Re: [RBW] Re: Question about the World's Best straddle wire hanger (Tektro CR720)

2011-08-31 Thread CycloFiend
on 8/31/11 5:15 AM, Earl Grey at earlg...@gmail.com wrote:

 I have always liked cantis, and the Tektro 720s are my favorites. I
 have disc brakes (Avid BB7 wit h8 rotors) on one tandem (didn't have
 a choice, and thought may as well give them a chance. Every few rides
 I need to adjust the pads because they rub. In the rain, they squeal
 like crazy. Don't see the advantage over cantis. I have also had the
 last generation of single pivot Campy sidepulls. They were fine, but
 not as nice as cantis.
 
 V brakes have lot's of stopping power (with special levers) and I
 concur that they look terrible. In addition, they are so powerful that
 lightweight riders can very easily endo. My 100 lb ex did that once
 while cruising at 12mph or so in the park, casually grabbing the brake
 to come to a stop on a low-end Cannondale mtn bike. So try some Tektro
 CR720s with Koolstop pads before going to V-brakes, and warn your wife
 about their grabbiness and high power.


The real rub with V-Brakes (or specifically, linear pull) is that they tend
to be on or off. It's a matter of the pressure your hands are used to
applying, and the more time you spend running canti brakes, the more
ingrained it becomes. You can get used to the difference, but you can also
really hurt yourself - especially when jumping to a bicycle with different
brakes. 

Braking 101 Review
Most of the people I've encountered who complain of poor braking performance
have brakes that feel hard at the lever. That's the antithesis of power.
It's also about learning how to effectively use the front brake.  I was out
at the trails and listened to some teacher from a local outdoor shop
carefully explaining to new mountain bikers that they should never use their
front brake, because it would cause them to crash.  Piffle and hogwash, to
be sure, but the wrong techniques are out there...

Quick Brake Setup Thoughts
Of course, the main reason the switch to lp brakes caught on was that they
were bone-simple to set up. For shops where you are building a ton of bikes
every day, this was/is important. With cantis, there are a few more
variables, and the problem is that you tend to change one while attempting
to adjust the other.  But, when canti designs incorporated the multi-washer
pad adjustment systems of lp brakes, things got better.  Here's the
procedure which I found helps mimic quickie-lp setup:

pre - make sure wheel is centered in the dropouts - work on the same side of
the bike as the brake arm unless specified.
1 - release straddle wire.  (let's start front left)
2 - cupping the brake pad assembly from below with your left hand, use your
thumb on the same hand to position the arm so it is vertical (i.e. at 90
degrees, i.e. perpendicular to the ground.
3 - while maintaining that position, loosen and position the brake pad so it
is 90 degrees from the arm, and touching the rim (flat is ok at this point)
The trick here is to not move the arm, which should be pretty much lined up
with the fork blade, lock the pad down in this position, which applies the
most power to the rim.
4 - do the same to the opposing arm
5 - connect the straddle cable.  If you cannot see if you can change the
straddle relation easily.  Otherwise back off the pads a smidge until you
get appropriate clearance
6 - make sure things are even, when viewed from the front.
7 - if you didn't back off the pads, check that they have enough clearance
at this point.  
8 - now go back and set toe-in


4  - 


 
 Cheers,
 
 Gernot
 
 
 On Aug 31, 6:33 am, dougP dougpn...@cox.net wrote:
 Michael:
 
 Thanks for sharing your experiences.  I plan to try a high profile
 canti set-up on my wife's Atlantis as a first measure.  Hopefully that
 will replicate the braking performance of her old bike.  If not, I'll
 look into V-brakes  new levers, but that probably has its own
 learning curve.
 
 dougP
 
 On Aug 30, 2:53 pm, Michael Hechmer mhech...@gmail.com wrote:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Doug, you pose the perfect question for me to share my experience with
 cantilevers and why I continue to believe in hi straddle and hi profile
 cantis.
 
