Question about my brakes

Hi all,
I'll try to make this short. The new bike, Quinn, is great but I wanted to know if I'm supposed to be able to stop faster. The guy at my LBS said it's normal for cantilever (sp?) brakes to be less "grabby" and thus making it more difficult to stop. I have to pull all the way back on the brakes to make the bike stop and even then I don't really stop...I just slow down a little and hop off. Can they be made to be more efficient? Are they supposed to? Am I just used to Cappy (mtb) whose brakes stop me practically on a dime?
thanks,
Gray

hmmm sounds like they need some adjusting.... If I'm understanding Sheldon properly, cantis should give you more braking power, but may feel a bit more sloppy. They should however allow you to stop - so if you are pulling the lever all of the way in and still not being able to stop the bike properly, that is a problem that needs to be fixed.

Sheldon on cantis http://sheldonbrown.com/cantilever-geometry.html

Hmm, no, that's not normal.

Sound to me like they're way too loose. Mine are about 2 mm from the rim and they stop me indeed. Maybe your brake pads need to be replaced (or at the very least sanded), too.

Okay, thanks. I understand, kind of, why they feel so different but I kind thought they should still make me stop. Thanks!
Gray

When you squeeze the levers, are the shifters hitting the bar? If so, they're not adjusted correctly.

One thing to keep in mind - if I remember correctly, Cannondale uses STI shifters and cantis on that bike. The little gizmo that allows that to happen can reduce the braking performance (the rollamajig).

CA

Quote:

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Originally Posted by CA_in_NC

When you squeeze the levers, are the shifters hitting the bar? If so, they're not adjusted correctly.

One thing to keep in mind - if I remember correctly, Cannondale uses STI shifters and cantis on that bike. The little gizmo that allows that to happen can reduce the braking performance (the rollamajig).

CA

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STI levers should work OK with cantis - its V-brakes (they are known also as "direct pull cantis", but are generally not what people mean when they say cantis) that need a travel agent to work with STI levers

Quote:

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Originally Posted by GraysonKelly

Hi all,
I'll try to make this short. The new bike, Quinn, is great...

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I apologize as my post is completely unrelated to brakes, but I can't resist sharing that I have a Quinn too (but she's not a bike ;) )...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by RolliePollie

I apologize as my post is completely unrelated to brakes, but I can't resist sharing that I have a Quinn too (but she's not a bike ;) )...

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:D Not a problem! She's a cutie!

aaw, what a cutie indeed!

Brakes: the lever should def not be hitting the bars when you squeeze it max. If it's anywhere near the bars the brake wire should be shortened. It'll stretch with use anyway plus the brake pads will wear down so you want it quite short on new brakes.

If you can squeeze the levers max and they don't hit anything, then the lack of stopping power is somewhere else. If you've been riding in grimy weather or using your brakes a lot the wheel rims can get a bit slick. You'll see a thin layer of black gunk. Scrub them well to remove brake pad residue and sand your brake pads a little to get them "fresh". Some brake pads are better "stoppers" than others, btw, maybe the cheapest way of improving your bike!

If you still have sloppy brakes it's probably the brake type itself and not much you can do. (The brake wire could be sticking in a bad cable housing, but that's more of a rust/rain/winter/longterm problem and not very likely on a new bike. To fix that you spritz a little thin oil in the cable housing and pull the wire back and forth.)