The market offers a wide array of bikes brakes, including the disc brakes that are all the rage today. However, my focus is on the good old Cantilever bike brakes, which are less popular today but are Cantilever brakes any good?
Cantilever brakes are good because they are durable, and the pads are easy and convenient to replace. These dual-pivot brakes are ideal for fender or semi-fat or fat knobby tires since the distance between the mounts and the brake pads is wide, providing sufficient clearance for wider tires.
They also excel where some brakes struggle, like muddy and wet conditions. Moreover, riders who prefer the lightest brakes would appreciate cantilever brakes because they weigh less than the likes of disc brakes and other types.
Are Cantilever Brakes Any Good? (An In-depth Look)
The braking system of your bicycle is of utmost importance, whether you are a professional or casual cyclist. Depending on your brake’s quality, you will either have an easier time stopping or slowing doesn’t your bicycle.
Therefore, you need brakes with impeccable stopping power and compatible with your bike and road condition for safe and enjoyable cycling.
You must look at both the strengths and weaknesses of particular brakes during your selection.
What Are The Advantages Of Cantilever Brakes?
1. Better Clearance
Cantilever brakes provide better clearance because of the broad distance between the mounts and brake pads. These brakes are also less susceptible to dirt accumulation, and that’s why they were the standard brakes for cyclo-cross bicycles before the introduction of disc brakes.
The extra clearance they offer facilitates the installation of wider tires. Moreover, it provides space for fenders and easier and wheel removal or fitting.
2. Extra Adjustments
These brakes let you play around with their mechanical advantage by adjusting the cable/wire of the straddle. A feature that some riders and mechanics appreciate.
3. Lowered Rim Tear
Unlike other rim brakes, the brake pads in cantilever brakes don’t need to come into very close contact with the rims because of the low mechanical advantage. This gives these brakes more tolerance to rim imperfections.
It also minimizes the risk of brake rubbing.
4. Highly Capable In Wet Or Muddy Conditions
Cantilever brakes provide the best braking power in muddy, wet, and sloppy conditions, allowing you to ride confidently. It is also rare for these brakes to accumulate debris and mud, and wetness doesn’t affect their efficiency.
They also work well in dry conditions, although V-brakes excel in these conditions.
5. They Have Long Lever Arms
Their long lever arms allow you to put maximum braking pressure without straining. In addition, they make the brakes more robust.
6. They Are Light
Regarding weight, cantilever brakes are lighter than other brake types like v-brakes. Due to this, they don’t add much weight to your bike.
What Are The Disadvantages Of Cantilever Brakes?
1. The Modern Versions Are Costly
The newest versions of these brakes perform excellently and solve the older versions’ common problems. However, people on a budget may not afford them.
2. Hard To Adjust
People who relish the opportunity to mess with their bicycles will likely appreciate the additional adjustability offered by cantilever brakes. However, most people may not be quite enthusiastic about that idea.
Therefore, it can be frustrating for people with minimal experience to adjust them, particularly the older versions. Most people don’t realize these brakes’ full potential because of their many variables.
3. Fork Shuddering
Cantilever brakes tend to cause intolerable fork vibrations when stopping when the headset is below the cable hanger.
Which Is Better Cantilever Or V-Brakes?
V-brakes and cantilever brakes are the most popular types of rim brakes. Therefore, to comprehensively answer the question, are cantilever brakes any good? It’s only fair that we compare them.
1. Pad Replacing
It’s pretty straightforward to replace the pads on both brake types. Cantilever brakes employ cartridge-style to facilitate brake replacement.
This is important because you’ll have to replace the brake pads at some point. After all, they are subjected to intense friction, leading to wear and tear.
2. Compatibility
Cantilever brakes are great for old street calipers, U-brakes, road mechanical disc, to mention a few. On the other hand, V-brakes work well with mountain bikes.
3. Outlook
V-brakes feature a conventional look, and cantilever brakes resemble them but with an updated look.
4. Performance
Bike brakes usually perform depending on the bike compatibility and road conditions. Based on that, you will get top performance from cantilever brakes in wet, muddy conditions, while V-brakes excel in dry conditions.
5. Smoothness
Cantilever brakes are smoother than V-brakes because they utilize the center-pull mechanism.
6. Price
The best V-brakes are more affordable, but cantilever brakes are still affordable.
7. Weight
While both are light, cantilever brakes weigh less than V-brakes, with each set weighing 0.3 pounds compared to V-brakes’ 0.6 pounds.
Are Cantilever Brakes Better Than V-Brakes?
From this assessment, both brakes are capable. However, in a choice between them, consider their compatibility with your bicycle, your cycling route’s condition, and your weight.