 My first experience with cantis, after years of good riding with Campy Grand
 Sport LR brakes and Chorus SR brakes came around 2000, when I bought a SOMA
 DBL Cross for commuting and had it outfitted with my first Ultegra 9 spd.
 system and the then new Ultegra Low Profile canti brakes.   The bike and
 brakes were installed by the best mechanic in VT, including the very short
 straddle wire supplied by Shimano.  Braking was awful, downright scary for
 commuting.  I replaced the pads with Salmons and that helped somewhat.  I
 finally abandoned the SIS brifters, replacing with Cane Creek  Silver
 shiftes and the braking rose to the level of OK.  Setup, with Shimano
 Brifters, was also pretty tedious and the brakes needed to be re-centered
 every time I put the bike into the back of the car or did any almost thing
 else.  The brifters, which were designed for short reach side pulls, 

RE: [RBW] Re: Question about the World's Best straddle wire hanger (Tektro CR720)

2011-08-31 Thread Allingham II, Thomas J
Those green ano Pauls stop REALLY well.  ;-) 
http://www.flickr.com/photos/37542512@N04/5645451309/in/set-72157626433454817

-Original Message-
From: rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com 
[mailto:rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Philip Williamson
Sent: Wednesday, August 31, 2011 1:00 AM
To: RBW Owners Bunch
Subject: [RBW] Re: Question about the World's Best straddle wire hanger (Tektro 
CR720)

I look back on the last 15 years of my cycling life, and I gotta say.
Cantis suck. Single pivot sidepulls suck. The disc brakes on my weirdo project 
bike brake very well, but go 'shk shk shk' in corners. The nicer Avid v-brakes 
on my 1999 Bontrager have, aside from the initial squealy pads (hey, someone 
set these up without ceramic pads, let me change that for you)... have been 
absolutely trouble free for 11 years. I've changed the pads a couple times. 
They have excellent modulation, good stopping in wet or dry; I can do nosies on 
purpose, but never on accident (well, once).

Cantis for me are a crapshoot. I've set up dynamite dialed-in cantis a couple 
times, and as the pad wears, the braking degrades. Sometimes the canti arm 
dives under the rim (well, once). I study the charts, change out the pads (why 
should you even have to DO this?), finesse the setup, and then forget 
everything I learned the next time I have to set them up from scratch.

I just hate the way v-brakes look on a roadified bike. They look like ass. I 
can't imagine putting them on my Quickbeam, but I don't want to sell a bike 
just to buy some green anodized Paul cantis.

Actually, maybe I do.

 Philip

 Philip Williamson
www.biketinker.com



On Aug 30, 4:33 pm, dougP dougpn...@cox.net wrote:
 Michael:

 Thanks for sharing your experiences.  I plan to try a high profile 
 canti set-up on my wife's Atlantis as a first measure.  Hopefully that 
 will replicate the braking performance of her old bike.  If not, I'll 
 look into V-brakes  new levers, but that probably has its own 
 learning curve.

 dougP

 On Aug 30, 2:53 pm, Michael Hechmer mhech...@gmail.com wrote:







  Doug, you pose the perfect question for me to share my experience 
  with cantilevers and why I continue to believe in hi straddle and hi 
  profile cantis.

  My first experience with cantis, after years of good riding with 
  Campy Grand Sport LR brakes and Chorus SR brakes came around 2000, 
  when I bought a SOMA DBL Cross for commuting and had it outfitted with my 
  first Ultegra 9 spd.
  system and the then new Ultegra Low Profile canti brakes.   The bike 
  and brakes were installed by the best mechanic in VT, including the 
  very short straddle wire supplied by Shimano.  Braking was awful, 
  downright scary for commuting.  I replaced the pads with Salmons and 
  that helped somewhat.  I finally abandoned the SIS brifters, 
  replacing with Cane Creek  Silver shiftes and the braking rose to 
  the level of OK.  Setup, with Shimano Brifters, was also pretty 
  tedious and the brakes needed to be re-centered every time I put the 
  bike into the back of the car or did any almost thing else.  The 
  brifters, which were designed for short reach side pulls, simply did 
  not work together with cants.  I have avoided low profile brakes 
  (and
  briftes) ever since.

