Singlespeed experiments and brake compatibility...

nation
nation Posts: 609
edited July 2011 in Commuting chat
tried an experiment today, which was to do my commute in one gear the whole way. Having consulted the interwebs, I ended up riding in on a ratio of 42/18, which was simultaneously less work on the hills, and less spinny on the flat, than I was expecting.

So, I have an old rigid spesh MTB frame, a set of wheels, and various bits and bobs to put together into a pub, errand or winter/foul weather commute bike (with guards and rack, unlike my roadie).

The question is over bars and brakes. It's an MTB frame, so that means canti mounts. What I was considering was drops, tektro v-brake drop bar levers, and Vs. I was also thinking about doing bullhorns, but can't think of a good way to then do the brakes, since there doesn't appear to be such a thing as a v-brake compatible bullhorn lever. Would mini-Vs work?

Any other suggestions? Trying to do this on the cheap, so any money saving tips also welcomed.

Comments

  • The Rookie
    The Rookie Posts: 27,812
    Mini V-s is an option, or use cut down drops to make bullhorn and use MTB brake levers mounted from the front backwards using full sized V's......

    Simon
    Currently riding a Whyte T130C, X0 drivetrain, Magura Trail brakes converted to mixed wheel size (homebuilt wheels) with 140mm Fox 34 Rhythm and RP23 suspension. 12.2Kg.
  • unscarred
    unscarred Posts: 208
    What handlebars and brake bits do you have already - Personally I'd try and come up with a solution based on that, and change later if it doesn't work for you, no point buying new stuff only to find you don't like it after a few rides.
    FCN 6 in the week on the shiny new single speed.

    FCN 3 at the weekend - struggling to do it justice!
  • wgwarburton
    wgwarburton Posts: 1,863
    unscarred wrote:
    What handlebars and brake bits do you have already - Personally I'd try and come up with a solution based on that, and change later if it doesn't work for you, no point buying new stuff only to find you don't like it after a few rides.

    +1

    Point of information, too- I've used drop bar levers on flipped & chopped drops. if you keep a bit of the curved sections (which will now be going UP, of course), you can mount the levers at the ends and they'll follow the curve back down.

    Cheers,
    W.
  • redvee
    redvee Posts: 11,922
    You might strike lucky with some TT/Bullhorns bars on Ebay. I got a pair of ITM CDB Wing bars for £4.19 +p&p, brake levers cost me more than the bars but £20 for both.
    I've added a signature to prove it is still possible.
  • unscarred
    unscarred Posts: 208
    Example: my first singlespeed was an old MTB frame.

    I replaced the old caliper brakes with V-brakes, but I probably shouldn't have bothered - new blocks would have been enough.

    I didn't change the levers because back then I didn't realise you were supposed to, but it still worked fine.

    It had flat, wide handlebars with bar-ends. After a couple of weeks I cut about 4 inches off the bars with a hacksaw and put the bar-ends back on. That worked great for my urban commute.
    FCN 6 in the week on the shiny new single speed.

    FCN 3 at the weekend - struggling to do it justice!
  • nation
    nation Posts: 609
    I've currently got the v-brakes, flat bar levers for them. a stem (100mm) and a quill to ahead adapter to make the stem fit. Those are just leftover bits and bobs, I haven't bought anything yet.

    So, I'm buying bars whatever I go with, I'd prefer to use the brakes if possible, and I need levers if I get drops.

    I hadn't thought of bullhorns with the MTB levers flipped, to be honest. It seems like the cable routing would be a problem since they'd exit the levers towards the front of the bike, and have to loop through 180 degrees to feed back along the frame.

    My first choice was drops, and v-brake drop bar levers, and I suppose this gives the option of flopping and chopping later if I decide I want bullhorns. I'm wary of trying bullhorns with bullhorn-specific levers and mini-Vs because I have heard that mini-Vs are a bit of a pain to set up and lack the power and modulation of full Vs, which is a consideration on a bike I intend to use in bad weather.
  • snailracer
    snailracer Posts: 968
    Why not fit cantilever brakes? Then you have a much larger choice of compatible brake levers.
  • nation
    nation Posts: 609
    Bit wary of cantis to be honest, haven't used them since I was fifteen and they didn't fill me with confidence then. Also I think you need an additional hanger thing on the frame for cantis? This frame appears to be recent enough that it doesn't.

    Further observations on only having one gear: I actually don't work as hard when I can't/don't change up a gear. Arrived at work/home noticeably less sweaty and without taking significantly more time, which is completely contrary to my expectations. I even rode in today in street clothes because I was running late and didn't want to have to change in the office.
  • snailracer
    snailracer Posts: 968
    nation wrote:
    Bit wary of cantis to be honest, haven't used them since I was fifteen and they didn't fill me with confidence then. Also I think you need an additional hanger thing on the frame for cantis? This frame appears to be recent enough that it doesn't...
    Compared to V's, cantis are more fiddly to set up and more hassle to keep in correct adjustment as the pads wear - so not a good choice if you expect to put lots of miles on a bike.

    By setting the correct straddle cable length/angle/brake block offset and fitting decent pads, you can get performance almost as good as a V-brake.

    If you have unusual requirements, or are just fussy, you can set up oddball leverage values, or different leverages for front and rear.

    You can get cable hangers to fit a variety of configurations:
    http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/cable-hangers-dept683_pg1/

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