V brake vs Cantilever vs U brake? 90s GT

[slackboy]

Thats a shimano deore XT M733 ubrake, but any u brake would work .

 

[kicks66]

Ok cool - do you have any recommended cheaper options?

 

[Retro_Roy]

dia compe 990 is a favorite of mine and pair them with 982
canti's on the front.

 

[foz]

If you can't find a straddle cable that's long enough, you can use a standard brake cable, you will just be missing the extra large ferrule to help unhook it when you need to open the caliper

 

[PhillB]

Yep, its an M733 (on both) as @slackboy mentioned. I was looking to restore mine to as original as possible, but if you are looking to modernise it (you mentioned elsewhere about fitting a 1by crankset) then you have a range of options. Not sure where you are based, but in the UK I find these guys quite good:

https://alansbmx.com/search?type=article,page,product&q=u*+brake*
They sell straddle cables too.

As do these guys, who I've also used for various bits and pieces - very good prices:

https://bankruptbikeparts.co.uk/search?type=article,page,product&q=ubrake*

 

[kicks66]

So is it a U brake on the back, but then a cantilever brake for the front?

 

[riskllama]

That looks great - hopefully can get mine to a similar stage.

What brakes do you have on these pics?

looks like XT to me...

 

[27motorhead]

So is it a U brake on the back, but then a cantilever brake for the front?

Indeed it is. Post an advert in the wanted section as I’m sure there will be people with u brakes squirrelled away! You just missed out on some black XT cantilevers in the sale section that would have come with this bike.

 

[PhillB]

Yes, Cantilevers on the front, if you have the original stem on yours the cable routes through it. If not, you'll need to fit a cable hanger in the headset...

 

[PhillB]

Here's an example with the cable hanger set-up