  After a poor-braking-near-death-experience, I bought a pair of hi 
  profile Pauls and found that with a very hi straddle wire, as 
  recommended by Paul, I had easy set up and great braking.

  My next experience with Cantis was a pair of hi profile, short arm 
  di comp which came on a 1984 Trek 620 I bought on ebay.  Much to my 
  surprise these brakes also delivered mediocre power, even with salmon pads.

  Now my Ram and my tandem have Paul's Racer Ms and Racers 
  respectively.  My Ebisu has neo retros with a hi straddle wire and 
  my now pretty beat up winter bike SOMA has those di comps, which I'm 
  planning on replacing with Tektros and a hi straddle wire.

  When I was much younger I would say, Who needs brakes, they just 
  slow you down!  Now, medicare not withstanding, I really like 
  having brakes I can rely on.  Intimations of mortality no doubt.

  michael
  recovering from lower back strain and Irene, in Vermont

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Re: [RBW] Re: Question about the World's Best straddle wire hanger (Tektro CR720)

2011-08-31 Thread Thomas Lynn Skean



On Wednesday, August 31, 2011 10:42:07 AM UTC-5, Cyclofiend Jim wrote:
 

 


 The real rub with V-Brakes (or specifically, linear pull) is that they tend
 to be on or off. It's a matter of the pressure your hands are used to
 applying, and the more time you spend running canti brakes, the more
 ingrained it becomes. You can get used to the difference, but you can also
 really hurt yourself - especially when jumping to a bicycle with different
 brakes. 

 


 -- 
 Jim Edgar
 cyclo...@earthlink.net

 
Ah-ha! This goes a long way towards explaining why lots of people seem not 
to like linear-pull brakes. Perhaps It's an area where having a certain 
minimum amount of mass on the bike and having *less* experience actually 
mitigates an issue. That is, I've had only linear-pull brakes in my recent 
riding. And they feel relatively smooth and controllable... perhaps because 
they are fighting a substantial load (at least me, at 245lbs). I think with 
my kind of payload, there's a big difference in the hand-effort required 
to (1) merely engage the brake and (2) stop the bike. Fortunately, I also 
have strong hands (years of piano lessons). So, while going from (1) to (2) 
for a lighter-weight cyclist might be startingly quick and difficult 
control, for me it seems reasonably gradual, easy to manipulate, and never 
gets too difficult. I've never thought I was missing anything using 
linear-pull brakes. But I do realize that my current brakes and levers (both 
from Paul Components) were each an improvement in feel and control. And 
together they are quite nice. So perhaps after about a year with these I'd 
feel that my old $20 Tektros or $40 Shimanos, both with Tektro levers, are 
somehow wanting. Hard to say. But I do know they worked fine for me at the 
time.
 
Now, as to other comments about the looks of linear-pull brakes... well, to 
some extent I agree. Not so much that linear-pull brakes are ugly or even 
particularly unattractive. But some canti-brakes I've seen are works of art. 
And I like the simple elegance of some sidepull brakes as well. So to me 
it's more like linear pull brakes are kind of a lost opportunity for 
beauty than an actual blemish. I happen to like the way the Motolite sort of 
echoes the soldier-y image of the fork crown in front. And in general I like 
the Paul Components aesthetic.
 
Yours,
Thomas Lynn Skean
 

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[RBW] Re: Question about the World's Best straddle wire hanger (Tektro CR720)

2011-08-30 Thread dougP
Is this ever a timely discussion!  Just back from a tour in Oregon
featuring plenty of hills.  My wife's Atlantis is standard Riv build
with the low profile Shimano cantis and Shimano aero levers.  It does
have Kool Stop salmon pads.  In the past, she's mentioned the brakes
did not seem as good as the dual pivot sidepulls on her old Trek but
was OK with it.  This was her first trip with long downhills on the
Atlantis  she's really spooked by the lack of braking.

