Night Treker

Can i use the Shimano EZFire brake/shifter made for V brakes for cantilevers ?

dsbrantjr

V-brake levers have what is referred to as "long pull" characteristics, they pull a relatively large amount of cable with lower leverage; cantilever and caliper brakes use "short pull", they pull less cable so have higher leverage. V-brake levers would likely lack the leverage needed for good power in a cantilever system.

Night Treker

I understand....trying to find a good brake/shift combo to replace the cheaper ones i have

This is the model

This outer housing is broken ...sont know if i can get just the shift mechanism

Night Treker

dedhed

YOu should be able to pull the existing shifter pod off the brake lever and pick up a shifter that uses a separate mount and keep your brake lever.

Bill Kapaun

IF you can find these in the 4 Finger Version-
You have to pay attention, because most are "2 finger" and NOT convertible between V & Canti.

Miele Man

Not a good idea as the cable pulls are different. V-brakes are also known as Direct Pull Brakes.

From Sheldon Brown (about 3/4 down the page) https://www.sheldonbrown.com/canti-direct.html

"

Brake Levers for Direct-pull Cantilevers

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."

Cheers

Night Treker

The reason is these bars have a very long rubber grip that i might not be able to remove easily

havent found any NOS either

dedhed

If you have a co-op nearby you may want to start checking with them for a used set. If they're open given COVID.
The shifter can be separated from the brake lever.

https://si.shimano.com/pdfs/ev/EV-ST-M290-1453A.pdf

fietsbob

Some levers have 2 places to fit the cable head further or nearer the lever pivot, in set up, .. Avid speed dial it's an adjustment..

I have Speed Dial levers ... The rear an Avid MTB, front a TRP Hy Rd same lever on both adjusted for best feel..






...

Retro Grouch 

My personal philosophy is that if I'm buying parts I'll only pay for stuff that's supposed to work together. If I already own parts, I'll bolt up whatever I have and see if I can make it work to my satisfaction.

I've done it, I thought it felt okay, and I don't have unusual grip strength. It's one of those things that I might do on a personal bike but I wouldn't do on a customer bike.

Night Treker

anyone have any suggestions on how to remove the grips without destroying them ?

Night Treker

i would like to reuse them...they work well and cant find replacments

Trevtassie

Slide a long thin screwdriver down inside them, work it around a bit, squirt in some soapy water, start twisting. Another option, if you have access to a compressor and the grips have end holes, hold one grip on, blow air in the other one and blow it off.

Retro Grouch 

I've always kept a spray bottle of Windex on my workbench. Removing and installing hand grips is one of the purposes that I use it for. Those long rubber grips on nightstalker's bike might be troublesome. If it was my bike I'd spray a little Windex under the grip, see how much of the grip I could get to wiggle and try it again. If it works, (and I'm betting it will eventually) it's probably going to take several attempts..

fietsbob

Air Compressor and a Needle Nozzle.