setup of cantilever brakes e/w link wire

Quoted message said:

I'm trying to set up a cantilever brake with link wire.

Shimano has a set of plastic guages for this purpose. Phil Brown

eno yad said:

I'm trying to set up a cantilever brake with link wire. What are the rules of thumb for setting
these up? Is there some optimum angle between the cables and the arms?

www.sheldonbrown.com has some good info on setting up canti brakes but...

Quoted message said:

Would I be better off adding a cable saddle and doing without the link wire system?

Yes, absolutely. It's the best thing you can do for braking.

Mark Hickey Habanero Cycles habcycles.comhabcycles.comOpen ↗ Home of the $695 ti frame

Mark Hickey <[email hidden]> wrote in :"]news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

eno yad said:

I'm trying to set up a cantilever brake with link wire. What are the rules of thumb for setting
these up? Is there some optimum angle between the cables and the arms?

www.sheldonbrown.com has some good info on setting up canti brakes but...

Quoted message said:

Would I be better off adding a cable saddle and doing without the link wire system?

Yes, absolutely. It's the best thing you can do for braking.

Mark Hickey Habanero Cycles habcycles.comhabcycles.comOpen ↗ Home of the $695 ti frame

Thanks all for your excellent replies.

Mark Hickey <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

eno yad said:

I'm trying to set up a cantilever brake with link wire. What are the rules of thumb for setting
these up? Is there some optimum angle between the cables and the arms?

www.sheldonbrown.com has some good info on setting up canti brakes but...

Quoted message said:

Would I be better off adding a cable saddle and doing without the link wire system?

Yes, absolutely. It's the best thing you can do for braking.

Mark, did you mean to say just the opposite? It seems to me that the link wire is an improvement
over the older system -- less slack to take up when braking.

eno yad said:

I'm trying to set up a cantilever brake with link wire. What are the rules of thumb for setting
these up? Is there some optimum angle between the cables and the arms?

Would I be better off adding a cable saddle and doing without the link wire system?

The advantage of a separate yoke/transverse cable is greater adjustability.

However, if you get the correct length link wire, this is a distinctly superior setup.

With the link wire, the cables all run straight even when at rest. With a yoke, the transverse cable
will generally have a bend at rest,and the first part of lever travel will be wasted taking up the
slack caused by this bend.

Also, should the main cable break, or the yoke anchor bolt fail with a separate transverse cable, it
is sometimes possible for the transverse cable to get caught on tire knobs, causing wheel lock up.
This has happened, and caused grisly accidents, though it may easily be prevented by using a fender
or a reflector bracket.

See also sheldonbrown.comcantilever adjustment.htmlOpen ↗

Sheldon "Cantilever Countervailers" Brown
+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| I think there is a world market for maybe five computers. | -- Thomas Watson, Chairman of IBM,
| 1943 |
+--------------------------------------------------------------+ Harris Cyclery, West Newton,
Massachusetts Phone 617-244-9772 FAX 617-244-1041 harriscyclery.comharriscyclery.comOpen ↗ Hard-to-find parts
shipped Worldwide captainbike.comcaptainbike.comOpen ↗ sheldonbrown.comsheldonbrown.comOpen ↗

Get a QBP/Salsa wide straddle, it'll make your braking dramatically more effective.

-pete

"eno yad" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I'm trying to set up a cantilever brake with link wire. What are the rules of thumb for setting
these up? Is there some optimum angle between the cables and the arms?

Would I be better off adding a cable saddle and doing without the link

wire

Quoted message said:

system?

mant thanks eno yad

(Gary Young) said:

Mark Hickey <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

eno yad said:

I'm trying to set up a cantilever brake with link wire. What are the rules of thumb for setting
these up? Is there some optimum angle between the cables and the arms?

www.sheldonbrown.com has some good info on setting up canti brakes but...

Quoted message said:

Would I be better off adding a cable saddle and doing without the link wire system?

Yes, absolutely. It's the best thing you can do for braking.

Mark, did you mean to say just the opposite? It seems to me that the link wire is an improvement
over the older system -- less slack to take up when braking.

I've found it to be difficult to set up a set of cantis with the links
- a straddle lets you get the canti arms extended more (so you can get more mechanical advantage).
The best solution by far was the solid straddles (by Odyssey IIRC) that gave you threaded
adjustments on both sides and NO slop - and they also eliminate any potential for a "straddle-wire
induced endo", like the link.

Mark Hickey Habanero Cycles habcycles.comhabcycles.comOpen ↗ Home of the $695 ti frame

Mark Hickey <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>... <snip>

Quoted message said:

I've found it to be difficult to set up a set of cantis with the links
- a straddle lets you get the canti arms extended more (so you can get more mechanical advantage).
The best solution by far was the solid straddles (by Odyssey IIRC) that gave you threaded
adjustments on both sides and NO slop - and they also eliminate any potential for a
"straddle-wire induced endo", like the link.

I don't think Odyssey makes those anymore, but they show up on ebay all the time:

cgi.ebay.comeBayISAPI.dllOpen ↗

Unfortunately, Odyssey's substitute for the cable-crimping bolt doesn't work well (at least from an
aesthetic point of view) with brakes like the Avid Shorties in which the bolt screws in horizontally
instead of vertically.