charlielyth

I have drop down handlebars on my tourer with cantilever brakes that I would like to swap out for a v-brake set up. Ideally would prefer to not have to swap the levers. Is this feasible? I've read v-brake levers aren't compatible with canti-breaks but from what I've seen I'm thinking it might work okay the other way round?
any thoughts would be fab thanks

dedhed

Not compatible but travel agents are an option
https://www.benscycle.com/Problem-So...iABEgLnsPD_BwE

aggiegrads

Mini-Vs are also an option. You should be good with anything 90mm or less, but you will have very little pad clearance.

With shorter-arm Mini-Vs, short pull road brake levers will work well.

ljsense

I rode a singlespeed around town mountain bike this way -- canti levers squeezing V-brakes -- and you just have very little power. Is it enough to slow down? Sure. Will you be doing any skids? No. It's like having wet carbon rims and crappy brake pads.

There are several drop handlebar levers designed for V-brakes that don't cost a fortune. I'd go that route. You'll like your bike a lot more, even if it means the hassle of rewrapping your bars.

Miele Man

From Sheldon Brown's site.

https://www.sheldonbrown.com/canti-direct.html

"Direct-pull cantilevers have double the mechanical advantage compared with traditional brakes, so they require special brake levers. Direct-pull brake levers pull the cable twice as far, half as hard. The lower mechanical advantage of the lever compensates for the higher mechanical advantage of the brake arms. It is not generally safe to mix and match levers/cables between direct-pull and other types for this reason.

• Conventional brake levers used with direct-pull cantilevers will usually not pull enough cable to stop in wet conditions without bottoming out against the handlebars. In dry conditions, they either won't work, or will grab too suddenly.
• Direct-pull brake levers used with any other type of brakes will feel nice and solid when you squeeze them, but due to their lower mechanical advantage you'll need to squeeze twice as hard to stop as you should, so unless you are a lightweight rider with gorilla-like paws, this combination isn't safe either.

Drop-bar Levers

To make a brake lever with low enough mechanical advantage for direct-pull cantilevers, the cable must run twice as far from the lever's pivot point. This is easy enough to do with levers for straight/upright handlebars. Levers for drop handlebars are harder to configure for direct-pull brakes, and currently, there are only a couple of drop-bar levers made that are compatible, the. At present (2018) there are several drop-bar brake levers designed to work with direct-pull cantilevers: the Dia Compe 287V, Cane Creek SCR-5V "Æro" levers, Tektro RL520 and perhaps others. Due to the nature of drop-bar levers, it is not so easy to make a suitable lever that can be operated both from the drops and from the hoods.Most newer drop bar bikes are have Ergo or STI brake/shifter units as original equipment. Direct-pull cantis are not compatible with these. Other types of shifters may of course be used, along with the special brake levers. In any case many cyclists prefer bar-end shifters. These are simpler and less expensive than brake-lever shifters, and give an indication of what sprocket is in use: brake-lever shifters return to the same position after every shift.

Drop-bar Workarounds

If you want to use Ergo or STI brifters with direct-pull cantis, there are two workarounds available:

• You can use a pulley device, such as the QBP Travel Agent (Q.B.P. Photo). These are a bit of a hassle to set up, but do work. Any pulley of the small diameter commonly used on bicycles eventually leads to fatigue failure of the cable, so check the cable regularly for fraying.
• If you have a bike with skinny tires and no fenders, there are "shorty" direct-pull cantis that are more-or-less compatible with drop bar levers.

Neither of these systems is ideal, and neither is really any better than traditional center-pull cantilevers."

Cheers

MaxDB

I've recently swapped my cantis Shimano SLX with Avid V-brakes, with the same SLX lever and works perfectly. Pull is a lot lighter for a lot more braking power. Maybe I got lucky with the SLX levers working like a charm with the V's

Retro Grouch 

Linear pull brakes (it has to be Shimano to be a V-brake) require more cable pull than is provided by most road bike brake levers. You need a long pull lever.

My personal experience with mini-V's hasn't been good. It's necessary to set the pads very close to the rim and, if you do, they don't always provide adequate clearance, even when open, to remove and install a tire easily. I wouldn't use them on my personal bike.

I've had quite a bit of experience with Travel Agents. They work fine but add a clunkiness factor. If you decide to get Travel Agents always hook up the rear brake first so, when you kink the cable in the wrong place, you can use that damaged cable for the front brake. Don't ask how I know.

FWIW, I have used long pull brake levers with regular road calipers. They worked okay but did require more hand strength. I'm not the strongest guy around but I wouldn't mind using that combination for the kind of riding I used to do with my beater bike. I don't think I'd like them on a long downhill single track.

tyrion

V-brakes with long arms probably won't work with your current levers (they require more cable pull than road levers usually have), but shorter arm v-brakes should work.

https://www.gravelbike.com/v-brake-arm-lengths/

fietsbob

You can put longer pads on your cantilever brakes and change little else.


I chose the opposite shorter pads on V brakes (small wheels) But I Still have the long pads on my Cantilever braked touring bike..

Kool Stop Eagle claw brake shoes are made in long bolt-nut fixed post and smooth post style..



...

fietsbob

V = lower MA lever high MA caliper vs cantilever Higher MA Lever & a bit lower MA caliper* to match , can be pretty much a wash..

* leverages of those vary . you have to measure length ratios..

Chuckles1

The title of your post is About V- Brake pads on canti brakes. That's what I use. I got two pair of Kool Stop low profile V- Brake pad holders and pads, and they work well on my Tektro Oryx cantilever brakes on a cross bike with Shimano road levers.

Miele Man

His Thread Title and his post do NOT match.

He wants to know of he can use V-brake calipers with cantilever brake levers. here's his original post:

"I have drop down handlebars on my tourer with cantilever brakes that I would like to swap out for a v-brake set up. Ideally would prefer to not have to swap the levers. Is this feasible? I've read v-brake levers aren't compatible with canti-breaks but from what I've seen I'm thinking it might work okay the other way round?
any thoughts would be fab thanks"

He's not worried about brake pads.

Cheers

Chuckles1

No kidding. Just giving him another possible idea so he doesn't have to spend a fortune on levers and V brakes if improved braking is main interest. Cheers.