Canti brakes

Moonbiker

Why do cx bikes still have them but mtb have v brakes? (Though I noticed some people had V brakes on there cx bikes)


Are avid shorty 4 brakes any good to upgrade my current canti brakes on my old mtb or would V brakes be a
better option?

Used the mtb for a cx race today didn't really use the brakes much but the current brakes aren't very good.

Might be worth trying better pads?

devhads

I wouldn't bother upgrading an old MTB with good cantis, you might as well just get V-brakes. The reason CX bikes have cantis is mainly due to cable pull of road levers in that they don't pull enough for V-brakes. Your flat bar MTB levers do have enough cable pull for V-brakes which would be far better at stopping you than old cantis. If you are going to stick with them upgrading the pads would help. Swissstop greens are the ones to go for, probably the best out there for cantis and V-brakes.

The CX bike you saw probably had mini V-brakes which have shorter arms and therefore need less cable pull so work with road levers. The payoff is you need to set them up closer to the rim so most people don't like to use them for CX. I do though and have never had a problem with rim clearance, an adjustable noodle fitted and the rim clearance can be dialled in and out to suit conditions. Fitted with aforementioned Swissstop greens they are more than good enough for racing, as are most good cantis too, but I just like the mini Vs.