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All I Need To Know About Vees


Greetings

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Right. Did a short search but not all my questions have been answered.

Considering getting a Vee on the rear since my Dengura started leaking and Maguras are appalling. Got some questions about vees:

a) I'll probably be best off with an Avid Ultimate setup but what cable to use and how will I benefit from using an expensive and good cable, comparing to a cheap one?

B) If there are no issues with Magura clearance, can I expect to have some with Vees?

c) I want my brake to have a kinda "honk" sound and be very loud, with lots of bite - is that possible? All the setups I've come across were really silent. Will be using Coustvees.

d) Do the arms get in the way / stick out more than Dengura slaves?

e) Anything else I should know?

That's all I guess, thanks :)

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Shimano XT cable, better than anything I've used and cheap as hell too.

No you wont have clearence issues, if you do just move the vee adaptors out (as in the three holes near the stud).

Not sure about cousts, but my phat pads and heatsink reds have both been very honkey.

Arms shouldn't be a problem at all.

Nothing else you need to know that i can think of (assuming you know how to set them up well etc)

Oooh just remembered: Running a booster = less noise. Shouldn't need to use one though, I've never had flex problems on my czar or ozonys.

Edited by Quackers
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A V brake with trials pads should just as loud as Maguras - the ones I've tried are anyway. Maguras or Vees with stock XC type pads will be pretty silent but won't grab very well either (Unless you're using the mother of all grinds and even them probably not). I'm surprised you actually want the brakes to make loads of noise though. I don't mind noise as I lock the brake before a landing, but currently I can't roll downhill dragging my brakes without almost deafening myself. Luckily where I live is pretty flat, but it's still annoying...

If you're using a wide rim some Vees will stick out further than Maguras as they're designed for use with quite thin pads rather than the thicker trials ones.

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Shimano XT cable, better than anything I've used and cheap as hell too

No you wont have clearence issues, if you do just move the vee adaptors out (as in the three holes near the stud)

Deffinatly (Y)

But, i think the XTR cables thinner and stronger, but the XT feels better !

Jarrod

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You shouldnt have clearence problems, ive never had any on three different frames, cranks never hit and aslong as your wheel is dished centre then one arm wont stick out further so theres no problems. As for cables, i use xtr and find them pritty darn good, decent cables are usually a better quality meaning there isnt as much sponge and dont stretch asmuch and feel better for longer.

I ran cousts and the bite is great on them, all vees are pritty much silent when the wheel is moving forward other than plaz they are proberly loudest. But they make a pritty loud honk when the wheel goes backwards as they lock better than maggies.

And buy a booster itll make it a little stiffer.

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Im no expert, but recently a freind and I discovered Three very important to do whilst setting up good v brakes

1 Run an expensive outer cable , such as avid flak jacket or linear slick.

2 Set the V caliper arms to run 90 degres to the rim,,,using the pad washer spacers and choosing the correct hole on the adapter to run.

3 Have the minimum spring tension on the arms possible.

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ive often found that the better the quality of the break , the quiter it was . Also how tight the bolts are effects the sounds of the break because the squeak is caused by vibration , i have a test video to show the difference if anyone is interested. As for cables i allways use teflon coated cables because they generaly slide in and out alot easier and last alot longer , most teflon cables are pritty cheap and i recomend clarks cable ive been using it for years with no problem at all . clearance shouldnt be a problem as most v brake arms dont foul the frame and as mentioned above the heatsink adaptors are very flexible .

if you want to know anything else just ask :)

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I use Coust pads on an Avid Ultimate rear Vee. It has a decent honk and very good hold.

The problem Im finding is it is a little more spongy than Id like. Is this due to the cable flexing to much? Will it bed in to be ok?

I always used to run Maggies so Im new to this Vee business!

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I use Coust pads on an Avid Ultimate rear Vee. It has a decent honk and very good hold.

The problem Im finding is it is a little more spongy than Id like. Is this due to the cable flexing to much? Will it bed in to be ok?

