On-One Pompino brake change.

Alanstrainor

Hey guys, as the title suggests I have an On-One Pompino cyclocross frame. And since I bought it, I've been running the cantilever brakes and to be honest I'm getting fed up of them. Poor performance and a complete pain in the hole to adjust/change pads. So I want a change, but as easy a change as possible, I was thinking of swapping to a set of Mini V brakes, as I've read this is an upgrade that people do. I'm just wondering if I'll have enough pull with my current cantilever levers to utilise them properly.

So my questions are, how do I tell whether my current brake levers will work, with the varying V Brake specs? Is my idea a runner at all? And just generally do you guys have any thoughts?

Cheers!

mirv

Mini-Vs use short road lever pull, rather than the long pull of full V-brakes or mechanical discs. Your current levers should work fine. The mini Vs are around 20e per brake on CRC so it's not too expensive to buy the pair. At the very worst you'll end up with two pairs of new spare brake pads.

rosscollins 1988

I tried changing them on my commuter and really didn't get on well with them - changed back to cantis.

However I am using old shimano tiagra levers (4500 I think). Newer editions of shimano levers pull slightly more cable eg. 105 (5700), ultegra (6700), dura ace (7900). It may be the newer levers work well with mini vs.

I have full sized v brakes on my single speed and bought specific drop bar v brake levers and this set up is excellent.

If you want to try the mini vs I still have my pair, lightly used and will let them go for €15.

edit: google cyclocross mini vs and you'll get a lot of positive comments

nak

I started out with mini vs on my cross bike. Worked very well (Campag levers). Now using TRP cantis as better mud clearance. Braking is not as good, but not really an issue for racing.

dave_o_brien

rosscollins 1988 wrote: »

I tried changing them on my commuter and really didn't get on well with them - changed back to cantis.

However I am using old shimano tiagra levers (4500 I think). Newer editions of shimano levers pull slightly more cable eg. 105 (5700), ultegra (6700), dura ace (7900). It may be the newer levers work well with mini vs.

I have full sized v brakes on my single speed and bought specific drop bar v brake levers and this set up is excellent.

If you want to try the mini vs I still have my pair, lightly used and will let them go for €15.

edit: google cyclocross mini vs and you'll get a lot of positive comments

If OP doesn't want them, I do!

rosscollins 1988

Hey Dave,

OP hasn't responded in over 24hrs so I'll assume he's not interested. I can drop them into your gaff on Sunday after the cx race. I'll give you a buzz after the race to see if you're about.

Ross

dave_o_brien

rosscollins 1988 wrote: »

Hey Dave,

OP hasn't responded in over 24hrs so I'll assume he's not interested. I can drop them into your gaff on Sunday after the cx race. I'll give you a buzz after the race to see if you're about.

Ross

I'm in an exam cave, so will definitely be here! Cheers, and good luck with the race.

Alanstrainor

Sorry guys, was distracted. I ordered a mini V for the front to see how I fair. I'll post back here with results when I have it installed! Cheers for the input, and here's hoping I'll have better stopping power in the near future!

Gasco

Alanstrainor wrote: »

Sorry guys, was distracted. I ordered a mini V for the front to see how I fair. I'll post back here with results when I have it installed! Cheers for the input, and here's hoping I'll have better stopping power in the near future!

In the same boat re: cantis on my winter trainer / commuter, look forward to your report / experience with the mini - v's. May I ask what type you went for?

dave_o_brien

I can tell you that on my old cross bike (technically a cross bike I borrowed from a friend and changed out his brakes on), I replaced the canti's with mini-v's. They were far more powerful, easier to set up and less maintenance. The only issue I had with them was that comparatively, the modulation was fairly poor. It took a while to get used to how they grabbed the rim fairly aggressively, and that delicate hands were needed to get the difference in power needed to scrub speed off vs stop dead.

Alanstrainor

dave_o_brien wrote: »

I can tell you that on my old cross bike (technically a cross bike I borrowed from a friend and changed out his brakes on), I replaced the canti's with mini-v's. They were far more powerful, easier to set up and less maintenance. The only issue I had with them was that comparatively, the modulation was fairly poor. It took a while to get used to how they grabbed the rim fairly aggressively, and that delicate hands were needed to get the difference in power needed to scrub speed off vs stop dead.

Thanks for input!

Gasco

Following on from this thread - I decided that I had had enough of the cantis and purchased a pair of Tektro 926Al mini - vs. Installation was very easy and the set up simple as. Took them out for a spin yeaterday and was very pleased with their operation - though, as noted, a light touch is needed!!

One issue I found is that there is a bit of play in the brake arms. It seems as if the bosses are a little too narrow. Tried putting an extra large sized washer on before the bolt but the additional pressure caused the brakes to stick a little, so I removed these.
The brakes seem to work fine with this play - should I be concerned??