As a sidebar, I replaced my stock Shimano low profiles with Tektro 720
a few years ago  liked the modulation much better.  They are
noticeably more powerful than the Shimano but not as good as the
ancient Shimano high profile canti's on my 80s era MTB.

Now the question:  I need to get her more braking power but I doubt
the Tektros are enough.  She has small hands  does not have a strong
grip.  Are V-brakes a direct substitute?  Or do I also need to change
levers?

Thanks for your thoughts on this.

dougP

On Aug 29, 10:45 pm, Earl Grey earlg...@gmail.com wrote:
 Thanks for that explanation, William,

 that was enlightening, and jives with my experience. The way my non-
 engineer's brain makes sense of this is this:

 The main brake cable moves up when you engage the brake. For a high
 profile canti to engage you also mostly need to pull up on the
 straddle wire, and inward a little. On a low profile canti, you mostly
 have to pull *in* on the straddle cable, while pulling up does very
 little good. So on a low profile canti the straddle cable has to
 change the direction of force from the main brake cable, and yes,
 that's easy to get wrong. On a high profile canti, the straddle cable
 serves merely as an extension of the brake cable transferring the
 brake force to both arms. It doesn't have to change the direction of
 the force, and is thus relatively immune to geometry. (I am sure this
 explanation won't satisfy an engineer, but it works for me) :)

 Gernot

 On Aug 30, 12:23 am, William tapebu...@gmail.com wrote:



  Sheldon (RIP) did a great job of laying out the geometry factors, but didn't
  really get to the punchline.  

  The punchline, in my opinion is that the mechanical advantage of high
  profile cantilevers is almost constant regardless of straddle cable length.
   Brakes like Tektro CR720s and old Mafacs and similar, has a particular
  mechanical advantage.  You can adjust that a tiny bit, like a few percent,
  by raising or lowering the straddle wire hanger, but you can't make a major
  change, no matter where you put it.  The upshot is, if you like how those
  brakes feel with your lever, then be happy, because there is almost nothing
  you can do to mess it up.  If you don't like how they feel (probably because
  of too little mechanical advantage), then you can tinker all day long with
  straddle position, and it really won't do much.  A different lever that
  changes mechanical advantage might make a difference.  A different brake pad
  compound that doesn't need as much force to grab might make a difference,
  but high profile cantilevers are not very tuneable.  You'll see some folks
  running their straddle right above the fender, and others several inches
  higher.  Those two setups won't feel a lot different, all else being equal.
   The Riv-ish upside to this is that if you use high profile cantis with a
  lever that works, you can raise the straddle high to clear your rack,
  fender, and fat tire, and still get similar braking.  

  Low profile cantilevers are super tuneable, but that give you more
  opportunity to get it wrong.  If you are forced to move the straddle to
  clear a fender or rack, you may be disappointed at the major effect that had
  on braking performance..  - Hide quoted text -

 - Show quoted text -

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[RBW] Re: Question about the World's Best straddle wire hanger (Tektro CR720)

2011-08-30 Thread William
Normal drop bar brake levers do not pull enough cable to actuate typical 
V-brakes.  There are special levers that pull more cable. and there are 
inline pulley solutions that correct the cable rate issues.  Small-handed, 
weak-gripped riders have a significant challenge getting 
confidence-inspiring brake performance with traditional rim brakes, 
especially on loaded bikes.  It's non-Rivendell, but you might want to allow 
her to test ride a bike with disk brakes as you plan out your upgrades.  

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[RBW] Re: Question about the World's Best straddle wire hanger (Tektro CR720)

2011-08-30 Thread Michael Hechmer
Doug, you pose the perfect question for me to share my experience with 
cantilevers and why I continue to believe in hi straddle and hi profile 
cantis.

