Brake Upgrade Advice - 1993 Kona Kilauea

[MarcusD]

Because I am going to be using the bike to get to and from work and also off road a bit I think I might have to step away from the standard set-up

I was thinking about moving to a V Brake set-up, but didn't know if my frame and forks would allow me to do this so I have posted a few pics below:-

If it is possible to swap over to V Brakes any reccomedations on a set-up including levers would be great, trying to do this on a budget though so I suspect I will be searching for used parts

 

[mtbfix]

Fitting Vs up front would be no problem but the cable routing out back is a little more problematic as there is no proper cable stop so running a full outer is the easy solution there. Avid Single Digit Vs and the matching lever are inexpensive and very effective.

You might just try shortening the front straddle wire a smidge and the reear one a whole lot. This will sharpen your existing set up.

 

[MarcusD]

Fitting Vs up front would be no problem but the cable routing out back is a little more problematic as there is no proper cable stop so running a full outer is the easy solution there. Avid Single Digit Vs and the matching lever are inexpensive and very effective.

You might just try shortening the front straddle wire a smidge and the reear one a whole lot. This will sharpen your existing set up.

When you say run a full outer what do you actually mean? Sorry I am still getting used to all the terms, last time I was riding this bike if something went wrong I just asked my Dad to sort it

As for shortening the 'Straddle' is that basically moving the block that the lever cable is tightened into closer to the tyre?

 

[Anthony]

Running Vs is no problem at all on the front.

As for the rear, you could run outer cable all the way from the lever to the brake and that will work perfectly well but will look a bit messy, as you would have to zip-tie the cable to the top tube. The alternative is to convert your cable guide to a V-stop by drilling it out half way through from the rear so that the hole is just big enough to accept the plastic ferrule that fits over the cable outer. It isn't all that strong, but as long as you stick to a plastic ferrule, it will do the job. Those Kona cable guides have been put up for sale for up to £20 on here!

 

[FunkyMrMagic]

Just by way of a warning...

I'm in the process of changing my brakes around, along with the gears. When I say "change", I actually mean fit the parts and then swear at them a lot when they don't do what you want them to... Notice the ****ing enormous gap between the blocks and the rim

In the end, what I've had to do is move *all* of the washers/cup & ball joints from the outside of the brake arm, to the inside... I'm fairly sure that it's not supposed to be that way, but it seems to have worked. All that's left on the outside of the brake arm is the allen washer that bolts everything together.

I've not yet tried them out, so add the disclaimer that they might not actually work at all... I've left the brakes alone whilst I carry on trying to cock up my gears too.

As for budget recommendations, I'm in the same boat... Forgive the blasphemy, but I got the whole set (front & rear, including levers and cables) for £27 from Halfords. That said, buying cheap crap from Halfords might be the reason why I'm having so much grief with them... I wish now that I'd spent the extra £90 on a set of Maguras!

 

[MarcusD]

If you think thats a gap then you should see my current set-up

Thanks for the warning and advice

I have been on Ebay looking at some of the used set-up's and think the Avid Single Digit as recommended look good or might go for a Shimano set-up now I know its possibile

 

[craiga]

In the end, what I've had to do is move *all* of the washers/cup & ball joints from the outside of the brake arm, to the inside... I'm fairly sure that it's not supposed to be that way,

It's not.

Looks to me like the cable is too slack.

 

[FunkyMrMagic]

It's not.

Looks to me like the cable is too slack.

The cable was tight as I could get it!

In the pics (which were taken before moving all of the washers), the cable was so tight that the angle of the brake arms made them look more like "A" brakes than "V" brakes. If you look in the 2nd pic there, you can see that there's actually no cable showing between the rubber hose thingy and the clamp on the brake arm. See here:

Ignore the fact that the cable disappears off to the left hand side - it's because I hadn't cut the outer down to the right size in that shot, but I'm sure you can see what I mean.

 

[craiga]

I do see what you mean - couldn't see before because the pic was from below.

There's lots of smart people on here - I'm sure one of them will have the answer - It does look a bit odd.

 

[mtbfix]

Marcus, at rest the cable running between the two brake arms should sit at a 90 degree angle to maximise the cable pull. You'd need a new cable out back to achieve this. By the sounds of things you have settled on going for Vs though. As Anthony clarifies, the outer cable housing will have to run from end to end. This may look messy but it reduces the number of points that muck can get in and for a work bike that you want to use everyday this is no bad thing.