Putting V-style brakepads on a traditional cantilever brake

tomasrojo

Just a quick, and maybe naive question.

I have some V-style brake pads left over from when I had a hybrid. Can I put these on an old-style cantilever brake, the type with a hanger?

CheGuedara

Shouldn't be a problem I'd imagine - only two things to watch for.

First are the domed spacers and washers (if there are any) - there is often a thin one and a fat one that can be placed in front of or behind the brake arm to space the pad far or near to the rim, get it wrong and you can find yourself pulling air/ the brake arm hitting the tyre under braking or not having very much pull at the lever at all.

Second is the age old thing - don't forget to toe in the pads, makes a difference and just takes a second to get right.

BostonB

How do you toe brake pads? Theres no adjustment for it.

tomasrojo

BostonB wrote: »

How do you toe brake pads? Theres no adjustment for it.

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/canti-direct.html

Yaw angle ("toe in")

The shoe can be set so that the front edge of the shoe contacts the rim slightly before the rear edge. This is commonly called "toe in." If this is not set perfectly, normal pad wear will eventually even it out, but braking will be less effective, and the brakes may squeal until the shoe has worn in.

Most direct-pull cantilevers, however, use asymmetrical shoes (longer end faces the rear) that are designed to be set with no toe in.

I guess I'll just mess around with the V-style brake pads and go for a test run somewhere where I won't need to do an emergency brake.

BostonB

should have been more specific. I know what toe is. Just not how to adjust for it. I don't see what you adjust on a brake to get the pad to toe in.

tomasrojo

I didn't really bother with toe-in before, since Sheldon said it didn't really matter for v-style pads.

But I've read that with all the washers you can adjust the angle of the brake pad quite a bit. I guess you keep the nut loose, angle the brake pad the way you want it, and then tighten the nut.

I'm guessing here really though.

BostonB

I've seen mention of putting bits card behind the pad. If it made that much of a difference you'd think, someone over the years would have made a screw adjustment for it.

CheGuedara

thomasrojo gets the biscuit

Assuming the brake pads are similar to this (and most v brake pads are)



Then the little rounded washers and spacers allow finer adjustment of the angle of contact between the pad and the rim. Toe in couldn't be more easily set up.

You can also see in the picture that there are two different widths of spacers that can be swapped around to take into account wider/narrower rims or frame fittings etc.

Boston, time to patent that screw adjustment......

BostonB

I think I'd have to see it working.

CheGuedara

ah Doubting Thomas, I wonder what the scope for adjustment is to allow then?

Lining them up with lay lines or the magnetic poles perhaps?

BostonB

jeez Who stole your puppy...