My first experience with cantis, after years of good riding with Campy Grand 
Sport LR brakes and Chorus SR brakes came around 2000, when I bought a SOMA 
DBL Cross for commuting and had it outfitted with my first Ultegra 9 spd. 
system and the then new Ultegra Low Profile canti brakes.   The bike and 
brakes were installed by the best mechanic in VT, including the very short 
straddle wire supplied by Shimano.  Braking was awful, downright scary for 
commuting.  I replaced the pads with Salmons and that helped somewhat.  I 
finally abandoned the SIS brifters, replacing with Cane Creek  Silver 
shiftes and the braking rose to the level of OK.  Setup, with Shimano 
Brifters, was also pretty tedious and the brakes needed to be re-centered 
every time I put the bike into the back of the car or did any almost thing 
else.  The brifters, which were designed for short reach side pulls, simply 
did not work together with cants.  I have avoided low profile brakes (and 
briftes) ever since.

After a poor-braking-near-death-experience, I bought a pair of hi profile 
Pauls and found that with a very hi straddle wire, as recommended by Paul, I 
had easy set up and great braking. 

My next experience with Cantis was a pair of hi profile, short arm di comp 
which came on a 1984 Trek 620 I bought on ebay.  Much to my surprise these 
brakes also delivered mediocre power, even with salmon pads.

Now my Ram and my tandem have Paul's Racer Ms and Racers respectively.  My 
Ebisu has neo retros with a hi straddle wire and my now pretty beat up 
winter bike SOMA has those di comps, which I'm planning on replacing with 
Tektros and a hi straddle wire.

When I was much younger I would say, Who needs brakes, they just slow you 
down!  Now, medicare not withstanding, I really like having brakes I can 
rely on.  Intimations of mortality no doubt.

michael
recovering from lower back strain and Irene, in Vermont


 

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[RBW] Re: Question about the World's Best straddle wire hanger (Tektro CR720)

2011-08-29 Thread Montclair BobbyB
Sheldon Brown sez:  http://sheldonbrown.com/cantilever-geometry.html



On Aug 28, 12:07 pm, Michael Hechmer mhech...@gmail.com wrote:
 My favorite cable hanger is this one, which I got from Jitensha but are no
 longer carried.

 http://gallery.me.com/mhechmer#100029/IMG_1193bgcolor=black

 They are the best looking I have ever seen and are completely self
 centering, once installed.  Initial set-up, however is a meticulous, time
 consuming trial and error process.  I think velo orange now carries
 something similar.

 As to the tectro brake, I was surprised by this comment:

 quite powerful especially with ... the straddle cable as low as possible.

 I'm not a physicist but my understanding of levers, and experience setting
 up canti brakes suggest that the brake will be most effective when the cable
 and arm approach 90 degrees.  I would set these brakes up with a high
 straddle wire, like this picture from the Riv site, or even 
 higher:http://www.rivbike.com/products/show/tektro-cr720-cantilever-brakes/1...

 high profile brake with a high hanger and low profile with a lower hanger.
 yes?

 michael

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[RBW] Re: Question about the World's Best straddle wire hanger (Tektro CR720)

2011-08-29 Thread Philip Williamson
Aha. My rule-of-remembering has been high profile = high hanger; low
profile = low hanger, just like Michael's, until I put this brake on
with every mm eked out of the straddle wire and it was still
disappointing. I'll try a long longer straddle wire, and possibly a
wider hanger first. And those Kool Stop pads.

As for the roller hangers, the coolest I've seen was on an old Chrome
Raleigh mountain bike. Super light, and it opened up so you could put
the wire in from the back, instead of threading it through the roller
hole. http://www.flickr.com/photos/philipwilliamson/4301739147/

 Philip (off to pick up a replacement S/A nut)

 Philip Williamson
www.biketinker.com


On Aug 28, 1:00 pm, Ginz theg...@gmail.com wrote:
 My experience with the CR720 requires the yoke to be as high... so
 high that I had to use an extra-wide yoke because the straddle cable
 wasn't long enough.

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[RBW] Re: Question about the World's Best straddle wire hanger (Tektro CR720)

2011-08-29 Thread William
Sheldon (RIP) did a great job of laying out the geometry factors, but didn't 
really get to the punchline.  

