Why is a V-brake a V-brake?

tardington
tardington Posts: 1,379
edited February 2008 in Commuting chat
I mean, it's not shaped like a V.

ETA that sounds a bit like a joke. If anyone can think of a punchline?

Why is a V brake a V brake? Cos you're V glad you have them? Nah...

Comments

  • dirk_van_gently
    dirk_van_gently Posts: 826
    Can't really answer your question, but I would like to piggy back another V brake related question.

    Why are V brakes NOT used on cyclocross bikes?
    My crosser has cantilever brakes, and sometimes they leave something to be desired, like power!
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  • tardington
    tardington Posts: 1,379
    I hear it's because of the weight, but mostly because of the mud - there's only the two pivots to get bunged up.

    Do you do cyclocross then? Is there a lot of running about with the bike on your back?
  • dirk_van_gently
    dirk_van_gently Posts: 826
    No, I'm not a racer, never have been. I wanted something that was road worthy, but could do some off roading. What I ended up with was a very fast, no nonesense off roader, capable of singltracking and fireroads, and very capable on the road. It raises a few eyebrows when I turn up for an MTB ride on it, let's say no one has to wait for me :wink:
    If you see the candle as flame, the meal is already cooked.
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  • Gussio
    Gussio Posts: 2,452
    Dirk Van Gently Which cross bike did you go for?

    If you have canti bosses on a fork, I wonder whether it might be possible (with a bit judicious drilling) to convert to V-brake compatible at the front? Just a thought.
  • Gussio
    Gussio Posts: 2,452
    Sheldon Brown (RIP) has the following to say about V-brakes. I hadn't realised that it was a trademark term.

    "A Shimano trademark for a direct-pull cantilever brake. This is a cantilever which does not use a separate transverse cable. It has two tall arms, one of which has a housing stop and the other an anchor bolt. The exposed part of the cable runs horizontally from one arm to the other.
    V-Brakes and other direct-pull cantilevers have more mechanical advantage than other brakes, so they require special hand levers with less-than-average mechanical advantage to keep the overall mechanical advantage in a useful range.

    Some V-Brakes also incorporate a parallelogram linkage which mantains the shoe at the correct angle as it approaches the rim. This feature also allows the motion of the shoe to be more nearly horizontal than conventional cantilevers.

    "V-Brake" is a Shimano trademark."
  • el_presidente
    el_presidente Posts: 1,963
    Dirk Van Gently wrote:
    Can't really answer your question, but I would like to piggy back another V brake related question.

    Why are V brakes NOT used on cyclocross bikes?
    My crosser has cantilever brakes, and sometimes they leave something to be desired, like power!

    Can't use V brakes with drop levers as different amount of cable pull is needed.

    Cantis require same cable pull as calipers hence can be used w/ drop levers

    same as what Sheldon (RIP) says up there but a little more concise
    <a>road</a>
  • dirk_van_gently
    dirk_van_gently Posts: 826
    I had thought that it may be something like that, but wasn't sure.

    Sure would be nice to be able to use V brakes. wonder if there's some sort of widget that would allow that?
    If you see the candle as flame, the meal is already cooked.
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  • redvee
    redvee Posts: 11,922
    You can get travel gadgets to run full sized V-Brakes with drop levers, or you can get mini V-Brakes. Dia-Compe did make a V-Brake friendly pair of brake levers, try SJSC as they always ran ads with them in the past.
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  • skyway
    skyway Posts: 24
    check here

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycle_brake_systems
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  • dirk_van_gently
    dirk_van_gently Posts: 826
    GUSSIO
    Which cross bike did you go for?

    Felt F1x. I got a bargain, as it was previous years model brand new still in shop, and had been slightly tricked up for the showroom, frogleg brake levers (how the hell you could ride single track without these is beyond me) 105 wheelset, which after over a year of abuse are still true. I added a Italia Flight saddle, as the Felt offering was like concrete, and that's pretty much it. great bike.
    If you see the candle as flame, the meal is already cooked.
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  • alfablue
    alfablue Posts: 8,497
    Dirk Van Gently wrote:
    Can't really answer your question, but I would like to piggy back another V brake related question.

    Why are V brakes NOT used on cyclocross bikes?
    My crosser has cantilever brakes, and sometimes they leave something to be desired, like power!
    As per the cable pull with STI's answer, BUT Campag Mirage Linear Pull brakes (v brakes) will work with drops/sti's, they are fitted to the Condor Heritage, for example, and were rated as very efficient in the C+ review. Condor sell these.
  • tardington
    tardington Posts: 1,379
    I googled the Felt, that is nice looking!

    Is a cyclo-cross bike a roady sort of bike that is as strong as a mtb then?
  • dirk_van_gently
    dirk_van_gently Posts: 826
    Tardie writed:
    Is a cyclo-cross bike a roady sort of bike that is as strong as a mtb then?

    Sort of. You're not going to be hurling off the top of drops and the likes, but in general XC work, they are as good as any MTB, just my opinion of course, but I have noticed a few more crossers turning up at Thetford Forest, which is normally where I ride.
    My reason for going down that route, was that I wanted to step back from all the technology that surrounds MTB, and to get back to brass tacks. I have not been disappointed, and of course they go nicely on the black stuff too.
    Specialized have been tagging their cyclocross bikes with the term "Free Road", it's marketing of course, but that really does sum up a crosser quite nicely.
    If you see the candle as flame, the meal is already cooked.
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  • Gussio
    Gussio Posts: 2,452
    Dirk Van Gently wrote:
    I wanted to step back from all the technology that surrounds MTB.

    Ditto. I recently ditched the suspension forks on my MTB and replaced with rigid. The ride is less harsh than I expected and the handling is excellent. Forces you to ride round stuff rather than pile straight through it. Clearly not going to be bombing down anything serious, but I didn't do that with suspension either!
  • tardington
    tardington Posts: 1,379
    I like the sound of that - I'm still not convinced anything over 7 gears at the back is necessary!

    Um, is there any cyclocross bike either of you (or anyone alse) would recommend for about 400-500 quid? I don't know anything about them you see!
  • redddraggon
    redddraggon Posts: 10,862
    tardie wrote:
    Um, is there any cyclocross bike either of you (or anyone alse) would recommend for about 400-500 quid? I don't know anything about them you see!

    I think you'd need to raise your budget a bit more for a CX bike, don't tend to see them that cheap. £700 perhaps.

    http://wiggle.co.uk/ProductDetail.aspx? ... oss%202008
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  • tardington
    tardington Posts: 1,379
    !

    That looks nice!

    But a bit pricey for us paupers!
  • redddraggon
    redddraggon Posts: 10,862
    tardie wrote:
    !

    That looks nice!

    But a bit pricey for us paupers!

    That's rather cheap for a crosser though. You'll struggle to find one much cheaper.
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  • redddraggon
    redddraggon Posts: 10,862
    You can get a single speed crosser for £450:

    http://www.evanscycles.com/product.jsp? ... gn=froogle
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  • dirk_van_gently
    dirk_van_gently Posts: 826
    I have to admit I was a bit surprised at the prices of CX bikes when I first started to research them. It is a very narrow niche at the moment, and therefore is a bit on the pricey side. They also tend to be specced a little better than your average hack, so that pushes the prices up. I shopped around, and guess what? my LBS came up trumps, beat the internet traders handsdown, even better than eBay. I looked at building a CXer, but the numbers just got silly. Look at used bikes, or last years model, always some of those kicking around, dealers don't want to get stuck with them, so the prices are more sensible.
    Go on do it, buy a Crosser, you won't regret it.
    If you see the candle as flame, the meal is already cooked.
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