I've clearly been spoilt by having disc brakes because the cantis on my cross bike are gash. Much more about token gestures of slowing you down as opposed to any genuine attempt to stop you and bike. And the noise they make! I felt ashamed disturbing the tranquil forest life with what can only be described as banshee being interrogated at Guantanamo Bay.

That said they made trying out the little bermed downhill-ish run some trail fairies had built pretty interesting and I ended up caning down bits simply because even with levers squished fully there wasn't a hope those brakes were going to stop me. Bleeding brilliant fun.

I've got Tektro Short canti's with Sora Levers and set up properly they're spot on. Since changing from a shimano canti wire set up to a more old school straddle wire and yoke the improvement in performance has been ten fold…

I brought these to make them work properly…..

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170398625173&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT#ht_500wt_1141

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320390992128&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT#ht_1359wt_1124

Simples…. 😉

Mine were worryingly rubbish yesterday but I think the rims might have been contaminated – need to scrub them in degreaser and change the pads because normally they're spot on.
Ceramic rims and Avid Shorty 6 cantis with ceramic-specific pads.

Plus Swiss-stop brake pads are good to use as well…… IMO

I run Frogleggs on mine…

Set up spot on, they seem spot on..

Not quite the same as a decent set of Discs, but thats half the fun isn't it??

It doesn't matter if they're crap. It's not like you've got any grip to actually brake with is it? 🙂

if you've got standard cantis, drop the straddle cable as low as it'll go to see if that improves things (or as higher if using frogleg types)

"drop the straddle cable as low"

Will probably cause horrible mud clogging problems, as I found out today. 🙁

Agreed but it was only too see if it improved things rather than a perm solution. I'd bet that it's the same as most mtb to cx converts eg spoilt by discs and grippy tyres.

yeah i could try all those but ill probably batter on, im sure the crap and grit on the rims didnt help much

Not quite the same as a decent set of Discs, but thats half the fun isn't it??

exactly 😀

plus hopefully ill feel like a god when im on the mtb

Mine were terrible but my lbs has got them working enough for me to ride it on the road now. Before I was sailing through redlights trying to stop. So I think its just they take ages to set up correctly!

They are pants, no two ways about it. To think, we used to run the same brakes on mountain bikes. I've got mini Vs on mine and I wasn't happy with them so i tried frogleg style brakes and found that while I got plenty of clearance, they felt wooden and lacking power. i then tried a medium profile brake like the old Avid shorties. More powerful at the expense of some rim clearance. So, I trued the wheels up and went back to the mini Vs. The most poerful option of the three but naff all clearance. I'm now keeping my eyes peeled for an alloy frame/fork that will take disc, guards and a rack.

They should be very good. I admit they can take some setting up. I've never worked out why some peoples set ups are so pants. Me and a friend each built identical Giant TCXs but his wouldn't stop.
I spend ages working on how and where the pads make contact, to the point were careless braking will cause an endo or skid.
A workstand helps preferably with the tyres off so you can see what's doing what clearly.

horses for courses or steeds for style?

surely cyclocross is racing and brake considerations are low on the priority list?

have a cx "style" bike because means can ride on and off road and not in the sit up style of a hybrid but as with all such it is a compromise and all rim brakes are naff – some more than others – canti's are better than the normal roadie stuff
i'll be going for discs at some point but might stop calling it a a cx bike

My cheap Tektro Oryx cantis stop me fine. Took a bit of setting up but more than happy with them now. Have had mini vees (awful) and road BB7s (very good but heavy and ugly) on my CX bike in the past but will be sticking with cantis from now on. Would quite like a seat of these… http://lyxus.net/cxct but they're not exactly cheap!

I run a front mini- V and with some 'special modificatons' works very well, however, the Avid shorty 6 on the back has, in David Cameron-speak," a real and sincere commitment to stop" which means its full of crap!.

I've just got 2 and a half hours out of a set of pads, which meant today's race was a gentle pootle.

Got pretty much the same setup as teetosugars, but with the newer cartridge pads, no probs, you need to keep on top of them, keep them adjusted etc. but its easy. Work fine, if youvegot pannoiers etc you might want discs but for rider + bike I think they're fine.
Shimano mini v were shi7e in my opinion

why would a non racing cross bike not be a cross bike then??

annnnnnnyway, they are guff brakes but they're guff in a good way*

*plus i havent spent any time setting them up, so its prob more to do with that 😉

Anyone had brake judder issues with carbon forks and cantis? I have a CX bike with a Planet X carbon fork up front. I was using the cheap but cheerful Tektro Oryx cantis but found that the front end would bounce around all over the place whenever I put the front brake on (apparently quite a common problem). I am using a V-brake up front at the mo (mini v's won't clear the mudguards when I use the bike for commuting duties) but it's really ugly and would like to use cantis again. Anyone got any ideas?

Nothing to do with the fork being carbon as it can happen on
alu or steel ones too.

Best solution is to change the length of the exposed brake cable. Often a fork mounted hanger works.

Or just don't brake 😉

Could I be so bold to suggest BB7 road discs. They work fine in the mud. Not as good as hydro discs but certainly a load better than the best set up canti's in the wet and mud

Unless you're racing (and then IIRC it's only certain classes that aren't allowed to use them) then they're an effective option.

I'd use them willingly if I could find the right frame!

Nothing to do with the fork being carbon as it can happen on
alu or steel ones too.

As I understand it, it's caused by the fork flexing and pulling the brake cable tighter, which in turn pulls the brake pads harder against the rim. I would imagine an alu fork would have to be pretty flimsy to flex that much.

I got far more brake judder on my kinesis aluminium fork than I do on my carbon planet x fork.

