[SpinWheelz]

I ask because my current v-brakes shriek and squeal like a pig in heat at the slightest hint of moisture and I can't afford to invest in a burly set of hydraulic disc brakes right now. I know that the squealing is inevitable, but are there v-brakes that are better than others, or are they all pretty much the same, whether they're Avid brakes or Shimano brakes or whatever?

If they're not all created equal, could I get some insight into some affordable v-brakes I can step up to? The no-name stock set that came with my Fisher aren't really cutting it.

Cheers.

 

[tlg]

I ask because my current v-brakes shriek and squeal like a pig in heat at the slightest hint of moisture and I can't afford to invest in a burly set of hydraulic disc brakes right now. I know that the squealing is inevitable, but are there v-brakes that are better than others, or are they all pretty much the same, whether they're Avid brakes or Shimano brakes or whatever?

If they're not all created equal, could I get some insight into some affordable v-brakes I can step up to? The no-name stock set that came with my Fisher aren't really cutting it.

Cheers.

If they were all equal, they'd all be made the same and cost the same.

Your squealing may be comming from your pads (bad quality), improper adjustment, or film on your rims and have nothing to do with the brake itself. Cheap brakes with the right pads and proper adjustment shouldn't squeal.

 

[EBasil]

They're certainly not all equal, but misaligned setup can make any brake squeal.

If you want to build up the best Bang-for-your-Buck vee brake system possible, here's it:

--2003 Avid 7 levers ('03 on sale now)
--2003 Avid 7 vees (on sale now, very very good brakes)
--Avid Flack Jacket cable/housing set: durable, strong
--Kool Stop "combo" vee brake pads (salmon/black, the best of both worlds).

If you install that set, toe them correctly (which is easy with the Avid 7's and also with the Kool Stops), you'll have about the best brake system you can have with vees. Oh, somebody can come up with a whacky $$$$improvement, but the performance difference will be very slim. Take it from me: I have a better setup than that, but this is what I put on friends' bikes.

 

[SpinWheelz]

Thanks for the advice, fellas. I know that on paper, not all v-brakes are supposed to equal. However, in the larger scheme of thing, i.e. on a relative scale, do v-brakes that cost twice or three times as much as another brake really do work two or three times better? I dunno...

Anyway, thanks for the advice on the Avids. I checked out some of the reviews and the reviews have been glowing. Here's a question I have about installing such brakes. I have crappy bottom-of-the-line Shimano integrated shifters that control both the gears as well as the brakes. If I were to go with these Avid brakes, can I simply swap out my current brakes, and use the same brake noodle and cable as my old brakes? Or is it completely necessary for me to use the Avid levers with them? As you can imagine, if it's the latter, it causes a whole chain reaction of other things that I'll need to change that I don't immediately have to.

 

[FredNZ]

you'll be fine

Don't worry about compatibility! If your brake levers worked with the old brakes, they'll work with any v-brakes.

I looked at the rest of the thread: if it is just the squealing you want to stop, the best thing you could do is put some Koolstop brake pads on. They are the bomb. If you want to spend more money, then go with the Avid brakes. Not sure what brakes you have, so I don't know how much better the Avids will be.

As with most things, double the price you won't get double the quality. But the quality will be better. As the price goes up, they tend to be stronger, lighter, and last longer. But this isn't always the case. A good example is very cheap V brakes vs Avid 3s vs Avid 7s. You will not notice a massive difference between the two avids. But the 7s will be lighter and look nicer. They are also easier to adjust. Both of them will be noticably stronger and feel nicer than cheap V brakes though.

Good luck

Thanks for the advice, fellas. I know that on paper, not all v-brakes are supposed to equal. However, in the larger scheme of thing, i.e. on a relative scale, do v-brakes that cost twice or three times as much as another brake really do work two or three times better? I dunno...

Anyway, thanks for the advice on the Avids. I checked out some of the reviews and the reviews have been glowing. Here's a question I have about installing such brakes. I have crappy bottom-of-the-line Shimano integrated shifters that control both the gears as well as the brakes. If I were to go with these Avid brakes, can I simply swap out my current brakes, and use the same brake noodle and cable as my old brakes? Or is it completely necessary for me to use the Avid levers with them? As you can imagine, if it's the latter, it causes a whole chain reaction of other things that I'll need to change that I don't immediately have to.

