Rescued my childhood mountain bike from the folks garage - a '92 Dawes Rocky Trail - with the aim of resurrecting it as a commuter. It still rides nicely but try stopping it...... the lack of brake power is scary.
So, is it possible to fit V brakes on the canti bosses? I'm looking at fitting a Deore set (inc. new levers)
Cheers
John
Why not just try some new brake blocks as the old ones are probably past their best.
I agree with AP, but yes, v-brakes will fit on canti bosses.
I wouldn't stick with teh cantis myself, in fact, I didn't... You can buy a reasonable quality set of Vs inc levers for pennies, £33 buys you a complete set of Acera frinstance, so lashing out for a complete set of pads for cantis doesn't really make a lot of economic sense. But then I hate cantis with a venom which is quite disproportionate so I would say that 
What's wrong with cantis? Always worked for me.
with regards to above post: they are a bit poor in the wet IIRC.
There's enough hazards on the roads already, I'd get the best anchors possible without doubling the value of the old girl.
Stick a pair of Magura HS33 stoppers to your commuter bike, they seem to be a fit and forget brake with the advantages of being hydraulic. Perfect for commuting.
I would say HS33 are probably a bit overkill for communting. If you look in classifieds you can usually pick up a set of V's for much cheapness.
Absolutely correct. Get a set of Deore Vs. Easy to fit, easy to maintain, spare brake blocks available everywhere on the planet, no brainer.
(I would only use HS33s if there was no other alternative. Horrible.)
Plus HS33 tend to eat rims rather more quickly than than Rick Waller at an all you can eat buffet!
Yes, it will work and I've done it on a 1989/90 Cannondale. But if the bike has thin steel seatstays it is worth getting a brake booster too as they will bend.
I recommend buying second hand as lots of people have upgraded to disk.
exactly what I did with my old (92) spesh hardrock, it's now my singlepseed commuter. I got a set of deore V's from merlin a while back for cheapness.
Yes v brakes would be a great idea
In case you didn't know you need new brake levers as well/ They look the same but pull a different amount of cable
In my experience canti brakes can equal v-brakes but set up is harder in terms of straddle wire length, ideally this needs re adjusting as the pads wear
My first v-brake up grade cost 70 quid and I was happy with the money spent. You'll spend a fraction of that
John
Stick an ad on classifieds. I've picked up a few sets of Deore V's for about the £20 - £25 mark for the nephews various bikes. They'll be in a different league to bloody canti's. Nostalgia has its place but some things are best left dead...like cantis.
[url= http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/mountain-bike-v-brake-kits/lx-v-brake-kit.html ]Cheep cheep[/url]
Why do i waste my time, he's not even going to look at this!
yeah, but you've got to watch out for those gators when you open the parcel or they'll have your fingers off.