Roter, I don't think so as all that would happen there is that you'd get more braking than expected rather than judder. The consensus which I agree with is that it's a resonance issue in the brake cable which is why a fork mounted hanger tends to cure it.

surely cyclocross is racing and brake considerations are low on the priority list?

We have a winner! 😉

For the same reason, Peaty used to use Hope Mini's: They're just there to take the edge off your speed. Not stop you.

I had to put WORSE pads in my front Frogglegs cos they were too fierce.

cyclocross racing is racing, everything else is a road bike with knobblies

Teetosugars – Member
I run Frogleggs on mine…

Where did you get red Frogglegs? I'm looking for a red set or a blue set.

Cyclocross bikes are for racing, and well set up cantis work fine – end of.
They exist because cross racing pre dates the mountain bike.

If you want to ride offroad use your dammed mountain bike – it's much better and more fun. 🙂

epicyclo

Paul Milnes in Bradford Fella…

Give him a ring- their web page is sh1te..

I use a disk brake on the front of all my cross bikes. But if you're following UCI rules, get mini-v's and run them close to the rim. Hugely better than canti's but you have to keep your wheels true.

I think the canti thing with cross bikes is one of the biggest jokes going in the cycling world. They're terrible, even when set up by an expert and even if the best canti setting up person on the planet sets your brakes up, after ten minutes in the mud they'll need sorting again.

I dunno, I suspect a lot of cross riders don't ride their cross bike offroad for a long time and train mostly either on the road or on a mountain bike and then live with the crap brakes for the hour race. When I ride my cross bikes it's for 3 hour upwards and when you're on your 3rd steep downhill on the drops, you'll realise that a front disk brake makes a massive amount of difference. Not through power but because a light slip of the fingers will give you some brakes instead of haulng away on the lever getting nowhere and ruining your 7th rim of the year.

Teetosugars – Member
epicyclo
Paul Milnes in Bradford Fella…

Thanks 🙂

samuri – Member
…but because a light slip of the fingers will give you some brakes instead of haulng away on the lever getting nowhere and ruining your 7th rim of the year.

You're obviously not using stainless steel rims – what we used to use years ago for "rough riding" – very hard to wear out and sterling anti-lock properties too 🙂 (Still got a set in the attic)

But yeah, disks are much better.

If you want to ride offroad use your dammed mountain bike – it's much better and more fun.

riding non tech (and even tech) trails off road is arguably more fun on a cross bike sometimes 😉

this stiffy everyone has for cross bikes being solely for racing is fun, we should extend this theory further-no flash full suss mtb xc jobs except for racing

did i mention my non hybrid non cross bike non mtb bike is a single speed?

I have used the following: Avid Shorty 6 (old style), Avid Shorty 6 (new style), Tektro Mini V's, and Avid BB7, and I am still not happy with the braking on my CX bike.
The only effective brakes I have tried are the Avid V's on my Single Speed CX bike, which meant I could run V-brake drop levers.
I have a set of Travel Agents, which I am going to try with some Vs and Campag STIs, has anyone had any experience with them?

I have a set of travel agents but have never actually used them because having got them, on of my mates recounted his experiences and they sounded awful – apparently great when new but once gritty, the bearing seizes and your brakes work even worse than cantis…

I may give them a try one day but I can't say that I'm that desperate to at the mo.

planet x carbon forks here with froggleggs(sp?)
when first set up got really bad vibration on front end (oh how my "mate" laughed when i wacked them on hard on in 1in4 hairpin and nearly damaged my underwear)
solution for me was work really hard at getting the pad to rim distances equal by adjusting the straddle cable lengths

The brakes on my first cross bike were terrible and I never managed to get them to work quiet right. They worked ok for racing but having strong brakes improves your confidence no end and you end up going faster and using them less. My current bike brakes really well and I can stop quickly with no juddder or hang cramp. I spend a lot of time adjusting the setup, which seems like a black art and the rims must be clean – I spray lots of WD40 around so much after cleaning it, so am extra careful with not getting it on the rims.
I enjoy riding my cross bike outside of races. It's great for commuting along the canal and getting in some distance using fireroads etc where the mountain bike would be a drag. But I don't really think of this as cross, cross for me is racing. Just as I don't think of riding the mountain bike on fireroads as mountain biking…

Tektro CR 520s are your answer. I've struggled for years with getting decent brakes for my Ritchey Swiss Cross. They are super wide in an old style Deore XT way and they have transformed the bike. They are cheap (under £40 to fit out your bike) and genuinely work better than all the Shimano, Avid, Dia Compe and Empella brakes I have tried in the past. No brake squeal, no brake judder, just considerably more power (particularly noticeable in the wet)and significantly more clearance than any other brake I've used. The Frogleggs were ok but I don't like the lack of adjustment to toe in the pads. The other brakes are all lower profile which simply don't work as well with drop levers.

I use the crosser regularly on mountain bike rides and finally feel that I have brakes that will stop me. I had considered getting a disc specific crosser frame but given how good the Tektros have been, I'm not going to bother any more. 😀

Hope this helps?

Cheers

Sanny

I could set my tekros up just fine and super powerful too, only the pads wear so much so quickly it necessites constant faffing to keep them working properly, then the rims wear out super quick too, and a tiny knock to the rim throws the rim out of true enough for it to be a PITA. So I'm switching to disks.

I disagree, i dont have any intension to race my cross bike and bought it 2nd hand for commuting and none technical trails and I do ride both types of trail.

I had cantis = crap.
I had froggleggs = better but still not great.
I replaced them with a mechanical disk by avid up front and Vees on the back with a travel agent to allow full size Vees = good.