OK – all you crossers out there…after being absolutely petrified on some of the descents on the 3 Peaks and not slowing down at all, any recommendations for the best type of cantilever brake make / compound ?

Do some brakes take road brake shoes ?

I’ve got froglegs currently (nothing to do with the way I walk btw)

Avid Shorty 6’s. I descended as well as possible in the 3peaks, braking was good, reliable and easily powerful enough. I did see a lot of folk trying to brake from the hoods, or using bar top levers, neither of which is the best position for confident braking; get on the drops..

I think they come with their own pads (avid shorty 6) are these road pads or canti?

I’ve Avid Ultimates on my CX..

Spotty Dog IMHO.

They’ll stop me and my 18 stone quite easily…

Sadly not got an “ultimate” budget!
Look nice though

disc? 🙂

I use v-brakes with travel agents – they work brilliantly. I’d never go back to cantis.

I use BBB holders with either their own CrossStop pads or green SwissTop pads for racing and normal BBB pads for training.

The normal BBB’s are way softer but are also cheaper.

These work well with either TRP Euro’s or my Spooky canti’s.

Lots of people are using the Avids and really liking them.

Disc= New frame n fork= no go
Travel agent?

I was kidding on the disc.

Travel agents allow you to use mtb v-brakes with road brake levers:

http://www.cyclesurgery.com/pws/UniqueProductKey.ice?ProductID=K190AXX

So, a set of those with some second hand v-brakes and you’ll have brakes that are as powerful as you could need.

I used Mini Vs for the Peaks this year and they worked really well even with all the mud and wet weather. I am also crap at descending and they helped me out. The Tektro mini vs work really well and have lots of cable pull. For £12 each you can’t grumble at that.

The pads were BBB I think. I have run a few pads now in Mini Vs and they all work properly as I have more stopping power. I don’t even think I would ever need disc brakes on the cross bike with the Mini Vs as it would be too much power. The only thing I can think of is that discs would save nice rims from being worn out!

Not looked at mini v’s

Do I need a travel agent to use em with sti levers?

Do I need a travel agent to use em with sti levers?

Nope, they work fine just as they are (Kaffenback with Shimano 105 STI’s and Tektro Mini-V’s here).

So £26 for a pair of really good brakes? Sounds too good. Anyone else got thoughts on em?

Funnily enough I just bought a travel agent on ebay this morning for £14.99 with free delivery. I have a spare set of v-brakes and I’m going to stick them on the front of my cx commuter.

I also have a set of mini v’s that I bought for a bmx and never used – might try them on the back if they work without a travel agent.

Would be good to hear how u get on Gary_M
Repost at some point

Will do. I’ve got the cables, brakes and bar tape so if the travel agent arrives for the weekend I’ll fit them then. So hope to update on Monday.

I’ve just gone for a set of these…

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/shimano/br-cx70-cantilever-brake-rear-ec029468?utm_source=froogle&utm_medium=froogle&utm_campaign=froogle

Shimano CX70 Brakes – new to market

I’ve had my eye on these for a while and yes it’s a punt as there’s no reviews and Evans is the first place I’ve found them in stock, but they look good.

Fingers crossed I may be able to stop !

Rose bikes have the Shimano CX70 brakes for £73.89 for two pairs delivered.

Now you tell me !

Fitted everything yesterday and rode the bike this morning. Front xt v brakes work very well with the travel agent and stopping power is much improved. Travel agent was a bit of a faff to get right but got there in the end.

The mini v brakes I’ve fitted on the back work okay but need a bit of fettling to get right as the lever is pulling to close to the bars. Will try ading some washers to the pad mont so the arms stick out further.

If this doesn’t work any better then I’ll fit proper v brakes and another travel agent.

Good stuff Gary. Glad to hear you’re seeing an improved position already !
I came down some (mildly) steep tarmac last Thursday night and it was dire.

Anyway – fitted my CX70’s now as you can see here. Again – an improvement so far and I think they will be a LOT better once bedded in.

Thanks for the input !

i think with canti brakes its all about the setup, im running trp cr950 which i picked up cheap on ebay and they work real well, can lock the rear up. had a go on a few other cx and some had shocking brakes..
trp cx8.4 brakes look interesting if you got the money