Optimum straddle length?

Poor braking deore lx cantis. 90 deg? Higher lower ? Straddle length? Unsure for best results.

Thanks THM

Lower

unkleGsif":quc1mjoe said:

Lower

Click to expand...

Lower the bridge?

Lower the straddle

...taken from WD's Bear Valley thread
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Low as possible? Or are there diminishing returns ?

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There is a point at which you will achieve the best balance and this will depend on your brake setup - it's all about finding the sweet spot in the mechanical advantage curve.

Sheldon Brown's site explains this better than I ever could:

http://sheldonbrown.com/canti-trad.html

and:

http://sheldonbrown.com/cantilever-geom ... mechanical

Thanks for links. Superb explanations. I need to lessen lever travel so will experiment with raised 'yokes' tat will result in less efficient brake but with less travel so a trade off if you're levers are hitting he bars.

Just out of interest on my setup above :

* I run the pads very close (My wheels are very true).
* I dont have a spongy lever.
* I dont have a long lever travel.

I think the solid feel is helped A LOT by :

* Good quality cables (inners and outers).
* Correct cutting / grinding of the ends of the inners (no pressure points).
* Correctly fitting / supporting ferrules.

The only problem :

* I cant release the straddle cable.

But its an easy fix :

* Let the tyre down - its probably coming off to fix a puncture anyway

Out of interest, I set up my sisters 200GS (i.e. crap plastic ) brakes the other day with all new cables etc. I used the same setup tricks as I did on the bear valley but with Ashima cartridge pads and the brakes work surprisingly well.

With the old OE setup and crap shimano pads I struggled to lock the rear (on tarmac) and had little chance of doing an endo (on tarmac) - they were lethal !

Even dad jumped on and tried them after I had done them (but they hadnt bedded in), commented they were better than his road bike (top end campy) but not as good as his MTB (Spez with some avid hydro disks) - but I think that is to be expected

WD

Thanks. Will be able to adjust/slacken them as i've put jagwire inline adjusters on.
Got the brand new standard pads at present. will give them time to bed in and for cables to stretch then start fiddling (or crashing again)

My 2 penneth! The lower the straddle cable the higher the power...But your canti's stick out more!