Are Sora shifters compatible with cantilever brakes?

[Slioch]

I'm playing around in my head with making some changes to my touring bike, and would appreciate tapping into the profound wisdom of the peeps on here.

My current setup is a triple chainring up front with 9 speed on the back, bar-end shifters and cantilever brakes. I'm thinking of getting Sora shifters to do away with the bar end ones, but would like to keep the cantilever brakes.

So the question is, would Sora shifters provide enough "pull" to work with cantilever brakes, or is there some gizmo out there that would make it work?

Thanks in advance.

 

[si_c]

I would have thought so - which cantilever brakes are you currently using?

Basically it comes down to the lever pull amount needed by the brakes - if the levers don't pull enough you don't stop, too much and you lose modulation.

 

[Slioch]

which cantilever brakes are you currently using?

They're Shimano BR-CX50 Cantilevers. The "blurb" says they're compatible with road levers - but guess I'm looking for reassurance that they will perform just as well with Sora shifters as they do with their current ones.

 

[si_c]

They are according to the Shimano technical docs.

See here.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

Cantilevers have a straddle wire that makes things almost infinitely variable. The length of the wire, and hence the angle, can be varied which in turn, varies the mechanical advantage.

Fiddle and you'll be fine.

 

[Slioch]

They are according to the Shimano technical docs.

I was totally unaware of the existence of these technical docs - they're so useful!
Thanks for the link.

 

[raleighnut]

I think it's only V brakes that have a problem with 'road' levers.

 

[PpPete]

I used 9 speed Sora levers very successfully with some Shimano BR-AT50 cantis.
Now with Campag levers, and still using those cantis on the front - but the back has been replaced by one of these:
https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/brakes/0-suntour-selfenergising-se-cantilever-brakes-rear/
which gives a useful increase in stopping power, but you must follow the set-up instructions to the letter, as they are not like normal sprung cantis at all.

 

[Drago]

Fiddle and you'll be fine.

That's not what the magistrate told me!

They'll work ok. Soras also work ok with centrepulls.