the cantilever appreciation thread

ultrazenith

Senior Retro Guru
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Before the invention of V brakes, cantilever brakes had many different designs, and were a nice and cheap way to personalise your bike. Anodized colours, cool designs, or just plain sexy XTR cantis. Cantis were the epitome of customising your bike just for the sake of it. Sadly, this all changed when Shimano brought out their V brakes, spelling the end of cool cantis. V brakes are nice technology, but boring looking unless you could afford the the XT or XTR versions. I would trace the end of the MTB scene back to that same year, due to the demise of cantilevers, but also due the fragmentation of MTBers around about those years into downhillers and XC (true MTBers) riders.

This thread is dedicated to the cantilever brake. Please post your favourite cantis, and let us together lament their demise and replacement with boring and anti-individualist V-brakes.

I always loved the XTR cantis, and also wanted a set of CNC machined, anodized cantis.

At the moment I'm planning to go back to cantis for my main retro bike, maybe MT60s, maybe the low profile XTRs, maybe something else.
 
OUCH ... OUCH ... I love ... OUCH ... canti ... OUCH ... levers ... OUCH

cantipain.jpg


but TBH sometimes V-brakes do make sense. :facepalm:
 
FMJ":zauh5vgl said:
Who ever set those up needs to be beaten with a Park BT-1.

Hey, I have an ankle full of scars already, it's painful enough as it is. No need to beat me.





Then again, come to think of it I didn't set them up myself. I'll PM you my LBS' address and will pay for half the trip. :LOL:
 
Raging_Bulls":wmog33n7 said:
OUCH ... OUCH ... I love ... OUCH ... canti ... OUCH ... levers ... OUCH

cantipain.jpg


but TBH sometimes V-brakes do make sense. :facepalm:

That is a shockingly bad setup, and even more shocking that your LBS is the culprit. :facepalm: did they blame the Saturday boy for that one?? :roll:
No wonder shimano felt there was a need for v-brakes if even trained bike mechanics can set cantis up so disastrously wrong.
 
Another big Canti fan here. I have original Graftons, XT and XTRs on my bikes and love them to bits. Set up properly they are perfect, great modulation and powerful. I have XTR V brakes on a Klein but they have to be set up so tight to the perfectly trued rim. What happens should a spoke let-go and the front wheel jams ? Also V brakes just plain look ugly to me. Cantis give you that extra safety margin if the wheel suddenly goes seriously out of true ( happened in the past with no injury fortunately ) and yes I know how to build wheels and set C and V brakes properly :LOL:


Long live the Canti :)
 
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