I hate canti’s club’ - pad adjustment

jmz-x

I’ve just brought a cross bike with cantilever brakes and as much as I’m trying not to descend instantly into the ‘I hate canti’s club’ they are really starting to annoy me…

As much as it’s a faf to get the yoke / lever set up right, my issue is simply tightening the threaded pads in place on the levers. I get the adjustment bang on, flush to the rim, toed in then go to fully tighten the nut and aarrrh it twists the pad out of place!! Lost an hour and a half of my life to this last night……

Now I’ve tried, doing it slowly, I’ve tried counter acting the twist with my fingers yet still the pad move from where I wanted it. I can’t believe that the system has such a floor in the set up. What am I missing?

I have a vague feeling someone is going to say ‘you don’t need to tighten them that much’ well in anticipation of that…A – its undergoes high stresses so I’m sure they have to be pretty dam tight. And B – its currently not that tight before it twist off.

Any suggestions appreciated…

Cheers

keef66

Tighten it up as far as you can with the pads clamped firmly to the rim, then release the brakes and hold the pad with an adjustable spanner while you tighten the bolt fully. The extra leverage of the spanner handle makes it much easier to stop the pad twisting.

Hoopdriver

I sympathize. I use cantis on my tourer and yes, they are a pain to fiddle with - especially, as you say, the tightening up of the block when you finally get them adjusted in all four dimensions or what have you. And you're quite right, they do need to be snug. All I can say is that I have found there is a knack to doing them that takes a fair bit of fiddling to discover and would be utterly impossible to describe.

And even having discovered this 'knack' I find myself delaying the replacement of my canti blocks as long as humanly possible.

Big a pain as they are, I still prefer cantis to V-brakes - partly a matter of aesthetics, I guess.

Hoopdriver

Not my post but nice tip Keef66! I'll try that next time!

jmz-x

yup all over that, it'll be out with the spanner tonight!
thanks

Monty Dog

Get some better brakes - Tektros, Froglegs or TRPs. Tektros are the easiest as the use Vee-type pads and are far easier to adjust. Cartridge pad holders are easier too.

Berk Bonebonce

Don't use cantis then.

Campagnolo a while ago done a series of road-specific V brakes. But they might need a travel agent.

jmz-x

I did consider not using canti's and getting v's but there was more negative chat about using v's on drops than the faf associated with canti's.
i WILL get them set up, there are so many people who have made them work so with a bit of patience (plus my spanner - thanks Keef66) i'm sure i can too... If not i'll be back on here asking about travel agents!! lol

tim_wand

Have you seen/ read the review on the Avid Ultimate Shorty Canti's on here. ( a bit exspensive I know) but some simple engineering upgrades seem to have cured a lot of the issues with cantis. hopefully the link below will open the review for you

"http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/components/brake-calipers/product/shorty-ultimate-11-39813

mrushton

re the brake pad thing,Tacx do a set-up gizmo that clamps either side of the rim and is tapered to allow toe in. You just squeeze the brakes, line the pads up in the guides and tighten. The Tacx device has a lip that stops the pad twisting.

jmz-x

Success!! the spanner trick worked, the extra leverage really is the key, the pads are bang on and brakes work like a dream....cheers

reply to tim wand - i think its too easy to splash out on top end kit when you encounter issues with lower end stuff. With a bit of knowledge and correct adjustment cheaper stuff can often work just as well. but thanks for the suggestion.

keef66

Glad there was a happy ending!

Monty Dog

Award yourself a black belt in the secret art of canti-manipulation and the 'squealers' will kow-tow to your expert prowess and ability to stealthily traverse the earth in virtual silence..

tim_wand

Yer your right throwing money ( I dont have ) at a problem is certainly not as satisfying as finding a cheap solution.

So thanx to Keef66 . I ll certainly be giving it a go with some of the Canti set ups on the older MTB.'s we run at the school
.
The investment in the Avids has proved worthwhile on my Cross Bike at I use it for absolubtley everything ,it represents about 4 bikes to me and fortunately I got the Avids a lot cheaper than rrp from a source in the States.