Explain to me again what's wrong with V-brakes?
08-26-18, 08:13 AM
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Explain to me again what's wrong with V-brakes?
So I wanted to get an adventure bike (think 40+mm tire clearance, slack geometry, disc brakes, higher stack) brother to my CAAD12. But they are rather expensive and I'm not sure how good the adventure trails are around where I now live.
So I converted a hybrid I had as a psuedo adventure bike. It doesn't have the high stack and it has v-brakes which allow clearances for 40+mm tires.
I was shocked how good the v-brakes were.
On a side note. Nothing beats 35mm tires for road buzz absorption!
They were $15 Shimano Acera brakes (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0025TWGX8/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1) so quite inexpensive. They stopped on a dime with no squeaking or squealing. The stopping power was equivalent to my 5800 brakes.
So what were the problems with v-brakes? Modulation and performance in the wet? My 5800 brakes aren't amazing at modulation but do a reasonable job of stopping in the wet.
So I converted a hybrid I had as a psuedo adventure bike. It doesn't have the high stack and it has v-brakes which allow clearances for 40+mm tires.
I was shocked how good the v-brakes were.
On a side note. Nothing beats 35mm tires for road buzz absorption!
They were $15 Shimano Acera brakes (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0025TWGX8/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1) so quite inexpensive. They stopped on a dime with no squeaking or squealing. The stopping power was equivalent to my 5800 brakes.
So what were the problems with v-brakes? Modulation and performance in the wet? My 5800 brakes aren't amazing at modulation but do a reasonable job of stopping in the wet.
Last edited by raria; 08-26-18 at 08:16 AM.
08-26-18, 08:32 AM
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They represent an astounding improvement over canti brakes, but I think C&V people dislike them because they didn't come out until 2000 or so.
08-26-18, 08:54 AM
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According to Sheldon Brown, these brakes requre levers with a different pull ratio to work properly. I'm not sure any road bike levers are made to work with these then. So, parts commonality probably drives this.
Plus, with good pads, cantis and dual pivot brakes are more than capable of locking up the wheels or sending you over the bars, so more braking power really isn't going to help.
Plus, with good pads, cantis and dual pivot brakes are more than capable of locking up the wheels or sending you over the bars, so more braking power really isn't going to help.
08-26-18, 09:03 AM
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You do need the right levers for them to work right, linear pull I believe. That can be frustrating because i don't know of any linear pull road bike, drop bar levers.
08-26-18, 09:10 AM
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They came out in '96. The first day my bike shop in Hawaii had them I got a set of XTR's and put them on my MTB which obviously had canti's. I was stunned at how powerful they were. And stupid easy to set up. I still love them. I always hoped they would start coming on road race bikes, I like them better than calipers.
08-26-18, 09:15 AM
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V brakes were a huge improvement over cantilever because they didn’t require a cable stop that moved along with the swing arm of a MTB. It’s nice that they work really well too. They are long cable pull because the arms need to be tall enough to clear a balloon tire plus maybe a fender. I have some of the short ones that work with road levers on my XR800 because the cantis interfered with the kid seat. They’re also lovely.
Last edited by Darth Lefty; 08-26-18 at 09:21 AM.
08-26-18, 10:56 AM
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I'm running TRP 9s V brakes on a cross bike with Campy road brifters. These brakes are incredible - better than all of the mechanical discs I've tried.
Downside: you'll be running the pads close to the rims, so you need to keep your rims true.
Downside: you'll be running the pads close to the rims, so you need to keep your rims true.
08-26-18, 01:30 PM
#9
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Sheldon Brown called then U brakes. V may sound cooler than either U or H though.
08-26-18, 03:13 PM
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The aren't cool.
Pretty much.
Purists can argue for rim brakes, modernists can fight for discs ... there is no "V-Brake" clique.
Oh, you mean the actual hardware and whether they work or not?
Nothing wrong with V-brakes ... except the people who hate everything everyone else has.
Pretty much.
Purists can argue for rim brakes, modernists can fight for discs ... there is no "V-Brake" clique.
Oh, you mean the actual hardware and whether they work or not?
Nothing wrong with V-brakes ... except the people who hate everything everyone else has.
08-26-18, 04:35 PM
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V-brakes are great. They stop our tandem just fine. In fact, many tandems used them before disc brakes were adopted. They work perfectly with all road levers if one adds Travel Agents: https://problemsolversbike.com/produ..._agents_-_6416
They fit right into the V-brakes and are very solid. Cable changes are a bit of a PITA, but not all that bad.
They fit right into the V-brakes and are very solid. Cable changes are a bit of a PITA, but not all that bad.
