jlmonte

Seeking anyone with experience using Tektro V-brakes with Shimano Road brake shifters. I’m thinking of integrating Tektro RX6 Mini V-brake with Sora 9 speed brake shifters.

From what I gather, I could use cantilever brakes, mechanical disc brakes, or dual pivot with my Sora setup. After, a little research I understand I can use shorter arm V-brakes. I’m looking for first hand experience using mini V’s with road brake shifters in particular stopping power and modulation.

Some context: I have a Sora groupset, that I thinking would upgrade my flat bar Fuji hybrid. The frame has cantilever braze-ons, and no mounting for dual pivot side pulls. Installing cantilevers, and cable stops is as expensive as the the RX-6.

thanks.

aggiegrads

That setup will work fine. I have mini-vs on my ‘cross setup.

The biggest downside is that you will have less pad clearance, so your rims need to be true to prevent rubbing.

ClydeClydeson

Mini Vs are the cat's pyjamas. They will work perfectly with whatever short-pull levers you have, including Sora STI levers.

Are you sure that dual pivot brakes won't work? Most just require a single hole in the crown of the fork or the 'brake bridge' in the rear triangle. Mini Vs are better in almost every way, so if you have cantilever/V brake pivots then use mini Vs, but dual pivot calipers are an option on most bikes.

fietsbob

TRP 8.4 are made to be paired with Shimano brifters ..

jlmonte

Thanks, The Sora parts were taken off a Specialized Roubaix, which got upgraded to Ultegra. I noticed my Fuji Absolute, (blow out, when Performance changed hands) had a range of models with different components levels. I am thinking of replacing Fuji’s Shimano Tourney drivetrain with the Sora components. The brake integration is the only major issue I see, though I‘m going from flat bars to drops.

The seat stay bridge is solid, with it has no hole for the dual pivot brakes. I was going to use cantilevers, but the center pull cable stops presented another problem.

ClydeClydeson

Mini Vs are easier to set up and provide (in my opinion) superior braking than cantilevers. The only drawback to mini Vs is that have less clearance for fatter tires and fenders. I recently put 38mm tires on my bike with mini Vs and I doubt I could easily fit fenders. 35mm tires with fenders fit fine, though.

fietsbob

https://www.paulcomp.com/shop/compon...akes/minimoto/ solved that ..

Darth Lefty 

Your Fuji flat bar is presumably a V brake bike, it's not going to have the cable stops needed for cantilevers anyhow.

I modernized an old canti frame a few years ago and needed to use a mini-v on the rear since the Paul Racer brakes did not clear the kid seat. It worked fine.

msu2001la

The TRP CX 9.0 Mini-V has tons of stopping power, way more than i could ever get out of a traditional canti. The brake feel is mushy and pads have to be set up super close to the rim, but if you can get past that, they're probably the most powerful rim brake available for a road lever.

I ran them for years on my CX bike with 105 levers, and later with SRAM Force levers. I eventually switched to Avid Shorty Ultimate canti's, which have much better modulation, better mud clearance, and are easier to adjust when swapping wheelsets.

msu2001la

My CX bike doesn't have any built-in cantilever cable stops either. I just run a hanger on the steerer tube under the stem, and another hanger on the seat post clamp.

Tektro front cantilever cable hanger

https://www.jensonusa.com/Surly-Brak...saAuYMEALw_wcB

fietsbob

Or these? https://www.paulcomp.com/shop/compon...-cable-hanger/

jlmonte

@msu2001la
@fietsbob
I stubbled across the cable stops/ hangers, and the extra bits starts increasing cost. The Tektro were rather inexpensive, and would make integration real simple. I started adding up parts; front derailleur clamp, cables, bottom bracket and then the brakes, I’m approaching $150 If the Mini-V brakes actually perform with the STI brake shifters, Sora 18 will be a big upgrade from Tourney 21, at a reasonable budget.

I have two pairs of tires, 25mm and 35mm, that I have available to use. Deflating the tire to take a wheel off is a hassle. I’ll have to learn to live with it. Also, the wheels I have available are entry level, so I hope keeping them true is not an issue, and avoiding unintentional pads rub.

msu2001la

Totally agree, the mini-v's seem like the way to go if you can get them cheap. They should work fine with Sora levers.

