Need some advice on how to hopefully increase my stopping power on my CX/Gravel bike, hoping you can help me out. I know the answer here is obviously ‘get something with disc brakes’… but that’s not where I am at right now and its hard to find bikes currently too. So, this is a Ridley X Fire that I…

You can adjust the reach of the ultegra brake levers with a screw under the hoods.

I found great success when swapping from old canti’s to CX linear brakes (V-Brakes for roadie controls) [image] CX 8.4 Sold as complete bike set including all mounting hardware. Linear pull brake Unique forged technology 6061-T6 forged and CNC aluminum arms TRP road size cartri…

How’s the spring tension on the stay mount? Clean it out and regrease?

As a current CX racer still running cantis (racing the pro field in the NE US, so not exactly a slouch) I have some tips. First, new pads should definitely help, just sand them down a little first. Second, “toe-in” the brakes. There’s a lot on the interwebs about this, but you basically loosen the…

That is some great advice everyone! Thanks so much. Working on some of those now.

If you can swing new brakes, the linear pull options Chad mentioned are great. I spent lots of time making cantilever brakes as optimal as possible but those v-brakes just work better.

Lots of good info here. I’ll add- Cantilever brake performance is mostly dependent on the setup and geometry. Nice pads and a clean surface help, but the power comes from the actuation angle of the cables and pivots— https://www.sheldonbrown.com/cantilever-geometry.html My Sscx bike is rim brake…

Get some Shimano CX70s or Avid Shortys. They stop as well as any v-brakes I’ve used.

Are those long reach brakes (MTB) on short reach (Road) levers? I’d find a cheap set of known road-pull levers and start there

Advice on Increasing Braking Ability?

Equipment

mcneese.chad April 21, 2021, 6:47pm 3

I found great success when swapping from old canti’s to CX linear brakes (V-Brakes for roadie controls)

Some broader info with more potential options:

Tech Tip: V-Brake Arm Lengths - GRAVELBIKE

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Advice on Increasing Braking Ability?

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