The punchline, in my opinion is that the mechanical advantage of high 
profile cantilevers is almost constant regardless of straddle cable length. 
 Brakes like Tektro CR720s and old Mafacs and similar, has a particular 
mechanical advantage.  You can adjust that a tiny bit, like a few percent, 
by raising or lowering the straddle wire hanger, but you can't make a major 
change, no matter where you put it.  The upshot is, if you like how those 
brakes feel with your lever, then be happy, because there is almost nothing 
you can do to mess it up.  If you don't like how they feel (probably because 
of too little mechanical advantage), then you can tinker all day long with 
straddle position, and it really won't do much.  A different lever that 
changes mechanical advantage might make a difference.  A different brake pad 
compound that doesn't need as much force to grab might make a difference, 
but high profile cantilevers are not very tuneable.  You'll see some folks 
running their straddle right above the fender, and others several inches 
higher.  Those two setups won't feel a lot different, all else being equal. 
 The Riv-ish upside to this is that if you use high profile cantis with a 
lever that works, you can raise the straddle high to clear your rack, 
fender, and fat tire, and still get similar braking.   

Low profile cantilevers are super tuneable, but that give you more 
opportunity to get it wrong.  If you are forced to move the straddle to 
clear a fender or rack, you may be disappointed at the major effect that had 
on braking performance..  

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[RBW] Re: Question about the World's Best straddle wire hanger (Tektro CR720)

2011-08-29 Thread Earl Grey
Thanks for that explanation, William,

that was enlightening, and jives with my experience. The way my non-
engineer's brain makes sense of this is this:

The main brake cable moves up when you engage the brake. For a high
profile canti to engage you also mostly need to pull up on the
straddle wire, and inward a little. On a low profile canti, you mostly
have to pull *in* on the straddle cable, while pulling up does very
little good. So on a low profile canti the straddle cable has to
change the direction of force from the main brake cable, and yes,
that's easy to get wrong. On a high profile canti, the straddle cable
serves merely as an extension of the brake cable transferring the
brake force to both arms. It doesn't have to change the direction of
the force, and is thus relatively immune to geometry. (I am sure this
explanation won't satisfy an engineer, but it works for me) :)

Gernot

On Aug 30, 12:23 am, William tapebu...@gmail.com wrote:
 Sheldon (RIP) did a great job of laying out the geometry factors, but didn't
 really get to the punchline.  

 The punchline, in my opinion is that the mechanical advantage of high
 profile cantilevers is almost constant regardless of straddle cable length.
  Brakes like Tektro CR720s and old Mafacs and similar, has a particular
 mechanical advantage.  You can adjust that a tiny bit, like a few percent,
 by raising or lowering the straddle wire hanger, but you can't make a major
 change, no matter where you put it.  The upshot is, if you like how those
 brakes feel with your lever, then be happy, because there is almost nothing
 you can do to mess it up.  If you don't like how they feel (probably because
 of too little mechanical advantage), then you can tinker all day long with
 straddle position, and it really won't do much.  A different lever that
 changes mechanical advantage might make a difference.  A different brake pad
 compound that doesn't need as much force to grab might make a difference,
 but high profile cantilevers are not very tuneable.  You'll see some folks
 running their straddle right above the fender, and others several inches
 higher.  Those two setups won't feel a lot different, all else being equal.
  The Riv-ish upside to this is that if you use high profile cantis with a
 lever that works, you can raise the straddle high to clear your rack,
 fender, and fat tire, and still get similar braking.  

 Low profile cantilevers are super tuneable, but that give you more
 opportunity to get it wrong.  If you are forced to move the straddle to
 clear a fender or rack, you may be disappointed at the major effect that had
 on braking performance..  

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[RBW] Re: Question about the World's Best straddle wire hanger (Tektro CR720)

2011-08-28 Thread Ginz
I'm using Kool Stop Mountain in the front and the Thinline in the
back.  I do not like the Thinline with this brake.

