🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <TUaCh.108995$Oa.36443@edtnps82>,
	me@home.spamsucks.ca (=?ISO-8859-9?Q?Kir=E1ly?=) writes:
> Brian <brianarc@hotmail.com> wrote:
>> A section of sidewall had been sliced clean away from the wire bead on the 
>> clincher tire...by what?  An ever-so-slightly mis-aligned brake shoe.  
>> ...as the pad wore down, a thin little spur developed that got closer 
>> and ever closer to the tire sidewall, and eventually began digging 
>> into and abrading away the tire at that one spot.
> 
> Yeah, that is a problem.  I've been bitten by that bug too. I had a tire 
> essentially ruined but luckily I noticed it before I had a blowout during 
> a ride.  Now I make a habit of checking them every ride.
>  
>> Mebbe I should look into equiping the new bike I'm building (named "Bender") 
>> with disc brakes?
> 
> No need to for just that reason.  You can use the Shimano V-brakes with 
> the parallel-push mechanism (on LX and higher models, IIRC).  As the pads 
> wear the angle between the brake shoe and the rim remains constant, so 
> there's no danger of the pad eventually reaching the tire sidewall.

That's another reason why I still prefer the good ol'
centre-pull cantilever brakes over V-brakes.  Plus,
they're easier to fit fenders under.  Of course as
the pads wear, they'll ride /down/ the rim, causing
another problem.  Just keep an eye on them.  I'd dare
say the old school canti brakes might be more appropriate
on a be-fendered commuter bike, while V-brakes might
be more at-home on a mountain bike that's actually
used for mountain biking.

Also, those big ol' brake levers are comfortable.
A rider can relaxedly just lie his palms flat on
the grips and all his fingers over the levers,
without clutching or strangling the grips.

For cost-effectiveness, servicability, and
practicality on commuter/utility bikes, I think
there's still a lot of good to be said for the
old style cantilever brakes -- especially with
non-threaded-post pads.  That's just my opinion.
Besides, I invested a lot of time & effort into
developing the right touch to set them up just ~so~,
and I hate throwing that away  :-)


cheers,
	Tom

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