Hi, can anyone tell me the difference please – is it to do with the type of levers used – i.e. road suits STI type brake levers?

Many thanks

yes, vbrake levers need more cable pull than road levers

Yes.Different amounts of cable pull.

Thanks for the lightning replies. On-one have MTB versions cheap at present and thought I might get away with them for STI levers on a CX bike. Looks like I’ll be spending quite a bit more on the road versions 🙁

You could muck about with / use (delete as appropriate) a ‘Travel Adaptor’. That’ll increase the pull from the STI lever.

… Tho’ by the time you’ve bought them as well as the brakes, the road BB7 might work out little, or no more expensive (and it’ll be (subjectively) neater).

I heard the length of pull on road and MTB version of the BB7’s were identical..

almost 100% sure that’s not true.

slimjim78 – Member

I heard the length of pull on road and MTB version of the BB7’s were identical.

I am certain thats not true having tried some BB5s mtb ones – they didn’t work with canti levers ( same pull as road brakes) but did with v brake levers (more cable pulled)

I have some road disc brakes for sale over on the classifieds.

They are made to work with STI levers

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/fs-lyra-cable-disc-brakes-hope-qr-adapters-pics

If you look at both callipers you’ll see that the piston lever is in different positions to provide for the different length cable pull.

Yes, I just looked on the SRAM website Avid section, and there is a clear difference in the length of the pull on the lever arm at the caliper – road is much shorter than MTB. Please have a look here, side by side

Avid BB7 MTB vs Road

Cheers

almost 100% sure

So about 99% sure? Or 95% sure?

Howdy! got your email earlier, read it on the phone but didn’t have half an hour to slog through a reply with the abc def keypad! Just got home and replied.

You’re completely right, MTB needs more cable pull. If you go for MTB pull and want drop bars, you need V-pull road levers, like the Tektro RL520 and bar end shifters.

If you got the MTB calipers and used your STI levers with them, they’d feel spongey and weak. Possibly dangerously so, I don’t know.

So if you’ve got the STI levers already, you’re actually SAVING money by spending a bit more on the road calipers, because you’d need to buy new shifters and levers if you went for the MTB ones.

Is that any better?

aracer, >99%. The only difference between that and 100% was a modicum of politeness stopping me from caps locking bullshit on the previous poster!

And before anyone asks: yes, “To caps lock” is now a verb.