 

[dirtpaws]

I built up a frankenbike with some take-off cheapo Tektro Quartz MT10 brakes and ridden them pretty hard and found that I didn't notice any difference compared to the nicer Avid SD5 on my my nicer bike. I did switch to better pads though, the dual compound stuff. Proper setup and tweaking goes a long way.

I have never ridden any of the linkage parallel push V brakes, so I can't comment if those are created equal.

 

[EBasil]

..., can I simply swap out my current brakes, and use the same brake noodle and cable as my old brakes? Or is it completely necessary for me to use the Avid levers with them? .

You can use your old stuff, just fine, except that you'll use NEW CABLES. I don't care if you reuse the old housing, but use NEW CABLES... Check out the Aztec teflon-coated cables, install them dry and there you go.

 

[dinger]

An inexpensive alternative to Avid SD5 or SD7 brakes is a SRAM 9.0 brakeset. They are fairly inexpensive, and I've been very pleased with mine. Highly recommended.

 

[BerryBoy]

Avid SD7s

Echoing the Avid recommendation. I couldn't get my XT Vs (build kit) to stop squeeling after cleanings, adjustments, and pads. The SD7s resolved the problem, are much lighter, and retard forward momentum at least as well as the XTs. Plus they look great.

BerryBoy

 

[SpinWheelz]

Here's another question - is the magic of the Avid Single Digit 7 brakes in the Rim Wrangler 2 shoes and pads they carry? Here's the thing - the Promax brakes that came with my bike aren't broken right now. It's just that the stopping power could be improved (duh) and I'm hoping that the incessant squealing can be decreased somewhat. So I'm wondering if I could simply plunk down $30 for those Avid Rim Wrangler II shoes and pads instead of the $50 for the full brakes? I'm not trying to be cheap here, I just want to try not to buy stuff I don't need. Would I really benefit more from getting the full brakes, rather than simply changing the shoes and pads?

 

[EBasil]

Here's another question - is the magic of the Avid Single Digit 7 brakes in the Rim Wrangler 2 shoes and pads they carry? Would I really benefit more from getting the full brakes, rather than simply changing the shoes and pads?

No, it' s not the pads. The Avid pads, made by KoolStop, are fine. The KoolStop combo pads I reccomended above are even better --noticeably to any rider.

The magic in the Avids is that they are very strong, flex and torsion resistant, very easy to set up and adjust, reasonably light and reasonably priced.

 

[SpinWheelz]

Thanks for clearing that up. Pretty clear cut now - it's new Avid brakes for me!

 

[jeffj]

I kind of disagree about the cable housings not being so important. There are some poor quality housings out there that compress so much that the brakes get a spongy feel. I would even go so far as to say that they can make more difference than the cables provided the cables are properly cared for over time.

 

[uber-stupid]

A few things:

-I'm really surprised noone's mentioned brake boosters yet. They really do help solve a lot of squealing associated with frame flex, and generally add to the whole v-brake experience. And to be honest, I even have one on one on the fork of a bike that runs disc brakes.. I'm a big guy, and I find that using my 7" disc brake made the fork leg twist a wee bit... the brake booster helped solve that. If I had to recommend a brand, it'd be salsa.


-Avid SD-7s are bodacious. I've tried a lot of different V's. XT brakes by Shimano are a leading cause of irritation among those who actually have them... because they SUCK BALLS. So I'd go with the avids. And if you can only go with one... put it on the front, where it'll do the most good. (I'm assuming you know to use the front brakes as your primaries?)

-New cables help, making sure your housing ends are clean, and properly flared to cut down friction helps. Dry lube on teflon coated cables helps.

-Avid levers also rule. If you're going hydraulic in the future, you're going to need new levers, so you'll need new shifters that don't have brake levers... Now might be the time to buy the shifters, and try the avid levers. It'll lessen the cost of going hydro later. And if you go decide instead to go mechanical disc, you'll appreciate the ease of adjustment the levers provide.