drop bars & V-brakes

[hullbilly]

I am currently considering going to drop bars on my hybrid, I know its not the done thing and I would be better off buying a racer but funds and 'her indoors' wont allow.

It currently has Shimano Sora components with flat bar shifters. If I fitted Sora Road shifters could these still control the V-brakes?

Thanks in advance.

[john_p]

Are the Sora Road ones designed for dual-pivot caliper brakes?

If so, you can't safely use them with v-brakes as they won't pull the cable far enough to brake effectively.

e: caliper, not cantilever!

Edited by john_p on Wednesday 18th August 10:00

[neilski]

No, they're unlikely to pull enough cable. You'll need to match them up with mini-vs or cantilevers or if you want to keep your existing brakes you'll need v-brake specific levers (Tektro RL-520 I think) or something called travel agents that change the amount of cable pulled by your existing lever.

http://www.ison-distribution.com/ison/english/prod...

[HundredthIdiot]

Cantis with drop bars work effectively if set up right. It does need quite careful set up though - trickier than calipers.

I've got TRP EuroX cantis on my cross bike (with Ultegra levers) but they're expensive. I think Tektro do some good relatively inexpensive ones.

They're never really as good as calipers and there can be issues with fork judder (which are resolvable with some effort).

Drop bars conversions are rarely cheap because the levers are so expensive. Ebay is your friend!

[hullbilly]

I have found some Sora shifters on Ebay that I am keeping an eye on

So I would have to switch to calipers brakes to use the Sora Shifters, this would be the cheapest option.

[HundredthIdiot]

hullbilly said:

I have found some Sora shifters on Ebay that I am keeping an eye on

So I would have to switch to calipers brakes to use the Sora Shifters, this would be the cheapest option.

I'm not sure about calipers. Obviously they will work well with the shifters, but don't know what the mounting will be like on your frame.

V brakes are usually used on bikes with large tyre clearances.

If your frame has a lot of tyre clearance you might be better off with cantis, then at least you can use big tyres in the winter.

[hullbilly]

neilski said:

or something called travel agents that change the amount of cable pulled by your existing lever.

http://www.ison-distribution.com/ison/english/prod...

These look quite good, any reviews on these, at only £15 each its not an expensive option as I have measured the bike and calipers wont fit.

[neilski]

hullbilly said:

neilski said:

or something called travel agents that change the amount of cable pulled by your existing lever.

http://www.ison-distribution.com/ison/english/prod...

These look quite good, any reviews on these, at only £15 each its not an expensive option as I have measured the bike and calipers wont fit.

They may only be £15 each but IMO that's a right con for what you're actually getting. £1.50 is a more realistic price for something like that.

If £15 isn't too bad I'd stretch to another three quid per brake and get some Tektro CR520s so you're getting a brake that works with road levers straight from the box rather than bodging something else that doesn't.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?Mod...

Or for a few quid more the CR720s are the same but with the more easily replaceable cartridge type pads. I've got 720s on one of my bikes & they're very good.

[hullbilly]

neilski said:

They may only be £15 each but IMO that's a right con for what you're actually getting. £1.50 is a more realistic price for something like that.

If £15 isn't too bad I'd stretch to another three quid per brake and get some Tektro CR520s so you're getting a brake that works with road levers straight from the box rather than bodging something else that doesn't.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?Mod...

Or for a few quid more the CR720s are the same but with the more easily replaceable cartridge type pads. I've got 720s on one of my bikes & they're very good.

Thanks for the link Neil, they look like a better option, thanks for the advice.