I found that I had to RAISE the yoke in the front.  I guess different
levers can have a big impact on mechanical advantage even thought they
are all made for cantis?

On Aug 28, 2:54 am, Philip Williamson philip.william...@gmail.com
wrote:
 Hmm... what pads do you get? I was disappointed in the Tektros and put
 the stock Shimano cheapies back on the rear. I got Yokozuna pads from
 Rivendell, but they were really long and seemed to have a shallower
 mounting groove than was safe with the Tektros. It didn't look like I
 could use them:http://bit.ly/yoko-pads
 I am interested in tuning the Tektros - lowering the straddle,
 upgrading the pads, etc.

 Philip

  Philip Williamsonwww.biketinker.com

 On Aug 27, 9:29 am, rcnute rcn...@hotmail.com wrote:

  Super easy to set up and very strong.  I have them on all my bikes.
  Gotta replace the pads though.

  Ryan

  On Aug 27, 8:12 am, Michael Hechmer mhech...@gmail.com wrote:

   I don't own these, but have considered buying a pair of the Tektro brakes
   for a winter bike.  The Riv photo, with the barkes installed doesn't show
   the additional screw.  But more importantly how do you like the brakes?
    Stopping power?  Ease of set up?

   michael

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[RBW] Re: Question about the World's Best straddle wire hanger (Tektro CR720)

2011-08-28 Thread Earl Grey
Agreed, it is a very nice-looking hanger, and most importantly for me,
it uses a 10mm box wrench and a 5mm? Allen key to adjust. How many of
you carry 2 separate 9 or 10mm box wrenches, which most straddle cable
hangers from the last 70 years require? And how often does one or the
other of those box wrenches slip? holding the hanger in place with an
Allen key is much more secure as you tighten the 10mm nut.

But what is the durned Philips head screw for? What Montclair BobbyB
said? I still think it's a holder for the main brake cable...

Gernot


On Aug 28, 11:17 am, grant grant...@gmail.com wrote:
 The argument that the Tektro hanger is the best...is a funny argument
 at some level, because any decent  one from the pas 70 years is 98
 percent as good as any other, including this. The Tektro *wins*--my
 opinion--the final 2 unimportant percent, because if for any reason
 (can think of two offhand) your cantilevers aren't opening evenly,
 then the set-screws allow you to shift the hanger off-center and keep
 it there to compensate. It is a nice-looking hanger, in any case.

 Tektro is a neat company. They don't wait, they don't copy, they know
 brakes and they  innovate. They made the long-reach sidepulls (Silver
 and R556) when Shimano wouldn't even respond to the inquiry, and
 neither did Dia-Compe. Tektro listened, understood, and DID it---and
 figured out the wide-opening q/r that we requested.

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[RBW] Re: Question about the World's Best straddle wire hanger (Tektro CR720)

2011-08-28 Thread Michael Hechmer
My favorite cable hanger is this one, which I got from Jitensha but are no 
longer carried.

http://gallery.me.com/mhechmer#100029/IMG_1193bgcolor=black

They are the best looking I have ever seen and are completely self 
centering, once installed.  Initial set-up, however is a meticulous, time 
consuming trial and error process.  I think velo orange now carries 
something similar.

As to the tectro brake, I was surprised by this comment:

quite powerful especially with ... the straddle cable as low as possible.

I'm not a physicist but my understanding of levers, and experience setting 
up canti brakes suggest that the brake will be most effective when the cable 
and arm approach 90 degrees.  I would set these brakes up with a high 
straddle wire, like this picture from the Riv site, or even higher:
http://www.rivbike.com/products/show/tektro-cr720-cantilever-brakes/15-153

high profile brake with a high hanger and low profile with a lower hanger. 
yes?

michael


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[RBW] Re: Question about the World's Best straddle wire hanger (Tektro CR720)

2011-08-28 Thread Ginz
My experience with the CR720 requires the yoke to be as high... so
high that I had to use an extra-wide yoke because the straddle cable
wasn't long enough.

