Hmmm,
@Prodigal Son...
Having ridden the Tri-Align on the S-Works plenty, I've now adjusted those brakes to within an inch of their lives! And don't have any complaints about their performance or setup.
Playing around with brakes is kind of like therapy for me, so I certainly enjoy fiddling around until everything feels just right. I've never ridden a bike with a brake I'm not happy with, and working on them is my favourite, endlessly frustrating part about building bikes! I even have a special playlist I've made for when I'm working on them, Lol.
Maybe the photos appear otherwise due to the angle, but I feel like the Tri-Aligns are setup pretty efficiently (following the guide that frequently does the rounds on here), and I'm not sure they photos themselves are even that accurate to how they are right at this moment. I fiddle and fettle endlessly with brakes, and too love the lowest possible straddle I can get away with!
Anyway, I'll snap another photo when the bike is back from the shop post rear wheel rebuild, which'll hopefully help alleviate some of your concerns!
They won't be staying anyway! As I've said previously, the WTB Speedmaster will go back on the front once a spring or replacement set has been sourced. Those, I'm sure, will take quite a bit of fiddling to get right, too, as I've no experience with them other than the initial first setup before I broke that spring.
As for the levers...
I like the Suntour XC Pro ones just fine, but for some reason this combination just isn't really doing it for me... I would mind them less with an XT thumbie, maybe, or even an older XTR shifter, but for me they feel out of place next to the M950 kit.
I love a mix and match build as much as the next guy, but it's got to be the right mix ; )
As for the V-brake comment... Personally, I can't think of anything worse for this particular bike. While, in general, I'm almost always going to run a cantilever over a V-Brake, in this particular instance it would just be plain wrong to have a V-brake alongside the Togglecam rear. Not only mechanically and aesthically, but also practically: V-brakes mean V-brake levers, and the Toggle and Roller cams were designed to work with a cantilever brake lever. I'd have to run one of each style up front, and even though the current cockpit setup might not support this claim, I don't think I could stomach anything so hideous!
I've also got that nice WTB Judy cantilever brake arch I need to use again at some point.
Anyway, certainly appreciate all the advice and opinion. Keep it coming!
