Cantilever brake set-up question:

What is the best way to set-up Cantilever brakes between a straddle cable
and carrier,
or to use the Z-Link wire? Does one have the advantage/disadvantage over
the other?

This is for a road bike:
I have the Dia Compe 986 brakes and will be using them with Dia Compe SS7
levers
on a Rivendell curved "Dove" bar. (just a city bike)
I may in the future go with a drop bar and Shimano road aero (non-STI)
levers.
-tom

On Tue, 16 Sep 2003 12:48:11 -0700, "Tom Nakashima"
wrote:

What is the best way to set-up Cantilever brakes between a straddle cable
and carrier,
or to use the Z-Link wire? Does one have the advantage/disadvantage over
the other?

This is for a road bike:
I have the Dia Compe 986 brakes and will be using them with Dia Compe SS7
levers
on a Rivendell curved "Dove" bar. (just a city bike)
I may in the future go with a drop bar and Shimano road aero (non-STI)
levers.

This has been posted a few times.

http://www.bontrager.com/keith/rants...ge=3&ck=0&fl=1

I've got an old 'racer' that I've brazed some canti bosses on to. I've
tried the method he describes here. Works well. I'm really pleased
with them.

GarryB

-tom

On Tue, 16 Sep 2003 12:48:11 -0700, "Tom Nakashima"
wrote:

What is the best way to set-up Cantilever brakes between a straddle cable
and carrier,
or to use the Z-Link wire? Does one have the advantage/disadvantage over
the other?

This is for a road bike:
I have the Dia Compe 986 brakes and will be using them with Dia Compe SS7
levers
on a Rivendell curved "Dove" bar. (just a city bike)
I may in the future go with a drop bar and Shimano road aero (non-STI)
levers.

This has been posted a few times.

http://www.bontrager.com/keith/rants...ge=3&ck=0&fl=1

I've got an old 'racer' that I've brazed some canti bosses on to. I've
tried the method he describes here. Works well. I'm really pleased
with them.

GarryB

-tom

Tom Nakashima wrote:

What is the best way to set-up Cantilever brakes between a straddle cable
and carrier,
or to use the Z-Link wire? Does one have the advantage/disadvantage over
the other?

The link wire system can slighly increase available travel, becaue there
are no open bends in the cable when the brake is in the "rest" positoin.
With systems that use a yoke and separate transverse cable, the
transverse cable usually sits with a curve on either side of the yoke.
When you apply the brake, some of the available lever travel is consumed
in straightening out this curve. A properly installed link wire system
doesn't have this problem.

The main reason for the development of the link wire system, however was
to avoid wheel lockup in the event the main cable should break. There
were a rash of such accidents in the 1980s, where the main cable would
let go, then the transverse cable would snag on the knobs of MTB tires,
causing lockup of the brake and ensuing accidents (and lawsuits.) The
link wire (and, later the "v brake") were developed primarily in
response to this problem.

The only disadvantage of the link wire system is that you don't have the
fine adjustability of length of the "virtual" transverse cable, though
link wires are available in a decent range of sizes.

This is for a road bike:
I have the Dia Compe 986 brakes and will be using them with Dia Compe SS7
levers
on a Rivendell curved "Dove" bar. (just a city bike)
I may in the future go with a drop bar and Shimano road aero (non-STI)
levers.

You might find my Cantilever articles useful.

For practical advice, see:

http://sheldonbrown.com/cantilever-adjustment.html

For the theoretical background, see:

http://sheldonbrown.com/cantilever-geometry.html

Sheldon "Cant Stop" Brown
+---------------------------------------------------------+
| "Contrariwise," continued Tweedledee, "if it was so, |
| it might be, and if it were so, it would be; |
| but as it isn't, it ain't. That's logic!" |
| --Lewis Carroll, "Through the Looking Glass" |
+---------------------------------------------------------+
Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts
Phone 617-244-9772 FAX 617-244-1041
http://harriscyclery.com
Hard-to-find parts shipped Worldwide
http://captainbike.com http://sheldonbrown.com

Tom Nakashima wrote:

What is the best way to set-up Cantilever brakes between a straddle cable
and carrier,
or to use the Z-Link wire? Does one have the advantage/disadvantage over
the other?

The link wire system can slighly increase available travel, becaue there
are no open bends in the cable when the brake is in the "rest" positoin.
With systems that use a yoke and separate transverse cable, the
transverse cable usually sits with a curve on either side of the yoke.
When you apply the brake, some of the available lever travel is consumed
in straightening out this curve. A properly installed link wire system
doesn't have this problem.

The main reason for the development of the link wire system, however was
to avoid wheel lockup in the event the main cable should break. There
were a rash of such accidents in the 1980s, where the main cable would
let go, then the transverse cable would snag on the knobs of MTB tires,
causing lockup of the brake and ensuing accidents (and lawsuits.) The
link wire (and, later the "v brake") were developed primarily in
response to this problem.

The only disadvantage of the link wire system is that you don't have the
fine adjustability of length of the "virtual" transverse cable, though
link wires are available in a decent range of sizes.

This is for a road bike:
I have the Dia Compe 986 brakes and will be using them with Dia Compe SS7
levers
on a Rivendell curved "Dove" bar. (just a city bike)
I may in the future go with a drop bar and Shimano road aero (non-STI)
levers.

You might find my Cantilever articles useful.

For practical advice, see:

http://sheldonbrown.com/cantilever-adjustment.html

For the theoretical background, see:

http://sheldonbrown.com/cantilever-geometry.html

Sheldon "Cant Stop" Brown
+---------------------------------------------------------+
| "Contrariwise," continued Tweedledee, "if it was so, |
| it might be, and if it were so, it would be; |
| but as it isn't, it ain't. That's logic!" |
| --Lewis Carroll, "Through the Looking Glass" |
+---------------------------------------------------------+
Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts
Phone 617-244-9772 FAX 617-244-1041
http://harriscyclery.com
Hard-to-find parts shipped Worldwide
http://captainbike.com http://sheldonbrown.com