I used cantilever brakes on my touring bike, and I've been trying to find a front cable hanger that has a barrel adjuster. The only one's I've seen are made for threaded steer tubes. Does anyone make one for a threadless steer tube? The only one I've seen so far is OEM on Specialized Tricross cyclocross bikes, but my local Specialized dealer can't seem to get any cable hangers.

This is the thing you need. A barrel adjuster will slip into it nicely. It's what I use.

Here's a photo. The little silver thing in the cable hanger is the barrel adjuster.



Or you could get an inline cable adjuster. Those work too.

Here's a link to cable adjusters. The mouse ear one will work nicely with the cable guide. These guys also have the cable guide (in the cyclocross small parts store)

This one from www.sjscycles.co.uk is for threaded forks, but the little tab can be easily filed off to use with threadless steerers.

I don't think it would work with threadless. The hanger can rotate on the steer tube. Generally, rotating stuff and brake cables don't play well together The threadless ones have a clamping bolt...which make changing stems super easy

If you can't find one with the barrel built in, just add an inline adjuster. There's one halfway down this page: https://www.sheldonbrown.com/harris/cables.html

It works with my bike. The pressure provided by the top cap prevents such rotation.

You're a braver man then I. The top cap doesnt' put that much pressure on the stack and if you happened to have a loose headset, it'll rotate. Not good.

Thanks for the advice. I think I'll go ahead and slip in a regular barrel adjuster as suggested by cyccommute. Regarding the inline cable adjusters, I was told by the people at Jagwire via email NOT to use them for brakes.

All that would happen if the hanger rotated would be minor brake drag from one pad until you pushed it back into place. Hardly catastrophic.

there are threadless cable hangers made by problem solvers and dimension that clamp to the steerer tube. like a spacer that clamps.

ask ANY competant bike shop with a QBP catalog to order you one..... your specialized shop must hire total dumbasses.

Jagwire in-line cable adjusters seem to work fine with brakes....no matter what the Jagwire laywers say.

I'd personally use both a traditional barrel adjuster AND the in-line kind. Makes changing a flat super easy.

Sorry to bring up a dead thread, but it proves that I searched!

Cyccomute, is that just a plain threaded barrel adjuster and nut that you slipped into a non-threaded clamp-on hanger? I was thinking about doing that but wasn't sure how practical it is to use on the road. When making adjustments, do you just hold the nut and twist the adjuster? I also assume the amount of adjustment you can make is only about as far as the depth of the cable stop itself, otherwise the adjuster would just fall out.

Just need to cable my brakes, and my new LHT will be all done!

I've been doing it for years. You can take pressure off the cable by pulling up on the brake yoke. Alternatively you can use an in-line adjuster which works a bit easier than this type.