I'll add an observation on the "ease of set-up of V-brakes" question. I've recently converted my Atlantis to V-brakes after several years with Tektro 720 cantis. These are quite simple Shimano V-brakes with the only adjustment being a small screw for spring tension. While everything does go together quickly & easily, the final adjustment to get the pads within 1 mm of the rim per Shimano's instructions is quite tedious and fiddly. Granted, my wheels are not new and probably have at least 1 mm of wobble, but the cantis were a bit more forgiving in this respect.
In the course of this adventure I did learn how many arm lengths are available (well, on the various mfgs websites at least), from 80 mm to 107 mm. Working around rack struts requires a bit of thought, regardless of the type of brake. The end result is worth it both from all around better braking and getting the brakes out of the way. The rear was interfering with luggage. dougP On Jul 16, 9:24 am, Jim Thill - Hiawatha Cyclery <thill....@gmail.com> wrote: > Not to rehash old arguments, but cantilevers have a lot going against them > compared to linear-pulls. Obviously, cantilevers have more history and have > cemented a certain nostalgic/aesthetic following, and there's nothing wrong > with favoring that if that's your position. IMO the "modulation" argument is > overblown/nonsense and mostly thrown in as a function-based argument by those > who really just prefer the nostalgia/aesthetics of cantilevers. To each his > or her own, but whenever I ride or work on a bike with cantilevers, I feel > that v-brakes would be an improvement in ease of set-up and adjustment, and > in stopping power to hand-strength ratio. > > Anecdote: after years with cantilevers, my first hard stop with v-brakes was > a (slightly scary) revelation. THIS is what an adequately powerful brake > feels like! The hard-stop potential may be what the modulation people are > talking about. For me, modulating my grip strength and awareness of the > stopping power was a quick and effortless process. I live in Minneapolis > where curvy mountain passes are few and far between. Maybe modulation is less > of an issue here than it is for skinny guys who do brevets in the Cascades > and have a bias toward antique bike technology. Not that there's anything > wrong with that! I live in a flatter place, and would put the latest abd > greatest hydraulic disc brakes on all my bikes if it was possible. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
