V-Brakes for Wicked?

[ozcanuck]

Hi,
I am thinking of upgrading my cantilever brakes (worn) to V-Brakes. I have an 89 Wicked frame and am going back to the original tapered rigid steel fork.
Is there any problem with mounting V-Brakes on the original brake studs?

[IF52]

No, same stud spacing. You will probably need new levers though as V brakes require more cable pull.

[mainlyfats]

You'll have a little useless cable stop on the back end if you do. That kind of thing drives me nuts, but I'm probably a little more anal than you.

How about some high-zoot cantis? The Paul ones are cool.

[colker]

Originally Posted by mainlyfats

You'll have a little useless cable stop on the back end if you do. That kind of thing drives me nuts, but I'm probably a little more anal than you.

How about some high-zoot cantis? The Paul ones are cool.

you will hit your calfs on the Paul cantis. i would look for low profile cantis or, sigh, vees.

i would buy xtr cantis on ebay and call it a day.

[jh4rt]

FWIW: I run XTR V-brakes and Avid Levers on my SS 91 Yo. It isn't period correct, and I have a stop on the back which goes un-used. However, I have come to discover that I really like the ride of these frames, but not necessarily all the hype over period correctness. V-brakes are so much more effective than most Cantis. If you want it to be super bitchen, use a set of Paul's, but for the expense, XTR or Avid V-brakes can't be beat.

[rick]

Lots of good choices, don't limit yourself just to be period correct unless it is a museum bike. I run Avid Vs on a few Fats and they are great. I don't think as much of their levers but use with Pauls and Reals and like them just fine. I also run XTR cantis on a Team Comp and they are great, but I had to get help setting them up to work properly.
Some of the period correct brakes look cool but I was never able to get them to work well (Hurricanes come to mind), while others do both ( I like Control Techs and Hershey Racing mag cantis and Avid tri-aligns).
Everything that I have ever bought from Pauls is expensive but works great, so you will not go wrong with them either.
Nothing is forever, you can always swap later if you change your mind.

rick

[ozcanuck]

Thanks, guys...lots of good info. Looks like I have few choices. As I have the combo XT shift/levers, I'll need new levers and new shifters to switch to V-brakes. The combos are pretty thrashed, so it's maybe not a bad thing. I still have a 7-speed cassette and XT hub, so my choices for new shifters are limited. Ebay may be my freind as well as the local MTB club for spares. I have a fairly new Deore 8-speed derailleur on it now.
Cheapest would be just to replace the canti's with newer ones.
I am retiring the old Rockshox Indy XC's and going back to the lovely rigid fork. It carved like a knife with the old fork.
Not neccesarily creating a museum bike, but just want to keep the ol'beast going....16 years of active service so far...good value, eh?
Thanks again ...this site is great.

[settemarche]

Canadrailian,

i like period correct. are you riding that much faster that you need the V-brakes? there is no doubt that technology marches on. but the canti's i think keep me in check. i am not going maximum attack when riding some of my older bikes. you can take time and enjoy the view, smell the roses.

i have a set of Avid Tri Aligns on my blue Yo. that bike can go pretty fast when i am on it and it seems to stop fine.

my 2 cents,

Sette

[ozcanuck]

Well, I went for V-brakes (used Avids on rear, new LX on front and used Avid Single Digit levers). They rock. So responsive!
My old cantis were pretty stuffed, obviously.
Thanks for all your help!