Does my Tricross have proper V-brakes instead of mini Vs?

Jamey

I always thought my Tricross Sport Triple 2008 had mini V-brakes. I'm sure that's what the spec said and I'm sure I've read about Specialized switching from Cantis to mini-Vs to try to cut down on judder from the forks.

Anyway today I discovered one of my brake arms had pretty much seized up so I went to look for some replacement brakes online and all of the mini Vs I looked at seemed like munchkins compared to my brake arms, although I admit that it's sometimes hard to tell from photos on websites - I was mainly using the size of the brake pads (relative to the length of the arms) for my sense of scale.

Then I came across this article:
http://www.ctc.org.uk/DesktopDefault.aspx?TabID=3804

If you scroll down slightly, there's a section on mini Vs and it says this:

Standard vee-brakes have 100mm vertical arms... Mini-vees are a compromise, with arms about 2/3 the height of a standard vee.

So I went to measure my brake arms and they are indeed 10cm, the full height of a normal V-brake, which surprises me since I've read a lot of talk on these forums about how you should never use drop-bar levers (mine are Tiagra STis) with normal V-brakes due to cable pull issues. And I must admit I do have to fiddle with my brakes quite often but they have been working ok for commuting (140 miles per week) for the last five months. Maybe it's because I try to keep my wheels extra true, I dunno.

Anyway, whatever the case I still have one brake arm that's nearly seized and I need to buy a new one (tried lube/wiggling/usual tricks and no joy) so I need to know for definite that I've got proper V-brakes and not mini V-brakes so that I don't go buying the wrong thing.

Please can you chaps take a look at these two pics (click to enlarge) of my brakes and let me know if you think these look mini or normal. Thank you.

Mister W

They certainly look like full size V brakes.

How has the arm siezed? Is the spring siezed up or is it jammed onto the mounting pillar? Either way you should be able to free it up and re-lube it. Just take the arm off, clean it and lube it.

Jamey

The arm is seized even when it's fully removed. The barrel at the bottom of the arm will not turn.

maddog 2

10cm is full size

I run Avid Ultimate Vs on my (flat bar) commuter which are definitely full size, and they are 10.4cm from pivot to end (centre).

If you're shopping, have a look at the Avid range. Good performance and reliability I've found from the basic models. The lighter versions are less robust but the ultimates are brilliant, and pricey.

passout

Normal Vs - if you want a replacement consider Shimano MTB Vs (XT are great).

Jamey

Thanks.

Has anyone got any thoughts/revelations on the fact that it's got tiagra STi levers with V-brakes? Do the Tiagras pull more cable than other STis or something?

passout

Think so but my Tricross is a single speed so I'm not really sure.

ride_whenever

V-s do work with normal sti levers, but you need to set the pads really close to the rim and you'll need (if you don't have already) either inline cable adjusters or ones on the noodles. They're going to feel a bit mushy, but the control that gives is quite nice. If you can't get on with the lever feel then fit a travel adjuster and they';ll then be great.

Buy avid brakes, really nicely put together.

Jamey

Cheers, bought Avid Single Digit 5s yesterday. Only one pair of arms for now, will see how I get on but the front arms haven't seized yet so no need to replace them for a while, hopefully.

I've got adjusters on the noodles, quite like the feel of the brakes once set up. Just takes a bit of fiddling and true wheels.

Mister W

I'm prepared to be corrected but........... I think the barrel at the bottom of the arm isn't supposed to rotate. It's just a bush and the arm rotates on the mounting pillar. Just apply a smear of grease to the pillar and re-assemble.

Jamey

No, it doesn't rotate on the pillar. In fact the whole point of the pin is to stop it from rotating on the pillar.

Assuming you mean the boss.

Mister W

Sorry, I misunderstood you. Now I understand which bit you're talking about.

I agree with ride_whenever about getting full size V brakes working with sti levers. I managed to get them working on my winter bike but they were so fiddly and unreliable that I soon changed them to mini V on the back and cantis on the front. The mini Vs are okay but the cantis are much better.

nicklouse

some bits move on other bits.

the silver bit should move over the mounting pin when the tension screw is adjusted. the arm should move over the silver bit.

but often they just press against each other.

good luck.