Brake Pads

[mstone]

@hozn 66578 wrote:

Yes, I use the jandd spacers but still had to bend my rear fender stays and add additional spacer and bend the front stays to clear the calipers. Once the work was done it hasn’t been a problem. Having the disc inside the rear triangle would help and I also see some fenders with only a single stay that may simplify things in front.

Spacers come in different sizes, you’ll definitely want the right ones. Bending & cutting the fender stays is just something I expect, discs or no. Inside-the-triangle calipers definitely make racks and fenders easier. I assume there are also some drawbacks, because it’s still relatively less common. For my rear I just zip tied the fender stays to the inside of my topeak disc rack stays. Looks really ghetto, but it’s really effective. Because I kept putting off adjusting the fenders when I got new tires, I suffered a rear fender inversion on the towpath–something jammed between the fender and the tire, so the back of the fender got pulled all the way up to the rear stay before the wheel stopped. After yanking the fender back into place (yay, plastic) the zip tied stays were fine. I did adjust the fender spacing there on the side of the towpath. (Side note: don’t put off adjusting your fenders when changing tires, doing it on the trail with a loaded bike sucks compared to doing it at home.) Anyway, the topeak rack requires some creativity for fenders because of the way the integrated spacers work, but where there’s a will there’s a way.

[hozn]

@Jason B 66583 wrote:

Yea, discs would be the best move, but my cross train already left the building, so I have to make do with what I got.
Did you have any problem with the mini-v’s and fenders?

No, the mini v and fenders were an issue-free setup. Before discs I never had to bend fender stays, but I imagine it depends on where the mounts are (and whether using a rack too–i don’t, but didn’t have problems with both on my frame using mini-v).

[hozn]

Yeah, I didn’t see any different sizes for Jandd spacers or any that weren’t DIY (where are those available?), but it wasn’t too bad. Used half of a chainring bolt for the front spacer and got good use of the vice for the bending. Photos attached for reference.

[mstone]

@hozn 66593 wrote:

Yeah, I didn’t see any different sizes for Jandd spacers or any that weren’t DIY (where are those available?), but it wasn’t too bad. Used half of a chainring bolt for the front spacer and got good use of the vice for the bending. Photos attached for reference.

Yowza, that is bent. It looks like you’re also using fairly narrow fenders, which probably makes a difference.

http://www.jandd.com/search_results.asp?customSearch=1&sortOrder=ASC&txtsearchParamCat=3&iLevel=2&subcat=46&PAGE=2&PageSize=24&sortBy=1

Most places only care the 3/4 inch ones, but the 1 inch do exist. You can also use something like:

http://www.alliance-express.com/metric-spacer-washers

which are at local hardware stores. I’ve seen those up to 30mm, for about $3/10. (Don’t forget the proper screws to go with them.) A 30mm M5 nylon spacer is probably fine for a fender, but I definitely wouldn’t put a rack on it.

[DaveK]

@DismalScientist 66572 wrote:

By any chance are you tall with a long head tube? Jan at Bikekinetic showed me a trick where you install a cable housing end guide on the drilled out holes in your fork rather than at the top of the head tube. Origin 8 makes this product for about $10. With the cable end at the top of the headtube, the cable oscillates with the relative motion of the front wheel and frame, which adversely effects braking power. Lowering the cable housing end to the fork solves this.

I did the same recently, and between that a better set of canti brakes (TRP Euro-X) my cross bike has never braked so well. It also eliminates brake shudder.

[mstone]

@Jason B 66583 wrote:

Yea, discs would be the best move, but my cross train already left the building, so I have to make do with what I got.
Did you have any problem with the mini-v’s and fenders?

It will depend on the size of the tires and how close you want to run the fenders. You have less clearance on a mini v than cantis or full size v brakes; maybe a 32mm tire will work, maybe only a 28. You can move all the way to a full size v brake, but you’ll need either new levers or an adapter.

[hozn]

@mstone 66607 wrote:

It will depend on the size of the tires and how close you want to run the fenders. You have less clearance on a mini v than cantis or full size v brakes; maybe a 32mm tire will work, maybe only a 28. You can move all the way to a full size v brake, but you’ll need either new levers or an adapter.

That is a good point. TRP (obviously there are cheaper options, but “most people” seem to think these are worth it) makes a CX9 (90mm) and a CX8.4 (84mm) — the latter for SRAM levers, I guess?; I used the CX9 (which was the only one they had at the time). I don’t remember how close the clearance was, but I did not have any issues with SKS P35 fenders — which only fit max 28mm tires. You could run into issues (esp. with the CX8.4) where the hanger on the fenders wouldn’t drop them low enough to clear the cable. Probably gonna depend on the fenders.

[peterw_diy]

Kool Stop salmon MTB work well on my cheap Tektro cantis. They are quiet if initially toed in well, gentle on the rims even though I’m an all-weather commuter who cleans them very seldom, and never need adjusting. They do wear a little quickly, but that’s the only downside, and I can accept that.

I also recommend fork-mounted front housing stops. I started using one when I installed interrupter brake levers (mostly for better housing routing), and between the Kool Stops and the fork hanger, the brake chatter has vanished. Having read Lennard Zinn’s explanation I find it disappointing that bike companies still spec housing stops that sit above the head tube.

[vvill]

@peterw_diy 66615 wrote:

Having read Lennard Zinn’s explanation I find it disappointing that bike companies still spec housing stops that sit above the head tube.

Agreed. (Not that I have a bike with cantis! Just from reading so much stuff about them).

I also have the salmon pads on my beater/MTB rear wheel (v-brakes), and combined with a disc on the front it works great in the winter. I keep meaning to convert the rear to a disc too but this setup already works well.

[Author]

Posts