Any type of brake lever on Caliper/Cantilever ?

[mingueyox]

Hello All,

My fisrt question is regarding the type of my brakes.
I posted a picture. Is it Caliper or Cantilever? Looks a bit like a mix.

Second question is regarding the brake lever needed for that type of brakes.
I have to replace the levers and I've got a bunch of old levers that could eventually do the job. (Those ones are located in my father house and I can't play with them right now).

I know for sure that I have BMX and City and Mountain Bike brake levers.

My bicycle bar is a drop bar with a 25mm diameter.
Does that type of levers would work on my brakes?

Thanks for your help.

[cyclerUK]

My first question is regarding the type of my brakes.
I posted a picture. Is it Caliper or Cantilever? Looks a bit like a mix.

= Neither, they are known as centre pull brakes.
Like these:-
http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/product.asp?pf_id=18240&src=froogle

Second question is regarding the brake lever needed for that type of brakes.
= Will work with drop bar brake levers.

These brakes where replaced with the modern side pull caliper dual pivot types.
I have never used a bike with them on but people report that they were not so good?
If you have already used them then you will know how good they are.

[mingueyox]

Hey

Thanks cyclerUK for the brake type name =

They are painful to adjust. And it is also annoying when you want to remove the wheel. (The best way I found is to flatten the tire... grrrr...)

Except for that they are old and more or less working ...


Will they work with that kind of levers?
CANE CREEK CROSSTOP
http://www.canecreek.com/component-other?product=road-crosstop

Ox

[cyclerUK]

(02-11-2010, 03:56 PM)mingueyox Wrote:  Will they work with that kind of levers?
CANE CREEK CROSSTOP
http://www.canecreek.com/component-other?product=road-crosstop

Ox

In theory yes!
In practice ???
Those are designed to work with "cross" bikes and should have enough pull to operate "cantilever" brakes. Cantilevers generally require a fair amount of cable pull so there should be enough to operate your "centre-pull".
They are also designed to work with levers that have the cable underneath the "bartape."
The only drawback I know of, is if you want to use a "barbag" ??
(I would do a smiley moticon here but don't know how to!.)

See:-
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/harris/brake-levers-drop.html
near the bottom of the page.

If you do get some then make sure they are the right diameter for your bars. There are different sizes!

If you can get your drop bar levers then I would test those out first to make sure they match the centre pulls.

[DaveM]

To get picky, I think these are technically "center pull <i>calipers</i>". A caliper brake is one where the whole mechanism is a single unit and has a mounting bolt that holds the assembly to the bike. Cantilever brakes use the mounting posts that are attached to the bike as pivots. Side pull and center pull are both caliper brakes. But I don't want to start any wars on terminology.

These brakes should work OK with anything except levers designed for V-brakes. And I believe any brake lever made for drop bars should be fine. I think the diameter of bars is pretty standard where the lever clamps on regardless of the stem clamp diameter.

[Joe_W]

Actually you find those (Mafac-type centre pulls) on older bikes (especially French). The handlebar diameter is much smaller than on modern bikes, so you might run into problems when getting new brake levers.

I have them on my old road bike, the brake performance is... well... not that great if it is moist. Yes, I run them with modern pads (BBB cyclo cross) on modern rims.

[cyclerUK]

The Cane Creek crosstop levers come in two sizes.

[mingueyox]

Indeed when it is wet, they don't brake much...
I live in Belgium and it is often the case


Yeps they come in two sizes:
Clamp diameter: 26,0mm
Clamp diameter: 31,8mm

The bullhorn bar I intend to buy is 25,4mm, so I will go for the 26,0mm Cane Creek.

cyclerUK, I didn't really catch what I have to see on the page.

(02-11-2010, 05:33 PM)cyclerUK Wrote:  See:-
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/harris/brake-levers-drop.html
near the bottom of the page.

The handle bar with both crosstop and drop levers? How are they actually connected to the same brake?


Thanks all of you!

[Joe_W]

Yeah, that's why cyclo cross is so widespread in Belgium ;-)

I only have something like that by Tektro here... Hope it's the same (judging from the pics it should be): The cross stop connect to the housing. They sit between the "normal" brake levers and the brake. When pulled, they push the housing instead of pulling the cable which basically has the same effect.

[mingueyox]

Okidok I had also a look on the cane creek crosstop brake lever instruction PDF to have a small figure.

One last question. What type of cable head to I have to buy to use it with those crosstop? Same has the road levers?

[Joe_W]

Hm. I'd say that they are intended to be used together with other brake levers, so the cable head type depends on the other levers.

However, it seems that you can use them also solo, http://www.singlespeedshop.de suggest the "ball" type head.

[cyclerUK]

(02-12-2010, 07:09 AM)mingueyox Wrote:  Okidok I had also a look on the cane creek crosstop brake lever instruction PDF to have a small figure.

One last question. What type of cable head to I have to buy to use it with those crosstop? Same has the road levers?

Look here for fitting info'.
http://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=146

When you operate the "cross" lever it pushes the outer housing effectively causing the brakes to operate.

[mingueyox]

I'm learning a lot here. I really appreciate your help!

Thanks.
Ox