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08-26-18, 04:56 PM
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Replaced a set of cantis with direct pulls on a commuting bike. They were, as expected, worlds better at stopping the bike, but the clearances were so tiny that even a bit of rain grit on the rims caused a rub. The set I had were recalled, so I went back to the cantis.
08-26-18, 04:57 PM
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So I wanted to get an adventure bike (think 40+mm tire clearance, slack geometry, disc brakes, higher stack) brother to my CAAD12. But they are rather expensive and I'm not sure how good the adventure trails are around where I now live.
So I converted a hybrid I had as a psuedo adventure bike. It doesn't have the high stack and it has v-brakes which allow clearances for 40+mm tires.
I was shocked how good the v-brakes were.
On a side note. Nothing beats 35mm tires for road buzz absorption!
They were $15 Shimano Acera brakes (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1) so quite inexpensive. They stopped on a dime with no squeaking or squealing. The stopping power was equivalent to my 5800 brakes.
So what were the problems with v-brakes? Modulation and performance in the wet? My 5800 brakes aren't amazing at modulation but do a reasonable job of stopping in the wet.
So I converted a hybrid I had as a psuedo adventure bike. It doesn't have the high stack and it has v-brakes which allow clearances for 40+mm tires.
I was shocked how good the v-brakes were.
On a side note. Nothing beats 35mm tires for road buzz absorption!
They were $15 Shimano Acera brakes (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1) so quite inexpensive. They stopped on a dime with no squeaking or squealing. The stopping power was equivalent to my 5800 brakes.
So what were the problems with v-brakes? Modulation and performance in the wet? My 5800 brakes aren't amazing at modulation but do a reasonable job of stopping in the wet.
08-26-18, 05:38 PM
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But they are very simple to set up and adjust, and they do work well.
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08-26-18, 05:54 PM
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As I understood his question, he was more asking, Why doesn't anyone else seem to like these brakes? Everyone dismisses them, and focuses on disc or rim (multiple-multipage silly threads)? Am I missing something? Am I the only one who found the only working set in the universe? it seems odd to me--any thoughts?"
08-26-18, 06:03 PM
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Tektro makes road levers with long pull for v-brakes. They work well and are cheap.
https://www.treefortbikes.com/Tektro...or-Linear-Pull
https://www.treefortbikes.com/Tektro...or-Linear-Pull
08-26-18, 07:51 PM
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They are ugly brakes with ugly cable routing, more prone to juddering, self centring action isn't that great, require minimal pad/rim clearance.
Yes you can make them work well, but normal callipers are just better if you don't need the tyre clearance, and if you do they lose out to discs.
Yes you can make them work well, but normal callipers are just better if you don't need the tyre clearance, and if you do they lose out to discs.
Last edited by Dean V; 08-26-18 at 07:54 PM.
08-26-18, 08:15 PM
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People seem to assume that if most people don’t use a certain type of brake any more, there must be something wrong with it. Take center pull brakes for example. Between really prolific knockoffs that were simply poorly made, and that they are a lot more work to set up than calipers, they got a bad reputation. I have a set of the Compass centerpulls and they are awesome. Same with cantilevers: there were many poorly made ones, and they are as hard to set up as centerpulls. But once done, they work great.
I had a road frame built once specifically to use those cyclocross V-brakes, because I wanted more brake power (I weigh 220# lean). My biggest complaint about V-brakes was that they were very powerful initially, but pulling harder didn’t seem to slow any faster. My levers often hit the bars, even with the correct cable pull. Canties seem a little more linear, but with less initial bite. But if they work, they work, and in a ride or two, the ramp rate is lost in muscle memory anyway.
My favorite brake ever, way over hydraulic disks? Paul moto-BMX cantis, frame built for 26” wheels, but with 700c wheels installed. The cable pull matched the road levers perfectly, and the feel was firm, linear, and powerful.
I had a road frame built once specifically to use those cyclocross V-brakes, because I wanted more brake power (I weigh 220# lean). My biggest complaint about V-brakes was that they were very powerful initially, but pulling harder didn’t seem to slow any faster. My levers often hit the bars, even with the correct cable pull. Canties seem a little more linear, but with less initial bite. But if they work, they work, and in a ride or two, the ramp rate is lost in muscle memory anyway.
My favorite brake ever, way over hydraulic disks? Paul moto-BMX cantis, frame built for 26” wheels, but with 700c wheels installed. The cable pull matched the road levers perfectly, and the feel was firm, linear, and powerful.
08-26-18, 09:24 PM
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I always thought V-brakes were rim brakes? 
08-26-18, 10:08 PM
#21
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I am runnning Tektro RX5s which have 85mm arms with Campy shifters on my gravel/cross bike and they brake like champs.
