V-brake levers with side-pull brakes?

[Senri]

For an urban bike project, I would like to use v-brake levers to control normal side-pull roadbike brakes. I have read different opinions if this is possible. What do you think?

 

[Senri]

Sheldon the man!! He gave me the answer; no, it is not possible. The travel (cable pull) of a v-brake lever is twice that of a normal one, but half as strong.
Does anybody has seen some nice levers for flat bars to work with side-pulls, except for the cross-stop type or end-bar-reverse levers?

 

[a.davis12]

just get any nice retro canti lever.
paul make nice new ones.

 

[PIGEON]

My fixie used to have a flat bar before I changed to chopped & flopped dropbars, and I used a plastic lever from a crappy old v-brake equipped mtb to operate the front brake. No problem at all.

 

[hamster]

The brakes will feel very, very solid - the leverage is force x distance. So you move the cable twice as far, but actually get half the force at the brake calliper.

The crunch ( :shock: ) moment will come on a wet day with the rims covered in crap, when you don't find they do much at all.

 

[Senri]

The brakes will feel very, very solid - the leverage is force x distance. So you move the cable twice as far, but actually get half the force at the brake calliper.

The crunch ( :shock: ) moment will come on a wet day with the rims covered in crap, when you don't find they do much at all.

This is exactly what I am afraid of, but as Pigeon said, I have read more then one report of people who don't seem to have any problem. Strangly enough, some levers are advertised to work with any brake, canties, sidepull, V etc. I have no idea how that works..

 

[hamster]

They have multiple cable location points (like the very first V levers, or on Avid Speed dial ones). If you use the cable location closest to the handlebar they are identical in cable pull to a standard canti lever and will work fine.