[Closed] Always wanted some but could never afford them....

Isn't this about the third thread on them?! Just fit them to the damn bike 😉

you're too late. Discs have sunk that dreamboat.

Isn't this about the third thread on them?!

Only the 2nd...1st one was to help getting one pair working smoothly 😳 😉

They are bloody lovely, I only managed to get to XT myself and they were damn fine too. We forget how good v-brakes are compared to canti's, disc's are undoubtedly better but the jump to v's was huge.

And the thread about the (non) matching levers...?

XT ones always rattled and squealed, XTR were only c£40 each, most worthwhile bit of XTR back in the day.

XTR were only c£40 each

Then you went a bought a Profile carbon riser bar and some Base pedals, both of which were crap.

😀 I've got about 6 sets of them.............

And only 2 bikes with them fitted.

Can I have a set for my 5yr old please?

pretty please?

Sorry, not for sale!

By the 960 series Shimano had adopted that silly gloss finish 😡

The M950 series was much classier 8)

[img] http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/download/file.php?id=227992 [/img]

when i was at school the pinnnacle of cool was a trials bike was one of those on the front and a magura HS33 (preferably not a raceline) on the rear.

I never had any XTR - I did have a pair of Racelines though. 😕

Mine squealed like a pig. Replaced them with LX.

The M950 series was much classier

Agreed. They lasted into M970 as well, went back to matt:

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I've got a pair of 950's (with proper XT v-brake lever njee :wink:) on the balance bike I made for her. Cost me a fiver 😀

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Don't forget the levers either, I'm still not sure there has been a nicer feeling lever made.
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interesting flooring design stevied. 😉

interesting flooring design stevied.

Top pic? That's some surplus vinyl on my workbench 😉

Fit them, then find out you have to true your wheels after every techy ride.

Mrs. Pinkster has M950 vee's on her bike.

I took them off mine many years ago when I replaced them with Avid Arch rivals, a far superior V in my experience.

Avid Ultimate v-brakes were incredible! More expensive than most discs too. Preferred the look of XTR, but the engineering on the Avids was impressive.

I still have some XT V brakes on my old Pace. Paired with ceramic rims they are pretty good. I have a vague memory of an additional shim kit to stop the squealing but my memory may be hazy, I bought them in the last millennia

Still using a set on my commuter singlespeed, lovely brakes-mine don't seem to squeal either. I think the secret was in the correct amount of toe in.

sorry what are they !!! ;0)

Hmmmm. I love XTR V'.

I tracked down a set for my singlespeed project but never got to use them as some scroat took the bike before it was finished.

Also hunted down a pair of AC Lo Pro cranks - I remember lusting over them in Mountain High and not being able to afford them.

950s and 970s the best v's, but the blue LXs were superb too (not the lever though), and none of the problems associated with the XTs..

sorry what are they !!!

They're a time-travel machine to take us oldies back in time to an era where there actually were standards that everyone built bikes around 😆

They're a time-travel machine to take us oldies back in time to an era where there actually were standards that everyone built bikes around

Aside from some of the head tubes (1 1/4, 1 inch, threaded, threadless) it was generally pretty good in them days. BB's were 68 or 74, rear axle 135 etc.

74mm bottom brackets?

WTF, is this another new standard?

I've got a hotch-potch on the station bike - 1991 vintage XT integated brake/gear levers, with the shifter pods de-integrated via hacksaw, Avid Single-Digit front, XT rear.

When I built it up I went for a rolling endo test and sent myself over the bars! Not done that for years. Maybe ever. The power ramps up much more than discs - I'm guessing the rubber gets stickier as they heat up.

If we are talking levers the M950 levers were and are still lovely - I still use some but my personal favourites are:

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They contrast with the grey of M950 nicely and come with Ti bits which is always a good thing!

red dx FTW

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Nah, no parallel push (is that was it was called) on the DXs!

I always wanted the Avid Arch Supremes, just look at them 😯

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red dx FTW

Spin wheels, as a 12 year old kid I thought they were awesome

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Parallel push always went loose for me at the little rivets. Preferred the simplicity of dx

I used to really want a pair of '97 Judy SL's! I ended up with Judy XC's which were pretty poor. The Z1's that replaced them were a revelation.

The plastic top caps were useless - I remember a mate landing a jump to a flat landing, bottoming his forks out and the spring / elastomer assembly shooting out of each leg like a Nerf toy!

Can I have a set for my 5yr old please?

pretty please?

seems like a fair swap, is it house-trained?

My first Morzine trip back in 2000 was on a bike with STX V brakes. Just as powerful as the first set of discs that replaced them (Hope Minis).