Just building up my Roadrat, and it’s thrown me an unexpected curveball, that being that it doesn’t have a canti thingmy. So, some new parts are required but not sure what they should be… TBH I don’t know a lot about road/cross parts, so any help appreciated.

The bike has 105 STIs (5600s) and Avid Shorty 4s (this is a bit of a wonky combo as there’s no barrel adjusters!) it’ll have various jobs but it’ll mostly serve as a comfy road bike, and from time to time some dirt. Not impossible it might be taken cross racing some time but that’s just a side effect.

Nuclear option: convert to mechanical discs. I’d like to do this tbh, but I’ve got reasonably nice wheels and I could do without the expense just now.

Cheapo option: Get a seatclamp canti hanger. Seems to do the job but a bit inelegant?

Slightly less cheapo opion: Fit Vs. Not sure how these work for mud clearance? And are they totally compatible with my 105 STIs?

Unsure option: Stick road brakes on it. But I imagine they’d fill with crap…

While awaiting the divine judgement of STW, googling suggests that the Tektro RX5 mini-v works well with these slightly older STIs… Compatability seems confusing 😕

I had BB7 road cable discs on mine. I found the forks very flexy under braking and the frame flexed quite a lot too. I didn’t keep it long

Here’s a pic anyway 😀

Seatclamp canti hanger and headset spacer hanger. Job done. Will cost you sub-£15 total

You can get canti hangers that bolt to the mudguard mounting holes can’t you? Bit more elegant than seat clamp and heaset mounted versions.

Tektro is your friend

I used mini v’s and discs, but these allowed me to use rim brake wheels and still have good power and get the wheel out !!

They are perfect, extra long reach road brakes. you need the 73mm drop ones.

They fit in the mudguard holes in the fork and seat stay/seatube tube

“I found the forks very flexy under braking and the frame flexed quite a lot too. I didn’t keep it long”

shame cause those are the features that make is so comfy for a commuter.

sure if you were looking for a road bike its not that but it does its intended purpose very well :d

i went with cable disks on mine. is it hubs you need northwind or is it the calipers your short of ?

Vortexracing’s solution looks like the cleverest, but I would suggest going nuclear at some point is a better option if you have the chance.

I used a rim brakes for a while and between the extra maintenance keeping them running sweetly and the amount of crap the rims picked up from the roads in the winter (the commuter gets washed but once a year… if it’s lucky) I decided to switch to discs.

I’ve found the discs so much better for commuting in terms of dependability in the wet, maintenance and power. It’s a surprisingly capable offroader and discs are definitely worth it for that IMO.

Granted, I had disc ready hubs which helped sway me that way, but I still reckon you’ll get more enjoyment from the frame that way.

@Trail Rat- both!

@Ken Shields- that’s exactly what I’m looking for tbh.

@Vortexracing- cheers for that, goes on the list.

I’ve just ordered a set of short-armed mini-vs to try, since they’re only £13 and they can go on my commuter if they don’t work on this… It seems like a good opportunity to get rid of cantis (again!) rather than paying money to keep going with the same setup.

I think once I’ve got a few miles on it, I might look again at discs but it’s too much of an investment now I think, no guarantee I’ll get on with it. So far it doens’t owe me much at all so good to keep it that way!

Cheers folks!

I had BB7 road cable discs on mine. I found the forks very flexy under braking and the frame flexed quite a lot too.

You’re not using the standard fork though are you?

I’ve just put BB7s on mine and they’re a huge improvement of the Vs I was using before, should have done it years ago!

Ran discs on mine pretty much from the start (Avid BB7s with flat bar and levers). I had a V on the back for a while but a few muddy off road rides and a bit of bearing play (from water ingress) had me splashing out on a new XT disc hub to replace the old LX. Hub only cost £15 or something like that.

Not the fastest most zingy feeling frame (it’s sturdy) but it handles well and is pretty comfy.

I did do a cross race on it once plus the HONC and a CX Sportive. Perfectly capable but not really the best tool for the job, especially with road gearing. It’s forte is being able to do a very wide range of things acceptably well. Whilst I don’t exactly love it I do ride it a lot so it is most definitely the best utility bike I’ve owned.

Discs help with that day in day out useability and minimal need for fettling quite a bit.

For what it’s worth I prefer using 26c road tyres most of the time but I use 32c CX tyres in the depths of winter which are just a lot more forgiving around the lanes and muddy tracks.

Might also be worth getting some brake noodles with cable adjusters while you’re at it? I use these on my Kaff (Tektro Mini-V’s and 105 STI’s) – at least it makes getting the wheels out a lot easier!

Ah, top banana, cheers- was looking for those.

You’re not using the standard fork though are you?

I did to start with and that was what I thought was a bit flexy (but then again I’m a bit a fat fekker so maybe that didn’t help) and changed to the ally Specialized forks in the pic

There was nothing wrong with it as a bike I just didn’t like it