bikemig 

I picked up a vintage Stumpjumper comp from CL for $125; I think it's a 1989 based on the frame and parts. It has a full Deore XT group (except for the front canti that someone swapped out) and the bike had clearly seen little use. I overhauled it and it is in fine shape other than the BB which will need replacing. So I'm seriously considering making this into a drop bar bike for touring. The dimensions are good (41 and 1/2 inch wheelbase, 17 inch stays) and the XT derailleurs and crank are in fine shape. I will need to change the wheels because I'm fairly certain it uses the old style Shimano uniglide cassettes that I don't think are readily available.

So the bike is perfect for a conversion to drops with bar end shifters but it has a u-brake on the rear. I'm skeptical that this is a good choice for a loaded touring bike esp. after reading this https://sheldonbrown.com/canti-u.html. I suspect these things don't have as much stopping power as cantis (not as big a deal on the rear brake but still you need good stopping on a touring bike). Sheldon Brown wrote that the mechanical advantage decreases as the brake is applied harder and they're somewhat prone to slipping out of adjustment as compared to cantis. Plus you can't readily visually inspect them the way you would cantis. Thoughts? I love the bike and it would make a great tourer other than perhaps that darn u-brake on the rear:

zzzwillzzz

it's not a big deal, the brake will work fine, ride it and see

bikemig 

Thx; that's what I suspected but I was curious whether anyone had actually used one of these for touring. The bike geometry on the specialized stumpjumper is great and I have the parts lying around to do the conversion.

stevepusser

Hmmm--I thought you could slip a non-Uniglide cassette with the same number of cogs onto your freehub. Or does it have some custom spline configuration?

I too think the U-brake will be fine. You get most of the stopping power from the front canti, anyway.

rifraf

Yes I would and have toured on a bike with U brake. If your that concerned with the braking ability why not chuck on a Surly (or similar) fork with BB7 disk brake? Most braking is done with the front anyway and the rear U can be used for feathering and speed adjustment. Sounds like a good bike for a great price.
That would have been a real quality bike in its day with stand out features. I had a similarly set up Haro Extreme back in the day and never thought of the U brake as dysfunctional or a hindrance. If you hadnt read Sheldons opinion you might just have to form your own
Sheldon loved old English Raleighs which came out with chrome rims, which when wet seemed to accelerate under braking and I bet it never stole any of his enjoyment riding them.

Hmmmm hang on a minute, drop bar? I'd want to check that the levers your using would work as many dont work well even with V-brakes.
There are work arounds - be keen to hear how you get on.

fietsbob

Keep an eye on Pad wear.. because the brake pivots are above the rim,
as the brake pads wear they move towards the Tire, Had bikes in the shop
that the pad was half off the rim and wore through the sidewall ,
because the rider Ignored how thin the brake pads were getting.

as they wear , move them in the adjustment slot to remain gripping just the Rim.

bradtx

bikemig, The rear U-brake really is a non issue, IMHO. You may want to change the rear hub simply for more gearing flexability.

Brad

tmac100

Agreed. Used my bike with "some old stuff" on two different outback Australia tours total of over 3500 km. Old stuff ( including my body) worked 4 me.

Attitude and perseverance works better than state-of-the-art equipment. Less expensive too, for older equipment, I mean ...

clasher

Tektro makes new ones: https://tektro.com/_english/01_produc...X&sort=2&fid=8

arctos

Original Shimano U-Brakes were adequate for touring if you upgraded the brake pads to Kool Stop Salmon pads or replaced them with the Suntour XC comp roller cam(Licensed from Cunningham) using those Kool Stop pads or became aware of the Wilderness Trail Bikes Cunningham Roller Cam Brakes. The WTB Cunningham Design is remarkable for braking function and power under all conditions and braking modulation is amazing even today.

I have been using three WTB roller cam brakes for the last 25 years on my Fat Chance Mountain Tandem- fork,chain saty and rear stay positions. The brakes just work very well under full load on and off pavement and the WTB pads last for years. I only wish that they were still being made.

striknein

The bmx crowd still use u-brakes as well; Odyssey still sells one that is lightweight and grabs hard.

bikemig 

Yeah, I made the mistake reading what Sheldon wrote about u-brakes instead of just trying them out on a tour, . Good point about the drops, though; I have no idea whether bmx brakes work with road brake levers. Still the bike frame wise is just great for touring; you know it's over built chrome moly and the parts group is first rate. I know you can swap out the uniqlide cassette and add a hyperglide one off an old hub; or I might just build up a new rear wheel with some bulletproof rim like a sun rhynolite. This bike has a 130 rear and I should probably spread it to 135 for touring anyhow.

fuzz2050

Charlie Cunningham is still out there, and still makes a handful of these. I think it's mainly toggle-cams now though.

hueyhoolihan

i think there were uniglide/hyperglide freehubs offered by shimano at one time, but if your Stumpjumper is like mine, and mine came with a U-brake too, then yours is, as you suspect, uniglide only. if so, i would suggest getting one of these https://www.treefortbikes.com/product...FUlxQgodjggAWA. you can remove your freehub from the hub shell with a whopping hex wrench (after removing the axle). then you can get any modern 7 speed shimano hyperglide cassette you want.

if you are set on drop bars, i've had good results with cyclocross brake levers on those brakes. they can be run alone and are made to fit both old and new road bar handlebar diameters. check out ebay for 'em. here's a pic for reference. https://store.velo-orange.com/index.p...ll-silver.html

bikemig 

Cool; this will make the wheels a lot more serviceable.