Cantilever brake help

richh

Hi,
I've got a early 90s tourer that I've recently used for a 1400mile JOGLE and whilst the bike itself performed brilliantly, the brakes were utterly useless. I knew they were poor before I set off and with a fully loaded bike there were some rather...interesting moment!! Despite hours of fiddling and reading the Sheldon Brown guides etc about caliper set up there really doesn't seem to be anything that I can do to improve things. Changing pads improved things but not by much.

Can anyone recommend what I can do to improve things? I was thinking that the brake levers (Shimano Exage) are probably as good as any in terms of the amount of cable that they pull through so they're not worth changing, but that the calipers themselves might be the place to start. Tektro CR720s get good reviews but are there any alternatives? They seem to be sold as cyclo cross specific so I'm not sure if they'd be suitable or compatible with my levers.

I'm also aware that not all calipers will work with all levers due to the different cable pull so any advise on what to get/avoid would be welcome.

Whatever the best solution the cantilever calipers need to go around 30mm tyres and mudguards.

thanks

Rich

Monty Dog

A cantilever of mini-vee brake will work with a conventional drop-bar levers. The Tektro 720s are good as are Tektro RX5 mini-vees. Cantilever are more tricky to set-up, particularly to eliminate the effects of fork judder. Mini-vees are easier to set-up but the downside is a lack of clearance and feel i.e. on/off. There are cheaper alternatives - typically cutting corners by using cheaper, one-piece brake blocks and cheaper, plated steel fasteners and fittings instead of stainless steel or alloys.