Upgrading my old MTB

[iandennis]

I have what I think is a 1990's raleigh exodus frame MTB that I'm using to commute to work. Having swapped out the quill stem to an ahead set (using an adapter) I now want to change the gear shift and the brakes.

The grip shift shifters are imprecise and sometimes change by themselves, I was thinking of changing them to Altus trigger shifters (its a 7 speed). Is this a difficult job or ok for a mechanical numpty ?

The canti brakes seem pretty poor with a lot of pull. I've tried adjusting them via the cable and postion of the pads but coming down a large hill last night, stopping power was very questionable. I can either take the bike to the LBS or look at upgrading to vee brakes. Rims are ok, standard shimano pads - which may be original.

Can I have some advise on what to do ? The bike does 40-60 miles a week as my communter, mostly on road but some light off road stuff. I do want to keep it as its a good bike.

Thanks

Ian

 

[Easy_Rider]

Shifters - I would go for some Deore DX thumshifters, you cant beat simplicity, it also has the added advantage of being able use friction shifting should you damage someting whilst riding. I run thumbshifters as do many people on here,

Brakes - If they are the original pads (or even just old) the compound has hardened up and they become pretty useless. I would just buy some new pads, try koolstop pads from ebay. You could also look at the cables, if pulling on the lever has become difficult then the cables may have corroded innside, so the very least you could just change the inners and flush the outers with light oil while the cables are out, or replace the outers too if they don't look too good.

 

[iandennis]

OK, thanks, I will try some new pads before I rethink the brakes. I think the original Shimano are probably past their best.

Any idea where I would be able to get thumbshifters ?

Thanks

Ian

 

[silverclaws]

Ebay is a superb source for all those things the LBS doesn't do anymore, cantilever pads being one of them as most cycles now use linear brakes, V brakes. Pads I have always used after I discovered the XT pads I had on the bike from new were lacking have been Aztecs, although I understand Coolstops are as good.

DX thumbies, ebay again, but beware even second hand they command a high price due to what, scarcity, desirabilty or just profirteering I am unsure, as there always seems to be a few pairs up for auction on there.

Deore XT are meant to be the epitome of a thumbshifter, but essentially there is little difference between XT, DX, Mountain and Deore 2, from what I can see the shifter mechanism is the same, where the differences are, are in the mounting brackets and top cover and that appears to be it unless anyone knows any better ? Currently I have Deore 2 shifters and top covers mounted into XT brackets, why, because a silver top cover is aesthetically more pleasing than the drab grey XT cover.

Brakes, I have stuck with cantis, not so much because of originality, but because I have finally got them working the best I have ever had and they are mean, a recent test bombing down a hill against my pal with XT V brakes and a stop test, I stopped sooner than he, which greatly surprised me, mind I have Pedersen self energising brakes on the rear and would like them on the front if I can find them, for they were available at one time.

Aside from that changing cables and outers is a cheap and relatively simple operation and cable technology has moved on a bit from bitd. Bitd, a lot of cables were galvanised and these 'fur' up over time of non use in the outers which also fur up on the inside making cable movement sluggish, a light oil can flush the' fur' out and make transit a bit crisper, but like I said on an old bike it is definately worth to at least change the cables, outers and brake pads, perhaps the least you can do.

 

[JohnH]

Hi Ian,

Just another perspective: If new pads don't give you any joy, you might consider switching to V-brakes (speaking personally, I could never get cantilever brakes set up properly, and once I switched to V-brakes, I never looked back).

If you do switch to V-brakes, you'll need matching V-brake levers, and since some levers incorporate gear shifters, this change might give you the opportunity to upgrade both at the same time. (However, you might have a spot of bother finding levers that incorporate 7 speed shifters... )