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Deary me, I thought bleeding/setting up MTB hydros was a pain in the arse.. but the cantis on my CX bike have got me effing and blinding like it’s going out of fashion.
I’ve been converting my Dolan multi x CX bike into something a bit more comfy/gravelly recently after putting a purchase of a gravel bike on hold, in hope that the Dolan isn’t destined to spend the rest of its days bolted to a turbo..
Bought some nice wide flared Thomson bars and a shorter stem which necessitated new cables as the runs were too short from the prior narrow bars.. nee problem, they needed doing anyway but can I buggery sort the front brake out.
The issue is that the spring tension (force?) in each side of the canti brakes is not enough to overcome the friction in the thingymebob highlighted in red below. Does anyone know what this is called? I’ve dialled the little adjustment screws all the way in to give maximum force but it’s like peeing in the wind.. can’t help feel I’m missing something..
It’s quite a sharp angle and even after replacing the lube liner it’s not great and means the brake lever doesn’t return to the resting position fully, if that makes sense?
The old lube liner was in bits after being ground away by the inner cable. I’m at a bit of a loss as to what to do next.. is there another way to configure these brakes that bypasses the daft metal angle thingy altogether?
I think the new pads are a bit thick and they’ll not clear the tyre if I take the wheel out but that’s a separate issue.
Thanks
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I would suggest a steerer mounted cable hanger which bolts through the crown of the fork. These are/were quite popular as they also reduce judder from the front brake by reducing the length of cable from the hanger to the brake. Would also straighten the cable run out.
They're cheap enough but unfortunately you would need a longer run of cable (OR use a double ended ferrule to allow you just to extend the existing cable with another longer piece, I've even got a ferrule I could send you for this exact purpose).
I doubt you'll ever get the tyre past the pads, I had same with my Avid Shorty Ultimates (and current Tektro Mini-Vs). Is just a limitation of cable pull rim brakes with road levers and wider tyres. It has never bothered me much, on those occasions I need to take wheel out or refit it I've probably got a pump to hand anyway.
edit:
just another thought, I wonder if the brakes are struggling with a wider rim, might mean arms are rotated further back than normal which would limit the force the spring applies. Is it an enclosed spring or could you bend it a wee bit to get some more tension? Or even use longer tension screws?
Does look like a sharp angle through that cable stop guide. For a few quid, you can get ones that mount to the fork. This also has the advantage of less exposed cable to act like a violin string and can reduce squeal.
As for getting the wheel out, you could replace the arrangement at the caliper end with a separate cable hanger and straddle wire. That would allow the second caliper to swing out further and also allow you to fine tune the feel of the brake.
Lower hanger means a softer feel with less pad clearance but lots of power. A higher hanger gives lots of pad clearance and a wooden feel with reduced power.
Is the cable guide on top of the headset slotted? If so, unhooking there might give you a bit more slack to get the wheel out.
Final option might be a set of mini v brakes. The cable will run very close to the tyre, but they open up easily and the brake housing goes all the way down to the brake arm. Feel is similar to a low set straddle wire.
Search for 'uphanger'.
Final option might be a set of mini v brakes. The cable will run very close to the tyre, but they open up easily and the brake housing goes all the way down to the brake arm. Feel is similar to a low set straddle wire.
Further to that, I'd suggest shorter Mini-Vs like the TRP CX8.4 rather than longer (90mm) Mini-Vs like the CX9 or the RX6. I've got some of the longer ones on the CX bike and frankly they have more power than I know what to do with but are definitely a bit on the grabby side and have limited pad/rim clearance which is fine but just means you need to be more careful with setup.
The 84mm Mini-Vs on my commuter are a bit easier to live with and have never felt underpowered.
I would say that cantilevers offer more adjustability but at the expense of power (and time taken to set them up in the first place). I'll probably stick cantilevers back on the CX bike for mud clearance, and go with shorter Mini-Vs on the gravel bike.
Yes, up hanger on fork crown will smooth out cable run angles/reduce friction.
Check that the return springs on the cantis are in the same hole on each stud - sometimes you have 3 options - soft, medium and hard.
You could change the spacers on the back of the brake block studs to get the arms more vertical rather than the blocks being too thick.
I aim for the angle of the straddle wire to be about 90 degrees to the arm - yours are looking a bit too open so you won’t get much braking force.
Thank you ver my much indeed for the replies everyone, they’re really helpful. I think I’ll order one of those up hangers as a first port of call to try and resolve this without too much expense. Thank you for the offer of the dual ended ferrule @13thfloormonk but I’ll probs just add one to my basket when I order the hanger and some other bits I need. I can see the hole in the forks where the hanger will go so looks viable.
Although I’m now wondering if I can get away with peeling back the new bar tape and putting a new run in.. it was my first time wrapping bars and I did a half decent job of it so not keen on doing the whole lot again..
There’s only 1 hole where the callipers mount so no options there and I tried bending back the springs but even then the issue still persists.. nowts easy is it?!
On the V brake point, are these compatible with the 105 levers I have? TBH the cantis were always a bit lacking power so this is something I may look into longer term, but don’t wanna spend a fortune.
The point about the rim being quite wide is spot on and not something I’d thought of before.
Thanks again
The Mini-Vs will be compatible with your 105 levers.
Newer Shimano road levers pulled more cable, making it possible to run the 90mm arms, but having tried that I'd still go for the shorter 84mm arms, more pad clearance and easier setup at slight expense of mud clearance if you're a CX racer!