes on all them which have always worked fine, that is until recently, when I took another stab again at mini-V's using ProMax mini V's on the one. The jury is still out as to whether these newer mini v's really show any improvement in "stopping power" over a well set up canti's. There is a difference in feel and modulation where some might prefer one over the other but truthfully, both get the job done adequately with KS salmons.

CX 70 (shimano ultegra cantis), Tiagra 4400 levers (no shifting) and the cables they came with are good. The lever is very similar to old tricolor 600 levers.

Installing took a while to get my head around but it wasn't very hard.

They squeeled for a while. Now they squeal occasionally, but they've bedded in and are mostly silent.

Power/ feel is very good.

They are night and day different, especially to adjust, to the 80s dia compe cantis with kool stops on my old touring frame.

The reasonably narrow profile is nice, and cantis that extend past your racks would be annoying.

Clearance is good, but adjusted to sit close to the A719 rims on my gunnar, i can't quite release the brake cable, so i have to deflate the tires to remove the wheel. This sucks big time.

These are wide (23.5 mm) rims, and with narrower rims i think it would be fine, but it's annoying.

Overall its a very good system.

I have some Xt canti brakes, they are built to last. It is a little work to get them set up. When installed right, they work right. + I like the canti racks, VO Pass Hunter Front Rack - Racks, Decaleurs, Accessories - Accessories

Quite true. [MENTION=380714]jambon[/MENTION] can measure the posts C-C on his bike and any of us with a more modern bike can do the same for a quick comparison.

Brad

Thanks Brad , its 7cm from centre to centre of the bolts fixing the brakes onto the posts

Once dressed I'll check one of the Cannondales.

Brad

1994 Bruce Gordon Rock n Road, small frame with 700c wheels...

front= 8.5 cm
rear= 8.0 cm

Currently use Paul cantis. Originally Shimanos then Avid Shorty's. All worked fine. Frame is built for wide (45mm) tire clearance. Has a beefy MTB style unicrown fork.

Yeah this can be an issue and the worst offender may be the Tektro CR 720 which I suggested in an earlier post as being a fine cantilever. It is a fine cantilever but I have had difficulties in setting it up with narrower posts found on older bikes and there are other threads on this as well. As much as I like them, I'd steer clear of them in working on an older bike.

If you were changing out brakes and levers at the same time, which system would you go with? Plastic spring housing on my back cantis on my MTB are cracking, the fronts were just a cheap replacement when the same housings broke in a rear end crash, and the levers are bent (but usable) for that same crash. That whole system was due for replacement this winter, even before I decided to turn it into a tourer.

I have had good luck with the Avid shortys.

The older Shimano cantilevers (like this) are a tried and true design, are super affordable, and the smooth post pads allow adjustment to make just about any frame and fork work.

If it were my bike, though, I would probably go for mini-Vs, which will work with road brake levers without a problem or an ugly travel agent. The downside is that they can limit clearance for wider tires and fenders.

Yes, I had the same experience trying to mount CR-720s on an early 90s touring frame. They were easy enough to just get on the frame, but dialing them in was such a pain in the ass that I had to take it to a bike shop.

I'll second everything said above about the CR720's. They're great and they're easy to set up if you don't need to do much geometry tweaking -- say for narrower posts or for a change in wheel size (e.g. 27" to 700c).

For an older bike, I've normally picked up some older Dia Compe brakes like 960's or 980's. They work well, they're plenty adjustable to work with narrower posts, they look right at home on older bikes, and they can often be found on eBay in great shape.

As mentioned above, the Salmon Koolstop brake pads can help you stop a loaded touring bike better than the stock pads.

I like the CR720 brakes that were mentioned above and have them on my rando bike, but they do stick out wide. On some bikes they might interfer with your pannier setup, especially in front. In the photo I have the Oryx type brakes and they do not have any problem with my luggage, but the damp laundry in the mesh bag that I have strapped on top of my left pannier would likely interfere with the CR720 brakes because they are so wide. The wheel size in the photo is a 26 inch wheel, a 700c wheel will mount the brakes a bit higher due to the larger diameter rim.

[MENTION=380714]jambon[/MENTION], I apologize for the delay...

The fork mounted posts on my two Cannondale touring bikes span 77 mm and 78 mm. For grins I checked my mountain bike and they are 80 mm apart.

The seat stay posts on the Cannondales are in the 79-80 mm range apart.

Brad