Are my brake levers for cantis?

solocp
solocp Posts: 285
edited September 2008 in Workshop
A fair while ago I converted my drop bar tourer to flat bars, mainly because I didn't like the tektro oryx catis and wanted v brakes. I bought some STI brake gear levers from I think the e-bay Wooly Hat Shop. They change gear very well and the brakes work with the deore v brakes but with a heck of a lot of travel in the levers. Is it possible I have STI's for cantilever brakes? If so how can I tell?
Is it an option to fit Travel agents to the cables or shall I just purchase some new brake levers and rapid fire pods.
The option of converting back to drops does not exist as I sold the cantis and bars to someone on here.
Thanks for any advice.

Comments

  • maddog 2
    maddog 2 Posts: 8,114
    your STI shifters+levers could be for canti brakes but they'd have to be old ones - all the new ones are V brake compatible.

    V brakes need more cable pull than canti brakes so if you run canti brake levers with V brake calipers you'll get lots of lever travel and a squishy feel. The Travel Agent aims to sort out this difference but they have a mixed press, to say the least.

    Conversely, if you run V brake levers with cantilever calipers you'll get no power and a very firm lever feel.

    Have a look on Ebay for some Avid SD5 (or equivalent) levers. They have a nice lever blade and have adjustable modulation, so you can set them up as hard or a soft as you like.

    It could be that the Deore Vs are just not very good though. In which case you could invest in some better calipers. Again, I prefer Avids stuff to Shimano.
    Facts are meaningless, you can use facts to prove anything that's remotely true! - Homer
  • solocp
    solocp Posts: 285
    Thanks Maddog. I have exactly as described, a squishy lever with v brake calipers. Generally happy with deore as I have deore v brakes on another bike. I think I'll change to 9 speed when the cassette wears out and get new brake levers and rapid fires. It works out about the same price as I've seen travel agents for.