Canti or V Brake for Hybrid to Road Conversion

rfreese888

I am converting my Fuji Absolute 2.0 (see link below) from a flat handlebar hybrid to a drop handlebar road bike. It can only take V-Brake or Cantilever brakes as the clearance between the forks and the wheels is too high and the bolts for the brakes are on either side of the forks. I currently have Tektro Mini-V forged alloy brakes but I want to upgrade.

I have bought Tiagra STI road shifters and a set of Deda drop handlebars. I will use the bike as a winter trainer on wet and rainy roads in Ireland, and for commuting in all weather. I have Mavic Ksyrium Equipe wheels with Gatorskin tires. I want to be able to stop at short notice in traffic when required but also descend on a weekend ride without 'on-off' braking i.e. I want some modulation.

What are the pros and cons of cantilever vs. v-brakes given above requirements?

Would the TRP CX9 or Revox Alloy brakes work with this setup? Or Avid Shorty Ultimate? I have heard switching from flat bar to drop bar levers can be an issue so can you advise on which to choose so I don’t buy the wrong thing? :?

Any thoughts on brake pads as well?

Many thanks in advance for the help!!

http://archive.fujibikes.com/archivebik ... lute%202.0

PS - don't suggest I go buy a road bike instead! :evil:

trieste

The cantis will work while the v-brakes will not.

Road levers work with sidepull and cantis, you need special Dia Compe 287 V brake road levers otherwise.

At least this makes your decision making easier.

The Rookie

Mini V are compatible with road levers, full sized V are not/

gbsahne001

i used to have canti's on a CX setup and feared for my life every time I went out on it.

Substituted some mini Vs and all was good, although you did have to run the pads close to the rim. Full sized v's would only work with Dia Compe brake levers and then you'd need to use bar end shifters.

In the end though I crashed the bike and rebuilt it using a set of disc specific forks and now run it with a front BB7

andrewc3142

I have cantis on my Dawes Super Galaxy. Compared to 105 a complete PITA to set up but once done work absolutely fine with the Tiagra STI shifters, even heavily loaded and towing a kid in the trailer.

My wife has cantis on her Heritage and ditto.

As always, either SwissStop green (the absolute best) or Koolstop salmon make a huge difference over the original pads.

Oh, and go buy a road bike

tonye_n

Personally I've found mini-v brakes to work much better than cantilevers with roadie brifters.
I had a Spesh Tri-Cross and had to move from Cantis to mini-vs because the cantis were a real PITA to setup and keep right. Especially if you have to take the wheels off for any reason.

Good quality mini-vs work really well, especially with SwissStop pads.

All the above IMHO of course....