What brake levers should get?

I had a dig around and there are some for a lot less on ebay - some mid-20s in used condition - they were designed at the crossover from cantilevers to V brakes - the STX Vs were lovely things - very simple alloy ‘wings’ - and would look great on your frame - BUT there is indeed a view that the adjustable leverage position meant that they were designed to be interchangeable between Vs and cantilever brakes ... that’s what I recall from the time I was using them. So I think that’s a ‘yes’.

And another ‘Yes’... indeed there is a performance gulf between 90’s bikes and the current crop. I started mountain-biking in the mid ‘80s, and went from machines which were simply terrifying off road to things which were very capable - the Marins, and Breezers, and Oranges, and Chances etc - in the early 90s they reached a state of technical development where very demanding off road riding became possible. I did thousands of miles on the South Downs on these bikes, including screaming downhills and very tough ups - like the long, rutted climb out of Kingston (Nr Lewes). We had a ball. I think things started to shift when Brant Richards played with angles, and others like Cy Turner and Dan Stanton did hugely thoughtful design work - ‘long low and slack’ has been the design direction. Max Commencal was working hard too, but mainly impacting the downhill scene. I now ride those same hills on the very latest bikes - Cotic and Stanton and Transition - and do it all in more comfort and safety than on my ‘90s rigs, and definitely a whole lot faster. Could they still be ridden on 90s retro bikes. Yes, absolutely. Would I pick a modern bike to ride over a retro bike if I was riding in earnest? Yes, absolutely.

I love the fact that retro bikes are being saved, built, rebuilt, and ridden. it’s good in so many ways - the environment, the memory, the legacy....
 
2manyoranges said:
I had a dig around and there are some for a lot less on ebay - some mid-20s in used condition - they were designed at the crossover from cantilevers to V brakes - the STX Vs were lovely things - very simple alloy ‘wings’ - and would look great on your frame - BUT there is indeed a view that the adjustable leverage position meant that they were designed to be interchangeable between Vs and cantilever brakes ... that’s what I recall from the time I was using them. So I think that’s a ‘yes’.

And another ‘Yes’... indeed there is a performance gulf between 90’s bikes and the current crop. I started mountain-biking in the mid ‘80s, and went from machines which were simply terrifying off road to things which were very capable - the Marins, and Breezers, and Oranges, and Chances etc - in the early 90s they reached a state of technical development where very demanding off road riding became possible. I did thousands of miles on the South Downs on these bikes, including screaming downhills and very tough ups - like the long, rutted climb out of Kingston (Nr Lewes). We had a ball. I think things started to shift when Brant Richards played with angles, and others like Cy Turner and Dan Stanton did hugely thoughtful design work - ‘long low and slack’ has been the design direction. Max Commencal was working hard too, but mainly impacting the downhill scene. I now ride those same hills on the very latest bikes - Cotic and Stanton and Transition - and do it all in more comfort and safety than on my ‘90s rigs, and definitely a whole lot faster. Could they still be ridden on 90s retro bikes. Yes, absolutely. Would I pick a modern bike to ride over a retro bike if I was riding in earnest? Yes, absolutely.

I love the fact that retro bikes are being saved, built, rebuilt, and ridden. it’s good in so many ways - the environment, the memory, the legacy....
Click to expand...

The frame I've got is designed for canti, it's got the bridge on the frame, the STX levers are definitely something I'll consider though and will keep a lookout on eBay and on here.

You've seen decades of progression, you know your stuff, I'll read up on some of those names you mentioned, I can imagine you can really push those new bikes and they're an absolute joy to ride, I'd love to have a go on a modern mtb. I do think if it was that good on my Marin full suspension back in the late '90s what must it be like now? Do Cotic make a steel full susser? I quickly looked at a story about a few companies that have started making mtbs out of steel again, not that I'm a complete steel aficionado, all materials have their advantages.
I love the look of those Chances and old Oranges, lovely paint jobs back in the day, wish companies would go crazy with their paint work again.
You want to see what some people get rid of at the recycling centres and landfills, it saddens me to see perfectly good bikes and other stuff get chucked away, luckily there are a lot of places that save them nowadays, I've seen Marins, GTs, Giants, Cannondales, Orbits and Raleighs at these reuse places, they're quite often big sizes though, I've managed to salvage a couple and get them something like. They're also a great places to source components from the frames that are too far gone ;)
 
For sure rescuing bikes - particularly high end ones - is very important. Been there done it...essential. Hope it continues. Last one for me was a thoroughly neglected Cannondale F6 - now my son’s school-run bike.

Take a look at Cotic and Stanton - and Stanton do the lovely paint customisation which you mention - both companies make steel and ti hardtails and FS - and they both do excellent demo days, which are a hoot. Demo days may well come back now COVID restrictions have eased - worth getting to one if you can. It’s a great day out, no sales pressure, just lots of talk about bikes. I am a big fan of hardtails for most of UK - I run 200mm DH bikes and 160mm full suspension too (great for Wales and the Alps) - but for most English riding a really well-sorted hardtail is a great deal of fun. I got a Ragley mmmBop frame and Manitou MAttoc fork on here for 250 gbp at the beginning of pandemic (which is VERY long low and slack - 64 head angle, 160 front suspension) and have since built both new Cotic and Stanton hardtails. Joining the modern geometry mob doesn’t need to be punitively expensive - I saw a Dialled Alpine frame recently for 200, and have seen a few Bird FS frames at very low price.

I definitely like steel - the Cotics have a big place in my heart.
 
Thoose STX are for V-Brakes* started in 1997 in the STX-RC groupset, but not yet in the STX groupset,

there is of course a combi STX for canti.
1995
https://www.retrobike.co.uk/gallery...o+Archive/Catalogues/1995/1995+-+STX.jpg.html
and -RC https://www.retrobike.co.uk/gallery...rchive/Catalogues/1995/1995+-+STX+RC.jpg.html
or 1996
They don't have servo-wave as you know it for Canti brakes.
For that you really need XTR M900/910 or XT M737
OR the not often seen M564 (and is 7speed too) which may be a rehashed DX combi shifter) . You're more likely to see the M563, which lacks servowave and has a more STX styling from above, but it black. Both 1995.


*You may be able to pick up the newer but still the same 2009 era LX version BL-M570 M571 for cheaper.
 
FC - Interesting... I thought STX RC was 1995 - it was on a C16R I had from 1996...
see

Shimano - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org
the mountain bike timeline table....
but then V brakes were XT first in 1996 so I guess the LX V levers were 1997 as you say?
 
Yep, for v brakes.

Never used the ss6, only the great ss5's and 7's. Have a pair of DC Power levers somewhere if you want them?
 
Those STX levers wont work very well with cantilevers.

They were NOT designed to ever be used with them

The 'adjustment' is just to trim some of the aggression out of the v-brake.

But hey, its the internet and anything goes these days!

Shimano's low profile cantilever brakes were not very good unless time and patience were used (and who had any of that aged 19??) giving the then new v-brake the chance to send everyone over the handlebars.

These and some Avids were / are possibly the only ever multi use levers. They adjust the cable pull.

1630046757724.png
 
Ah - noted LGF.

And after a dig around found a helpful and quite wide-ranging discussion of this:


Re the performance of Shimano low profile cantilevers, I well recall in 1995 being frustrated by the relationship between the increased speed of my newly-purchased Proflex 855 and the low power of the Shimano cantilever brakes. Fettling and new compound pads made scant improvement. Difficult rear heel clearance issues meant little choice - but some Critical Racing cantilevers came to the rescue - very light, very powerful, very nice.
 
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