flik9999

Hey so I ride an old steel road bike.

I revently got my hands on a fork with v brake studs amd was thinking of throwing on some V brakes, which involves getting a travel adapter.

However I then found out that mini vs exist. Should I go for mini vs and keep my current cables or are mini vs weaker than standard vs.

tldr: are normal vs a stronger brake than mini vs?

Moose

I would only use the minis if I were using standard road brake levers.

If you are buying new brakes and levers, the most optimum combination is standard v brakes with "v brake-specific" road levers.

I've always viewed the mini v as a problem solver to accommodate levers that don't have the proper cable pull for a standard v brake.

fietsbob

Math.. cable pull requirement is directly related to the length of your brake arm..

as the arm gets longer it has more leverage,

but at the brake lever end, in order to increase the cable pull amount, to meet the increased pull length demand,

its leverage must be reduced.





....

Retro Grouch 

How wide are your tires?

The problem I've had with mini V's is releasing the brake to squeeze an inflated tire by. I've tried a few hacks like cutting the tip of the noodle but I haven't been satisfied with any of them. I hate mini V's.

tyrion

Mini Vs are just as strong (given the correct pull ratio) but limit tire size and fender space.

Moose

I forgot to include in my original message...the travel agent adapters are good for using standard V's with regular road levers and would be preferred over the mini v's. The minis are just as finicky to set up and do not produce as good of a result...imho...ymmv.

flik9999

im running 32mm tyres atm can go down to 28

fietsbob

As I understand, the 8.4 model is 8,4 cm from pivot to top so where the cable crosses over the tire,

measure your bike.. ?

https://www.trpcycling.com/product/cx-8-4/





.....

Retro Grouch 

Travel Agents are a bit of a trip the first time you set one up. They aren't so bad once you figure them out. I always tell people to set up the rear brake first. That way you can shorten that cable and use it for the front brake after you botch it up.

Eggman84

As several stated above, mini V's paired with the correct "short pull" lever are just as effective (or ineffective based on your brake opinion) as V's paired with the correct "long pull" brake levers. I think the mini V's look better than the V's with a travel agent (have used both). If your brake pads don't hit your fork or seat stays, then there should be no reason why you can't remove an inflated tire using mini V's (they open the same width as V's once the noodle is undone - though your bike/brake pad choice may be the issue). Yes, with mini V's, the transverse cable is lower, so it can be an interference issue with a really large tire or with fenders. On my wife's bike with a fender and 700x32 tires, the transverse cable just clears the fender (would have trouble "raising" the fender to fit a larger tire but then 32s are about as big as I can go with fenders). I had a travel agent interfering/hitting a rear rack on one bike; can't remember my solution - may changed to cantilever brakes (they use same posts as V brakes).

I know my answer is long winded; apologize. Bottom line, you may not know all the issues until you mount them. Good luck.

Viich

Like was briefly mentioned, I would go off your page to cantilever brakes. Loads of clearance, short pull, and a wide variety available compared to mini v's, certainly if you include old parts.
I run canti with salmon cool stops on my winter/rain bike.

Jiggle

I chose mini-v for the gravel bike. There's no front brake shudder like can happen with Cantis. They're very powerful with road levers, 5800 to be exact. Tektro 926AL, $20 each. I did install a Jagwire brake shoe that takes road pads so I can run the latest carbon pads or whatever. They're called the Cross Pro v brake shoes.

Grand Bois

Mini-V's are slightly less ugly than V's.

nayr497

I have some TRP CX 8.4s on my cross race bike, with 34 mm tires and SRAM Red levers. Very nice brakes. The pull on Red levers is very, very smooth. Not cheap though.

I have some basic Tektro levers and Vs (like 95 mm long or so) on my commuter. This set-up has the snappiest pull/return I've experienced and great stopping power. Not sure what it is about this set-up, but it's nice.

Question related to this thread: I used Kool Stop dual compound pads on my commuter, the thin/longer ones with a cartridge holder. These pads seem to wear incredibly fast, like a few months. I commute around 25 km/day five days a week, some wet days, no mud, 3-4 snow days a year. I do also run my dogs to a field by bike, which includes a steep but short hill. But I'm only getting a few months out of the pads before they're worn.

I'm confused. I've had Kool Stop pads on one of my road bikes for 5+ years, TONS of kms and they look new. Do V-brakes tend to wear pads faster than caliper brakes?

nayr497

Old thread, and I'm the last poster...but have a question on this.

I have some older Shimano 105 9-speed shifters on one of my bikes, paired with some Tektro RX-5 v brakes, which have 85 mm arms. After I originally built the bike up, I added fenders. The problem is that when I pull the brakes, the pivot piece where the brake cable enters and is secured (side opposite the anchor bolt) hit the fender, hangs up, and doesn't return. This causes the right pad to stay right on the rim.

I need brakes with a longer arm, but I'm not sure how I can tell which brakes will work with my levers, without any add-on gadgets required. Looks like the Tektro RX-6s have 90 mm arms, but I'm not sure 5 mm will be enough to raise the cable enough to properly avoid the fender top.

Is there a formula, or a chart, to assess brake lever/v brake compatibility? I think arms around ~100 mm will be enough to safely clear the fender, with Tektro M730s being 102 mm.

Thanks!!

thehammerdog

I just went went to mini v's only because of the color and coolness
Major pain to set up but nice looking


Old bianchi


I wanted to match the headset

Wilfred Laurier

V brakes (and mini Vs) have two washer thicknesses to chose between, and by the looks of your rear brake, you chose the thick ones when the thin ones would be better.

There are two types of washers on V brakes - convex washers that are meant to go against the brake arm, and concave washers, one thick and one thin for each arm, that go over the 'ball' formed by the convex washers.


The improved order of washers on your rear brakes, starting from the brake pad are:

thin concave washer > convex washer > brake arm > convex washer > thick concave washer > small flat washer (usually) > nut.

With practice, setting up V brake type brakes should take about 5 minutes. They were the absolute easiest brakes to set up ever invented.

thehammerdog

Good to know
🤡