Anyone ever been satisfied with Cantilever brakes ?

[Mangizmo]

Bought a couple of older bikes recently both with Canti brakes, one was Shimano Deore Canti brakes, but no matter what I did I couldnt get either to work satisfactoraly. I swapped them both out for inexpensive V brakes and they are now both pretty good......anybody a canti brake fan ? they do look cool but they just dont work very well, unless I am missing something ?

 

[Takingabreak]

My experience was similar to yours until I tried some more modern shimano offerings - the cx50

Shimano BR-CX50 Cantilever Brake

Shimano CX50 Cantilever brake for road levers. Ideally suited to cyclo-cross and offers good mud clearance yet still maintaining a low profile. Specification Cable pull matches that of Super SLR drop bar levers, making them compatible with Road STI levers Can be used for cyclo-cross, touring...

www.condorcycles.com

These work well but are still not a match for v brakes.

Apparently the wider style cantis do work well but I've never tried them myself

Tektro CR520 Brakes - Upgrade Bikes

Tektro CR520 brakes from Upgrade Bikes. The Tektro CR520 brake has dual micro tension adjusters for simple set up and aluminium arms.

www.upgradebikes.co.uk

 

[Guinessisgoodforyou]

Yes set up correctly no problems. V brake is more powerful imo.

 

[benjabbi]

Yes, especially with a servowave/power control lever and Aztec/Koolstop pads. Perfectly acceptable power and more adaptable in feel than a v-brake, more fiddly to set up but good once done. Both lack the power and modulation of a decent hydraulic disc though.

 

[grantoury]

Yes. But v brakes are much easier to set up. Nicer modulation in a canti. Magura's are even nicer.

 

[Motomax]

I started my off-roading on a Raleigh M-50 with low end Shimano cantis. I stumbled onto an article by Keith Bontrager where he gave setup tips to get more power from your brakes. Two key things: the canti arms should be angled out as far as possible and the straddle cable should be as close to the tire as possible. By doing this you get the most progression and power. It made my cheap brakes work amazing!

 

[FluffyChicken]

Not a problem here, stick with M900 and the Servowave (m900) brakes and the A/73 cables or similar setup and life is good and working.
SS7 and 987 are pretty good but not quite in the same league.

If you fit Marin Lite canti's, you may as well headbutt the the wall... or car or tree

 

[Lacuna]

I remember having Curve canti's on my Kona. They weren't bad but not a patch on the V's everyone else was starting to get into.

I snapped the bridge cable on the rear and, not having a spare, I just used zip ties to bodge it up. I have no explanation for why but this massively increased the power. I stuck with a zip tied bridge until upgrading to V's

 

[legrandefromage]

This has been discussed many



many many many many many


Many



... many times over the years on RB. The low profile brakes just before the V-brake are possibly the culprits as to why cantilevers have a bad name

The older wider models of the 1980's worked far better as do models aimed at CX and touring

Set up is the key as many many many (get on with it!) have already mentioned but as above, older style and the modern wider models are far better

*but, frames often had a problem with the heel hitting the rear brakes with wider brakes

 

[Splatter Paint]

^^ what he said. M900 and M737 Shimano units aren’t too bad in my opinion though.