08-27-18, 07:47 AM
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People seem to assume that if most people don’t use a certain type of brake any more, there must be something wrong with it. Take center pull brakes for example. Between really prolific knockoffs that were simply poorly made, and that they are a lot more work to set up than calipers, they got a bad reputation. I have a set of the Compass centerpulls and they are awesome. Same with cantilevers: there were many poorly made ones, and they are as hard to set up as centerpulls. But once done, they work great.
I had a road frame built once specifically to use those cyclocross V-brakes, because I wanted more brake power (I weigh 220# lean). My biggest complaint about V-brakes was that they were very powerful initially, but pulling harder didn’t seem to slow any faster. My levers often hit the bars, even with the correct cable pull. Canties seem a little more linear, but with less initial bite. But if they work, they work, and in a ride or two, the ramp rate is lost in muscle memory anyway.
My favorite brake ever, way over hydraulic disks? Paul moto-BMX cantis, frame built for 26” wheels, but with 700c wheels installed. The cable pull matched the road levers perfectly, and the feel was firm, linear, and powerful.
I had a road frame built once specifically to use those cyclocross V-brakes, because I wanted more brake power (I weigh 220# lean). My biggest complaint about V-brakes was that they were very powerful initially, but pulling harder didn’t seem to slow any faster. My levers often hit the bars, even with the correct cable pull. Canties seem a little more linear, but with less initial bite. But if they work, they work, and in a ride or two, the ramp rate is lost in muscle memory anyway.
My favorite brake ever, way over hydraulic disks? Paul moto-BMX cantis, frame built for 26” wheels, but with 700c wheels installed. The cable pull matched the road levers perfectly, and the feel was firm, linear, and powerful.
The problem here is that a lot of cable pull is needed due to the lever ratio of the V brakes. That lever ratio makes the wheel end of the braking system quite powerful, but requires a large amount of cable pull. But, you only have so much reach for your hands from the bars to pull that cable. So, long pull levers fix the cable pull issue, but then decrease your mechanical advantage at the lever, basically canceling out the advantage of the brake setup. Shorter pull brake levers can be used, but then you are either running out of lever travel and the levers hit the bars or having to run the pads very close to the rim, causing other issues. So, you can run special brake levers and have parts that aren't compatible with any other brake levers out there, or run standard levers and have a finicky setup. Really, I'd say disc brakes came along and killed the idea of V brakes. Cantis are compatible with decades worth of vintage bikes, brake levers and spare parts the world over and provide enough power to lock the wheels so why pursue a new type of rim brake when all the cool kids want disc anyways?
They are. Just another way to skin the proverbial cat.
08-27-18, 11:09 AM
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Thanks.
Glad to hear so many people love them.
The only two downsides I heard were:
i) Aren't compatible with STIs
ii) Need to be run very close to rim.
For i) I thought the mini v-brake solved that problem.
For ii) I run mine at 1cm from the rim and they work great. But I don't have mini v-brakes and I do have regular MTB brakes.
The only two downsides I heard were:
i) Aren't compatible with STIs
ii) Need to be run very close to rim.
For i) I thought the mini v-brake solved that problem.
For ii) I run mine at 1cm from the rim and they work great. But I don't have mini v-brakes and I do have regular MTB brakes.
Tektro makes road levers with long pull for v-brakes. They work well and are cheap.
https://www.treefortbikes.com/Tektro...or-Linear-Pull
https://www.treefortbikes.com/Tektro...or-Linear-Pull
They came out in '96. The first day my bike shop in Hawaii had them I got a set of XTR's and put them on my MTB which obviously had canti's. I was stunned at how powerful they were. And stupid easy to set up. I still love them. I always hoped they would start coming on road race bikes, I like them better than calipers.
08-27-18, 11:22 AM
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I think some of my clearance problem was due to the fact that the set I had were hard (perhaps impossible) to center—mismatched springs or something.
08-27-18, 12:15 PM
#25
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Brakes are very simple machines. The longer the leverage of the brake arm, the greater the braking power, at the expense of greater lever travel and having to run the pads close to the rims. So it is a compromise.
I did a measurement of some XTR V-brakes, and the arms are 100mm. These are very powerful brakes, and extremely well made. The best rim brakes I've ever used were Magura hydraulics, except for the times they lost their fluid on some epic descent, and as the bike started to run away, I had to bail or face inevitable death.
Digging through my brake parts stash, I discovered a 20-pound bag of new Tektro 'Mini-V's with 80mm arms. I'm always finding new stuff. I will try these with Campagnolo levers as well. This may be the best balance between mechanical power and rim clearance.