I always used to run Maggies so Im new to this Vee business!

I'll set your vee up again for you... Might be the problem.

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Heres what I would do. (and have done for the best part of 9 years)

Ditch the Avid in Favor of an XTR V brake and Lever.

Use a standard inner cable

Use Jagwire Outer cable (make it slightly longer than you normaly would, it tends to straighten the noodle outherwise)

Find an Old XTR Booster, or use something similar.

As for pads thats your choise, but ive found standard Blacks with a grind to be more than good enough.

My old XTR lasted over 4 years, the previous one only got replaced due to a stack, but is still useable.

Brendan (from here, Br3n) trued all sorts of Avid V brakes before Settling with F&R XTR V brakes, only stopped using them because his bike was stolen.

I fell that no V brake will ever be as Good as the XTR brake and lever.

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The only advantage of upper-range Shimano brake arms is the parallel push system I imagine. With little effort you can achieve the same with Avids and it will be much stiffer at the same time. You have just to experiment with vee adaptor hole setting and number of pad spacers used. Then you can get the arms perfectly parallel during pads hitting the rim. What's more, Ultimates have cartridge bearings - no play and smooth action so you can run it with almost no spring tension (all the friction will probably come from the cable).

As for the crank clearance, I've never had any problems with it. The bigger problem is the tyre clearance, especially if you want to use a booster. But I have a mod so the tyre is much bigger than in stock.

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XTR levers are great. But the v's i have to say eventually develop play because of the parallel push thing. However i'm not too sure about the new ones.

I had ultimate lever and brake with linear slick cable. Stiffest and smoothest setup I've used.

In my opinion make sure you use good levers and cables. I have also used ultimate lever and deore brake and that was really good. So the actual brake isn't that important as long as its not tektro or something.

The grey XTR cables are good, so are linear slicks.

Edited by Thom
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Not to hijack the thread here but..I am wanting to get vee brakes for my saracen m.a.d (I know the bike's toss but it's all I have till I get a job that pays something half decent) I'm wanting to know where to start because I haven't got the faintest idea,what brakes,pads,cables etc.

Thank you.

P.S do grinds make trials purpose pads wear out mega fast,using the vee that came with the bike on the front and the grind just chewed through the pad lol.

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  • 2 weeks later...

so i got my V and made a first ride in rain today with Ultimate arms, XTR lever and cables, heatsink adapters and heatsink red V pads...i didnt got a good grind because my angle grinder disk sucked but it was still super better in rain than my magura was in perfect conditions!

im interested how often do I need to change the inner cable? I dont want it to snap during a tap or something....

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so i got my V and made a first ride in rain today with Ultimate arms, XTR lever and cables, heatsink adapters and heatsink red V pads...i didnt got a good grind because my angle grinder disk sucked but it was still super better in rain than my magura was in perfect conditions!

im interested how often do I need to change the inner cable? I dont want it to snap during a tap or something....

Ive ran a fibrax for about 6month and never snapped, idealy every 2 months would be best as after few months the cables stretched abit and you can start to fell more sponge. I cant see you having a problem snaping one.

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im interested how often do I need to change the inner cable? I dont want it to snap during a tap or something....

You need to watch both the cable ends. Usually cables tend to split into separate wires at the point where they are fastened to the brake arm. When you see it split then probably it's the time to replace it. My last cable lasted over 6 months I think before it split. It was the cheapest cable available at my lbs.

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in two years of riding, I have never snapped a cable. I do tend to change the inners once a month though to keep them smooth (bulk boxes come in handy, £30 for 100 cables, lasted over 2 years now).

I use Shimano Xt (non linkage type) as they have the lowest profile of any I have seen, this means I can run them with my adaptors on the middle setting and not have the arms sticking out at funny angles, this means I can use a decent booster like an xtr carbon one.

I have tried the brake without a booster and the hold was terrible! They deffo need boosters in my opinion.

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