Shimano 105 levers with Canti or V-brakes?

[PaulSecteur]

Hi,

Been thinking about the winter commuter...

Its a 2010 tricross with canti brakes. It has the koolstop tectonic pads that are a lot better than the standard, but still not as good as a road bikes. The problem is that drop levers dont have the same cable pull as flat bar levers, so dont have the grunt to pull cantis as much as they could be pulled and v brakes have to be set very close to the rim.

I remember reading that the newer 105 5700 shifters were incompatible with the 5600 brakes because they pull more cable, so is this extra cable pull enough to use them with V-bakes?

 

[PaulSecteur]

So they should at £160 a set!

 

[GrumpyGregry]

wouldn't a travel agent be cheaper/easier?

 

[lulubel]

wouldn't a travel agent be cheaper/easier?

Have you used a travel agent? I decided against it when I was building my bike because I couldn't find anyone who could say, "Yes, they're fantastic. I have them on my bike, and my brakes work really well."

Everything I read (other than from people selling them) suggested that v-brakes and travel agents aren't really any better than the cantis they replace.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

Have you used a travel agent? I decided against it when I was building my bike because I couldn't find anyone who could say, "Yes, they're fantastic. I have them on my bike, and my brakes work really well."

Everything I read (other than from people selling them) suggested that v-brakes and travel agents aren't really any better than the cantis they replace.

Have I used them? Yep, on a drop barred rigid mtb which I upgraded to v-brakes being a big unit. Are they fantastic? No. They are a sometimes necessary evil which will delivery effective braking considerably better than the LX canti's they replaced though.

 

[lulubel]

Have I used them? Yep, on a drop barred rigid mtb which I upgraded to v-brakes being a big unit. Are they fantastic? No. They are a sometimes necessary evil which will delivery effective braking considerably better than the LX canti's they replaced though.

Hmm ... if I'd known that when I was building my bikes, I might have tried them. Not that I'm unhappy with my cantis, to be honest, but I might feel differently if I start touring.