Who still runs their bike on V brakes out of choice?

Darra8

Hi All,

Just curious as to how many people still choose to use their bikes with V brakes rather than discs?

I have just spec'd my self build to use V's and wonder if I have made the right choice. I do love them and they work very well. I have even ordered a set of V brake only wheels from Merlin to finish the project off. It is still in the back of my mind though, wondering if I should have gone for discs. The bike is essentially only used for thrashing around the local woods and my avid/deore/koolstop combo seem more than capable of doing the business..

Anyone else love their V's?

Steve

supersonic

Me on my Zaskar LE. Light, easy to adjust and suit the light XC work perfectly.

nicklouse

on my 24" street bike.

alfablue

Me on my Rock Lobster Ti, XTR v brakes and levers, Koolstop pads, plenty of power and feel for light XC, cheap and easy to keep working 100%.

supersonic

Koolstop rule!

Chucky212

I got em on my hard tail and disc on my dualie. Feel the difference (disc is an easier pull) but it does not make a big difference to my riding. I still have a lotta fun and race results are pretty good on that hardtail.

stumpyjon

Got them on my commuter and they work well. Any stronger and I'd be forever locking the wheels up. In fact I can do that with the V's anyway.

ride_whenever

v on the back of my inbred and on my pompino

going to put a disc on the back of the inbred when i wield on the disc mount though!

Darra8

supersonic wrote:

Koolstop rule!

I got some of the eagle 2's on your recommendation and they are pretty good. They don't squeal like the reviews say either.

flamedude

My 10 year old Zaskar runs Vs and its never ever let me down. Vs have advantages over discs however I wouldn't ever consider Vs over discs on a new bike these days.

Raymondavalon

Wouldn't call them V's but my commuter MTB has Magura HS33 hyrdo rim brakes
They offer feel and consistency that discs seem to lack. If the Maguras packed up, I'd gladly go back to V's

Hercule Q

i was until saturday when i put a disc on the back

tlw1

got v's on the singlespeed. Until it got made up I had forgotten how good they are.

.blitz

Darra8 wrote:

Just curious as to how many people still choose to use their bikes with V brakes rather than discs?

XTR Vs with severe condition pads on my Proflex 856 for the ultimate 'brick wall' effect.

MacAndCheese

I run Vs on my commuter, there great for that and easy to maintain....you have to be a bit more careful in the wet mind.

paul.skibum

Yeah I have V's on my commuter and have sailed past my stop point on more than one occassion in the wet - makes me wonder how I coped off road with V's in wet! I simply cant have been able to stop!

Nik_B

paul.skibum wrote:

Yeah I have V's on my commuter and have sailed past my stop point on more than one occassion in the wet - makes me wonder how I coped off road with V's in wet! I simply cant have been able to stop!

My biggest regret was not buying a bike with disk brakes. I can live with the cheap forks and drive train but at trail centers I suffer horribly when having to brake hard.

Thewaylander

I always found V's fine in the dry but through some water and gack att hem and they just are not the same.

Much prefer discs, they work what ever the weather with consistant dependable braking

Daz555

Vs? Pfft, far too new skool for me. I run cantilevers on my commuter. 8)

supersonic

One reason bikes do not come with Vs nowadays is because they are seen as poor value.

You could have a 2.7k bike with Vs, and a 3k bike with Hope Discs - same value really, but the latter would be perceived to be much better value.

I would like to see more Vs on entry level bikes (but with disc hubs) so the owner can upgrade if they wish. This allows the manufacturer to put more money in the fork, which matters more to me. The consumer often overlooks the worth of a good, damped fork.

mkf

i run v's on my cannondale cad3.
i think the advantages over disc are mininmal in terms of stoping power after all you can only excert so much power before your tyres break traction.
that said you cant fault discs when its wet

RichMTB

Stopping power was never really an issue with V's, becuase they are on the rim they exert much more leverage than any disc could. BUT they take twice the effort to pull (at least) not really an issue on a commute but a big issue on a long descent off road. Stretchy cables mean modulation isn't great either and I'm sure we can all remember a heartstopping moment in the wet when they just wouldn't slow you down

supersonic

Cables don't really stretch 9though the outers compress a little) - most of what you feel is the brake pads giving, or flex in the canti arms.

I find the modulation of Vs to be better than most discs (when set up correctly, and a good lever).

RichMTB

Hmm.. you might be right Super, twas a very long ago I ran V-brakes and on a cheap bike!

ride_whenever

I find i snap cables on cable disc brakes...


Something to do with the way I clamp them, no issue with v's though.

Darra8

It's quite surprising/reassuring that lots of people choose to use V's rather than just being stuck with them.

I must admit to having stretching problems on the rear myself, but it seems to be a combination of cables, brake arms and even the frame flexes when you pile the pressure on. I have also yet to experience braking in the mud and wet, hopefully my kool stops will stop me when I need to.

bendylegs69

XTR V,s on my winter ride with coolstop pads

The down side is going through bogs of mud, its the grinding noise that puts me off using them