If you decide to go with cantilever brakes, you won’t go wrong with Avid Shorty Ultimate Front Cantilever Brake (View on Amazon). They are aluminum-made, super reliable, easy to use, adjust, and install, and provide remarkable stopping power.
How Can I Make My Cantilever Brakes Work Better?
Many people fail to reap all the benefits of cantilever brakes because these bike brakes have several variables. This makes it hard for individuals with limited bike knowledge to fine-tune them.
To adjust your them, do the following:
1. Adjust The Levers
This is the first thing you need to do in order to adjust these brakes. Begin by loosening the clamp, aligning the levers to match your arms’ angle when riding, then tightening the clamp.
If you find reaching the levers challenging because you have small hands, tighten the reach adjustment screw found inside most levers to set your levers closer.
2. Examine The Wheel Center
The position of your bike wheels affects the brake pads positioning, so make sure they are aligned to the frame center.
Moreover, tighten the axle, especially on the dropouts, and inspect the dish to confirm that the wheel is positioned in the bicycle frame’s center.
3. Fit In The Brake Pads
Here’s what to do to install the brake pads.
- Loosen the brake arm’s tightening bolt, then tighten the barrel adjuster of the lever completely.
- Loosen and remove the brake pads from the mounting posts. Once they are off, inspect the surfaces for wear and tear. If metal is poking through the surface of the pads, you’ll have to replace them. Resurface them with sandpaper if they are still in good shape.
- Reinstall and align the brake pads, ensuring the pad sits face flat against the bike rims.
- Move around the brake cable until the brake arms are parallel, both down and up, then tighten them.
- Tighten the pad to a snug fit, making sure it’s not too tight to give them room to move around.
- Inspect from the side to ensure the pad is perfectly aligned with the braking surface of the rim and not hanging off the rim’s bottom or touching the bicycle’s tire. If you can’t avoid any of these scenarios, your pads may be too large for the rim, so you’ll require narrower pads.
4. Adjust The Tension Of The Cable
Pull the cable in and out of the pinch bolt and tighten it. Adjust until the brakes are to your preferred tension.
5. Centering
Center your adjustments by tightening a screw situated on the left brake arm clockwise in order to pull the brake pad away from the rim. Do the same in an anti-clockwise direction to bring the right brake pad close to the rim.
The pad’s front should touch the rim before the rear when you pull the brakes to prevent squealing. It’s not easy to achieve this, so you’ll likely have to re-tighten the brake pads multiple to achieve the correct setting.
Can I Replace Cantilever Brakes With V-Brakes?
It’s possible to replace your bike’s braking system from cantilever brakes to V-brakes. However, you’ll have to purchase a complete V-brake set and get your hands to work, provided you have the know-how or hire a professional.
It won’t be possible to use the final cable stops or cable hangers during the conversion because they are made for a cantilever brake. However, you can use the cantilever brake cable routing and bypass the final cable stop/hanger if your frame allows.
Alternatively, run a long housing starting at the brake lever all the way to the brake, then use a zip-tie to attach it to the bike frame. While this method works since the housing safeguards the cable, it isn’t aesthetically appealing.
Another option is to purchase clamp-on cable stoppers then put them on the frame’s top tube as required to develop the essential cable infrastructure.
FAQs
1. What Is A Cantilever Bike Brake?
A cantilever brake is a dual-pivot rim brake, invented in 1936 by Nicola Barra. Each brake arm on the cantilever brake has the cable attachment and the brake shoe both on one side of the support/pivot.
2. Are Cantilever And V-Brakes The Same?
Cantilever brakes and V-brakes are both rim brakes but aren’t the same, with the main difference between them being the individual system’s mechanical advantage.
The V-brakes’ mechanical advantage is fixed and high. On the other hand, a cantilever brake’s leverage can be decreased or increased by adjusting the transverse cable’s length and the pull angle.
3. Are Cantilever Brakes Effective?
Cantilever brakes are reliable, powerful, and provide outstanding performance under wet and muddy conditions. They are an excellent choice for bikes with wider tires because they provide extra clearance.
4. Are Caliper Brakes Better Than Cantilever?
Caliper brakes provide less stopping power than cantilever brakes, particularly on bikes with wider tires such as mountain bikes, cruisers, and BMX bikes. Caliper brakes are better suited for bicycles with narrow tires like road bikes.
In Conclusion, Are Cantilever Brakes Any Good?
Bottom line, cantilever brakes are reliable, efficient, durable, and affordable bike brakes that will give you excellent service if well adjusted. You’ll find them mostly in older MTBs and light touring bicycles.
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