The need to deflate the tire to remove it will have more to do with your fork than the brakes. The mini-v's open up just as wide as a canti (or maybe even a bit wider) when released, and I was always able to get a wheel with a 33c knobby tire out without deflating, but if your fork is narrower the brake caliper won't open up as much when released.

Good luck with your project and post photos when you're done!

aggiegrads

One thing that I will add about using mini-vs with road brifters is that you need some kind of cable adjustment. Either an in-line adjuster or adjustable noodles. Without either, you likely will not be able to get the noodle off to take off the wheel, Because the pad clearance is so close that you cannot get enough cable slack to disconnect the noodle.

To add to the frustration, without cable adjustability, setting the optimum pad clearance will be very frustrating as the only adjustment is at the cable pinch bolt. As the cables wear in and as the pads wear, you will have to adjust that tension.

ClydeClydeson

Good point! I realized this the other day after I replaced the antique MAFAC cantis with mini Vs on my touring bike. I went to take off the wheel and realized the problem... then remembered that my Tektro brake levers have a built-in quick release. I will need to use an allen key when the pads wear, but at least I am covered to remove my wheel for my all to frequent flat tires.

fietsbob

You got the adjustable noodle with drop bar V brake builds,, but your piecing together a retrofit..

When I have tight brakes interfering with wheel removal, I let the air out if the tire.

jlmonte

I’ll need to add another $17 to the parts budget. I guess the suggested cable stops include adjustment barrels.so the extra parts are a push whether I go V or cantilever. I’ll need to double check derailleur adjustment too.

I’ll post lesson learned in a different thread, if I commit.

fietsbob

"Speeds" counts keeps going up. the clicks in the lever, they're closer together.. need to match the 'speeds' count.

In classical (BCE) levers V brakes are a class 2 lever.. fulcrum - work - effort like a wheelbarrow..
longer the distance between fulcrum & effort more the cable has to be pilled, but higher the MA.

Road brakes 'brifters ' the MA is greater, not much cable pull , so demand end, those shorter Mini V, are a necessary pairing..

The Chemist

Exactly this. I converted my flat bar fitness hybrid to drop bars with brifters, and the brakes are the worst part of this conversion as my bike only has mounts for v-brakes.

Mini-V brakes do work, but they aren't really the best and if you have mounting options for something else (discs or dual pivot) I'd do that instead.

The stopping power of the mini-Vs with brifters is OK, nothing fabulous, and the other important thing to note is that your wheels need to be perfectly true otherwise you're absolutely going to have issues with rubbing due to the tiny pad clearance.

jlmonte

Did you use inline barrel adjusters, or a noodle with cable adjuster?

BTW, the project is stalled as I deal with sourcing the little parts; front derailleur clamp, the cable adjusters, and BB, along with the brake calipers.

Bob the Mech

Mini Vs with Sora 3500 9 speed STI levers is a solution to a problem that is only a partial fix. A little tricky to modulate on loose ground and unlike with cantilevers, there’s no geometrical way to detune the power (adjusting yoke cable angle). They feel a little squishier than cantis, but harder compound brake pads did lend to a more positive feel at the lever. Rim / pad clearance...got to run them pretty close in my experience, pain in the a** if you need to remove the wheel in a hurry. But I can't say they were any worse or better than cantis when the mud was packed around the rim. Braking force wise, my cantis were good but took a while to get right. Vs were quicker to tune in and again braking was consistently good, if different I went back to cantis in the end, just personal preference....and I required larger tyres that the mnin Vs just couldn't handle height wise.

The Chemist

Neither, actually. I've got very puncture resistant tires (Specialized Armadillos) on my bike which very rarely get flats, so I almost never take my wheels off. In the extremely rare event that I have to take a wheel off, I simply loosen the cable bolt and let the cable out enough to get the wheel off. Then when I'm finished I just pull the cable back through to the original position and tighten the bolt again. Probably not the best solution but it's worked for me.