About 5 years ago, I put drop bars, bar ends and appropriate shifters on a Cannondale Caad2 MTB. Kept the Avid cantilever brakes. While the front brake was perfect the rear was mushy in the extreme. I used aero brake levers (Shimanos?) designed for this but was less than impressed with the results in the rear. Need to have better mechanical advantage at the lever or change the brakes. Anyone else do something similar or have suggestions on how to get a decent back brake out of this set-up?
the pads are/were new so definitely up to the task. cables were new also.
don't know how i could shorten the lever travel.
the feel of the rear brake is mush as originally posted. i squeeze and it just feels soft all the way to the bar with some slight braking action. not enough to make me feel secure riding aggressively through city traffic. its like i don't have a sufficient mechanical advantage to get a good squeeze on the back rim. I installed Shimano Tiagra Aero levers which have (according to the late Sheldon Harris) the best mechanical advantage available and what Harris Cyclery suggested for my application.
I'm not well-versed on cantis, but can you shorten up the length of the hanger cable, or whatever you call it? That might give you more pad movement for a given lever travel.
Wasn't the little doo-hickey called a travel agent? I used them so that I could use some Grafton canti brake levers with linear pull brakes and they worked to perfection.
__________________
“I recommend bread, meat, vegetables, and beer.” – Sophocles
Linear Mode