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[RBW] Re: Question about the World's Best straddle wire hanger (Tektro CR720)

2011-08-27 Thread Michael Hechmer
I don't own these, but have considered buying a pair of the Tektro brakes 
for a winter bike.  The Riv photo, with the barkes installed doesn't show 
the additional screw.  But more importantly how do you like the brakes? 
 Stopping power?  Ease of set up?

michael

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[RBW] Re: Question about the World's Best straddle wire hanger (Tektro CR720)

2011-08-27 Thread rcnute
Super easy to set up and very strong.  I have them on all my bikes.
Gotta replace the pads though.

Ryan

On Aug 27, 8:12 am, Michael Hechmer mhech...@gmail.com wrote:
 I don't own these, but have considered buying a pair of the Tektro brakes
 for a winter bike.  The Riv photo, with the barkes installed doesn't show
 the additional screw.  But more importantly how do you like the brakes?
  Stopping power?  Ease of set up?

 michael

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[RBW] Re: Question about the World's Best straddle wire hanger (Tektro CR720)

2011-08-27 Thread Mojo
Agree with rcnute, these CR720 is easy to setup and quite powerful 
especially with salmon pads and the straddle cable as low as possible.

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[RBW] Re: Question about the World's Best straddle wire hanger (Tektro CR720)

2011-08-27 Thread rcnute
Another plus is that (for me anyway) they seem to work well with non-
aero levers--sometimes it's hard to make those levers work with
cantis.  I have some nice Campy and Mafac levers I wanted to use.

Ryan

On Aug 27, 10:49 am, Mojo gjtra...@yahoo.com wrote:
 Agree with rcnute, these CR720 is easy to setup and quite powerful
 especially with salmon pads and the straddle cable as low as possible.

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[RBW] Re: Question about the World's Best straddle wire hanger (Tektro CR720)

2011-08-27 Thread Montclair BobbyB
My take: I think these are indeed the best straddle hangers out
there.  Here's why.  You position the hanger for optimum/even pull
from both brake calipers, then you set the screws and secure the
straddle wire so the hanger remains perfectly positioned; without it
the hanger can float and eventually the pull on the calipers will
become uneven.

I use the philips head screw just to hold the straddle wire in place
(in the hanger) enough to unhook it from the caliper and to tighten
the allen bolts (which generally DO require unhooking the straddle
wire to get an allen key on the bolts, particularly with a rear rack).

SO, the allen heads make perfect sense to me, to hold the straddle
hanger in place after setting it up to pull evenly.
The philips head holds the cable in place while you disconnect the
hanger wire, enabling you to then set the allen bolts.

Beautifully designed...

BB

On Aug 27, 2:33 pm, rcnute rcn...@hotmail.com wrote:
 Another plus is that (for me anyway) they seem to work well with non-
 aero levers--sometimes it's hard to make those levers work with
 cantis.  I have some nice Campy and Mafac levers I wanted to use.

 Ryan

 On Aug 27, 10:49 am, Mojo gjtra...@yahoo.com wrote:



  Agree with rcnute, these CR720 is easy to setup and quite powerful
  especially with salmon pads and the straddle cable as low as possible.

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[RBW] Re: Question about the World's Best straddle wire hanger (Tektro CR720)

2011-08-27 Thread grant
The argument that the Tektro hanger is the best...is a funny argument
at some level, because any decent  one from the pas 70 years is 98
percent as good as any other, including this. The Tektro *wins*--my
opinion--the final 2 unimportant percent, because if for any reason
(can think of two offhand) your cantilevers aren't opening evenly,
then the set-screws allow you to shift the hanger off-center and keep
it there to compensate. It is a nice-looking hanger, in any case.

Tektro is a neat company. They don't wait, they don't copy, they know
brakes and they  innovate. They made the long-reach sidepulls (Silver
and R556) when Shimano wouldn't even respond to the inquiry, and
neither did Dia-Compe. Tektro listened, understood, and DID it---and
figured out the wide-opening q/r that we requested.

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