IYO - what are THE best Cantis?
- Thread starter Augustus
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The best way to make rim brakes work better is to use ceramic rims... That way it doesn't matter which rim brake you use.
I have used them for years, braking is almost on par with a disc brake, even in the wet!
Hard to find retro 117/217/517 ceramics now though.
Mavic do XC717 in ceramic but they are expensive at 80 quid a rim.
Cheers,
Chaser.
I have used them for years, braking is almost on par with a disc brake, even in the wet!
Hard to find retro 117/217/517 ceramics now though.
Mavic do XC717 in ceramic but they are expensive at 80 quid a rim.
Cheers,
Chaser.
It's all in the cables. And Kool Stop pads. If you can get brakes that use the modern v type blocks, things are a bit less fiddly. Oh yes, wide arms too.
Suntour SE are excellent, possibly too much sometimes!
I had a really good article on setting up cantis to play with their mechanical advantage; do you want me to try and find it?
Suntour SE are excellent, possibly too much sometimes!
I had a really good article on setting up cantis to play with their mechanical advantage; do you want me to try and find it?
Agency_Scum
Retrobike Rider
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There's a number of issues to consider.
POWER: full-on stopping power is wanted because of the demands you put on the bike so boutique-prettyness is a secondary issue. The pimp-daddy pads to go for are the Kool Stops. Bloody marvellous pads and way better in all condition in my experience than Ritcheys, Mafacs or Shimanos.
DESIGN: old skool rules apply as you don't want hydraulic ( fair shout, we all have our retro design foibles which is why this forum exists in the first place ) so the arms need to be WIDE for leverage; note to Shimano-why did you suddenly introduce and promote the " low profile " canti brake as " The Next Big Thing " when it just looked different and was a bit sh1tter? You'd be better off having that straddle cable as low as possible as close to the tyre as it'll go for a mechanical advantage. Yes, I've had the cable holder fail with this set up and you DON'T go over the bars....you just suffer from faecal retention failiure. The best brake that covered both those criteria was the Mafac wide profile canti. However, it was a paintwork-destroying b@st@rd to set up and screamed like screamy thing in the wet.
MODULATION: if you're not fussed about it then ceramic rims and non-ceramic pads ( which will last ONE race ). Otherwise you're after set-up and Shimano's SLR canti levers with big-arsed cams that really ramped up the power toward the last bit of the lever stroke. They had way more power, felt great to use and okay brakes and badly set-up brakes work great.
Hope this helps.
POWER: full-on stopping power is wanted because of the demands you put on the bike so boutique-prettyness is a secondary issue. The pimp-daddy pads to go for are the Kool Stops. Bloody marvellous pads and way better in all condition in my experience than Ritcheys, Mafacs or Shimanos.
DESIGN: old skool rules apply as you don't want hydraulic ( fair shout, we all have our retro design foibles which is why this forum exists in the first place ) so the arms need to be WIDE for leverage; note to Shimano-why did you suddenly introduce and promote the " low profile " canti brake as " The Next Big Thing " when it just looked different and was a bit sh1tter? You'd be better off having that straddle cable as low as possible as close to the tyre as it'll go for a mechanical advantage. Yes, I've had the cable holder fail with this set up and you DON'T go over the bars....you just suffer from faecal retention failiure. The best brake that covered both those criteria was the Mafac wide profile canti. However, it was a paintwork-destroying b@st@rd to set up and screamed like screamy thing in the wet.
MODULATION: if you're not fussed about it then ceramic rims and non-ceramic pads ( which will last ONE race ). Otherwise you're after set-up and Shimano's SLR canti levers with big-arsed cams that really ramped up the power toward the last bit of the lever stroke. They had way more power, felt great to use and okay brakes and badly set-up brakes work great.
Hope this helps.
I thought that the key with cantis is making sure the straddle wire and arms are at 90 degrees when the brakes are applied? Then higher or lower straddle for power/modulation (trading off one for the other)? For what it is worth I've always found the Shimano lo pro cantis to work fine and M900 no better than LX.
But for Gus, it has to be Froggleggs or similar for that Belgian look when you're sipping a skinny latte with your aspirational pastry outside some South Downs hostelry. Come in black too and spares are easily obtainable. Finally, you can colour coordinate your Kool Stops with your bike.
My work here is done.
But for Gus, it has to be Froggleggs or similar for that Belgian look when you're sipping a skinny latte with your aspirational pastry outside some South Downs hostelry. Come in black too and spares are easily obtainable. Finally, you can colour coordinate your Kool Stops with your bike.
My work here is done.
Koolstop salmon is THE brake pad, in all weather and for ever!
paul neoretro fore cyclocross
the frogleggs are okay but the pauls haves three times the power and adjusts really easy..
XT's fore the rest!
i have a set of black lx's thy are fine to but the xt's are xt's
paul neoretro fore cyclocross
the frogleggs are okay but the pauls haves three times the power and adjusts really easy..
XT's fore the rest!
i have a set of black lx's thy are fine to but the xt's are xt's
I use Paul Neo Retro's on my race bike (the high profile ones, not the touring model) because they're easy to set up and very powerful, but old Mafac brakes work just as well.
One trick is to use Jagwire "Sleek Pro Cross" brake pads (see below). They are basically road style pad holders with a V-brake mount. The pads are shorter and thicker, so they have more power and don't squeal, plus you can quickly swap out the pads for dry, wet, or carbon-specific compounds depending on the weather, even if it changes right before your race starts.
To be honest though, brakes are overrated when you're racing
, especially in the mud, snow, or sand.
One trick is to use Jagwire "Sleek Pro Cross" brake pads (see below). They are basically road style pad holders with a V-brake mount. The pads are shorter and thicker, so they have more power and don't squeal, plus you can quickly swap out the pads for dry, wet, or carbon-specific compounds depending on the weather, even if it changes right before your race starts.
To be honest though, brakes are overrated when you're racing
, especially in the mud, snow, or sand.
