Best v brake set?

raymondliu

Interested in replacing the v brakes on my commuter bike. Would anyone be able to tell me which brands are the best for V brakes? i.e. Tektro or Shimano or Avid. Also in the Shimano franchising system, is XT better than Deore series at similar price levels?

roger_merriman

As with most rim brakes it's the pads that make the most difference unless the brakes are really bad they shouldn't make much difference.

veronese68

XT are better than Deore, the best V brakes were when they made them with the parallel push linkage but they were discontinued a while ago. Roger is right though, pad material will make more difference. I run Swisstop green in mine. I have Avid V brakes and find them very good, can't remember which ones though. Tektro generally are more of a budget option.

Initialised

Shimano M970 XTR are parallel push, I have a set on a mountain bike, only really let me down in very wet conditions and when ice formed on the rims!

You should be able to pick up a set on eBay for ~£50

supersonic

They are all as good as each other in my opinion, the pads are key.

secretsam

I'm sick to death of mine, have a Tektro on the front and Deore on the back, frankly they are horrible, non-linear and a pig to balance.

Grrrr.

veronese68

SecretSam wrote:

I'm sick to death of mine, have a Tektro on the front and Deore on the back, frankly they are horrible, non-linear and a pig to balance.

Grrrr.

I'm surprised at that. Rode my old Marin with V brakes today as I was having a drink after work. They're not quite up to the standard of the discs on the Kinesis in the wet, but they're bloody good in what was horrible weather.