lildave

Hey all. Looking for advice for a set of v brakes that will work on an older touring fork with narrow set brake bosses -- specifically a Miyata 1000. I've had luck with the rear brake, but on the front, the brake pads hit the fork blades when released, thus making wheel removal impossible without deflating the tire. Tried using shorter brake pads to no avail (i.e. Kool Stop Cross pads.) Most v brakes I've tried have the pads attatched directly from the brake arm or behind them. I think a set of Paul Motolites might work if I reversed the pad holders to move the brake pads in front of the brake arms, but looking for a cheaper option if possible.

Note: not looking for arguments about using cantilevers. Specifically interested in v brakes that will work with narrow canti bosses.

fietsbob

Too Narrow is to narrow. Since you shut your ears to hearing out using cantilever brakes from experienced mechanics with bikes like that..

Consider having the brake bosses removed and new ones relocated further apart , .. get it done by a Competent frame builder , then repaint the fork .





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tyrion

Won't cantilevers have this same problem? (The problem, as I understand it: the brakes can't open enough because the pads hit the fork when opening the brake to remove wheel.)

fietsbob

Nope, I have 2 bikes . post centers are 6cm apart.. Brakes I used Mafac, & Modolo cross , new ones , Shimano CX 70 brakes (CX50 for less $)

BR-CX70

Pivots are offset to the center, as you can see, and by using thinner washers between the arm and the pad they can be adapted successfully..


Just dont use long tail pads and they wont interfere with the fork blades..





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SkyDog75

Maybe on some, but the Dia Compe 980 cantilevers that came stock on my Miyata 1000 have the pads mounted on the front of the cantilever arm (toward the front of the bike). The pads are situated far enough forward that they don't contact the fork blade when the brakes are opened.

Dia Compe 960's were also common on bikes with narrowly spaced posts and their pads are situated similarly. Come to think of it, I'd guess that most cantilever brakes using smooth post pads would have sufficient clearance.

bikemig 

No some cantilevers work fine with older and narrower posts (as Feitsbob pointed out). V brakes though are designed around a wider post setting so this could be a tough one for the OP.

To the OP: why not post this question in C&V? Maybe someone has tried v brakes on the narrower posts found on vintage bikes. Worth a shot.

lildave

I'll give that a shot, thank you. I know plenty of cantis that work. I've just never been happy with their performance. And yes, I'm aware of the "properly set up cantilevers... vis a vis v-brake" argument. But while I've had cantis that work "fine," in my 10+ years working on bikes, it's been my experience that even the nicest ones set up optimally don't perform as well and consistently as some of the more budget v brakes. Maybe I just don't have the magic touch 🤷🏾

Thanks for the replies, all!

fietsbob

Maybe the thin cupped washer closest to the pad will work , put the thick one on the outside..

being made by the zillions the V brakes are pretty cheap..

to try and toss if you are not pleased.

rm -rf

Perhaps the Kool Stop Thinline pads would give you a little more clearance.

My mini-V brakes didn't work very well with my wide HED rims, but these thinline pads let the brake arms stay vertical instead of angling outward to accomodate my very wide rims. And the braking is a lot better--the original pads were pretty grabby, but these have good modulation.

You might even be able to grind down the short end where it contacts the fork, and not affect the pad's adhesion to the pad body. I'd want to have a spare set, and do some careful slower speed braking tests to make sure it was okay, and check it frequently!

70sSanO

I would think a Surly Cross Check fork with a 1" steerer would work. May be easier to just swap out the fork. Keep your original in case you want to switch back.

John

lildave

I didn't realize the 1" Cross Check fork was still being produced. Thank you

fietsbob

# 9 shows the kind of brake pad that the long end (that is the way they install, properly) will 'trail' inside the fork blades, but you could always saw that part off.

It actually is the leading end of the pad in the rotation of the wheel..






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kaos joe

I had the same issue with one of my tandems. The Koolstop Thinline as in post #9 did the trick. I used the thinnest combination of washers to maximize clearance.

thumpism 

Here's my '80-ish Trek 510 (Ishiwata tubing, sport-touring geometry) with braze-ons by a local builder. The front canti posts are spaced at 65mm and cause the SRAM linear brake arms to splay outward. This could probably be corrected by moving the innermost pairs of nesting spacers outboard of the brake arms to make them look more normal, but they work fine. The rear posts are spaced at about 85mm and the arms are much closer to parallel than the front.

brake1.JPG

brake2.JPG

xenologer

Try using road caliper pads instead of V-brake pads?
They're smaller

tdh

I am going to resuscitate this thread as I think I have found an unconventional solution cringey work-around for the "Narrow Cantis Conundrum". MUQZI produces a V brake that due to its curvature can be mounted on narrow cantilever bosses...you just have to reverse the legs. They are about 91mm long which makes them not suitable for ergopowers or STIs. For mounting a travel agent you need to replace that thing on top of the right lever which holds the noodle as it is too small to hold the travel agent. And of course, the routing of the brake cable housing is awkward. I thought I post it anyways...hope somebody finds this useful.