How To Fine Tune Cantilevers For Cyclocross

Cantilever Brakes are still used on many cyclocross bikes and can be tuned to work really effectively. Here's how.
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Getting the most out of your cantilever brakes involves tuning them, and we've got a few of our top tips for how to make your brakes more effective.
We cover getting the most mechanical advantage from your brakes, increasing power and modulation, decreasing friction, checking your pads, and dealing with brake judder.
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[@randallmiller3842]

Hope you still see comments on old videos. Nine years on from your video and I wanted to adjust the canti brakes on my cyclocross. Brilliant video Si, just the advice I needed. I know GCN takes some unwarranted criticism from other KZbin bike channels, but I can say I don’t watch their old videos and still learn from them. Been watching you from the start, and Si you’ve aged better than my cyclocross bike.

[@Bananadoom]

This inspired me to finally get some new pads and retune the cantis on my touring bike. Two mintues later I gave the brakes what used to be a light squeeze - locked both wheels and comically stacked it in front of about 50 schoolchildren. Thanks Simon...

[@gcn]

Brakes working better then?! Hopefully you told them you were practicing for a GCN video: "How not to stop like a pro"

[@Rick-gy8ko]

Quase 7 anos depois do vídeo, eu aqui pegando umas referências para instalar algo que eu achei que nunca mais usaria na vida rs... Freio cantilever no meu projeto Bike "Gravel" com certeza terei que fabricar umas peças, para dar uma melhorada nos meus, mas já que comecei, vou até o final! 👊🏼 13/05/2021

[@zimboy777]

nice to hear confidence in canti's Si and usefull video...I've ordered my first cx bike with these after getting hooked on my MTB in first cx race!

[@fifteenthirtysix1792]

I am attending cyclocross nationals in just under a week! Wish me luck!

[@CompuChef]

Thanks for this video, I just got a new bike with canti's and the stopping power is absolutely terrible, I now realized that the shop left the straddle cable way too long. Thanks to all these tips I will be able to fix the brakes by myself.

[@DavidCulshawmer-r]

a simple way of toeing in your brake pads is to stick a few layers of masking tape from one rim to the other , put the back edge of the pads on the tape and squeeze your brake lever then slacken the bolts on both pads and tighten them up again , job done :)

[@grooveroid]

Thanks a lot for posting this up. I can now stop, which find this particularly useful at road junctions...

[@TheGazza636]

Well presented and informative ,thanks guys

[@am529]

Own a flat bar "hybrid" bike with cantilever brakes.Built it myself. Had a car start to turn in front of me. Yanked both levers as hard as I could. Locked up both wheels and stopped after skidding about three feet. Does that mean mine are well adjusted?

[@michielnooren2076]

I miss these old GCN videos!!!

[@MaximilianJaeger]

Great video! Thanks

[@jpb10]

Good vid!

[@yungpapiepepe4184]

Dear GCN, what kind of grease is the best for fine tuning those cantis? My cantilevers are getting pretty fast full of sand an dirt (you know Belgium ; ) ) and thats pretty annoying. Greetings from Belgium!

[@tibbar1000]

Does anyone else find their biggest problem is keeping the wheel true enough for such close tolerances? That perfectly spinning wheel impresses me a lot more than anything done to the brakes.

[@smmaniam]

Great video. Can we get something on how tell when your tyre is wearing out and also the chain. Any symptoms to watch out for while riding when the chain may need to be replaced ?. The same for the tyres.

[@bartolomeomusi3416]

Dear GCN, few weeks ago I bought my first cx bike with cantilever brakes and this video is very useful for the correct setup of those kind of brakes. About the front brakes cable hanger at the fork, could you suggest me a brand? I'd already find anything online. Many thanks

[@chrisharper2658]

If you were running the narrow type of cantilever brake, then lowing the yoke would probably help but you've got the wide ones. You want a 90 degree angle between the cable and the fulcrum point while the pad touches the rim. That would be the optimum mechanical advantage.

[@masreyalap]

Thanks for such an informative video, I am desperately having a question that I can not find the answer anywhere online. I have a bike with smooth stud cantilever brakes pads with shaft diameter of 6mm, when I browse Amazon to buy new pads for my bike they mostly mention 6.75 mm for brake pad shaft diameter, and most brake pads online they do not even mention the shaft diameter. How do you guys choose the right brake pad shaft diameter for your bikes?

[@chrishill9033]

Wow, I just adjusted my cross bike's brakes last night, if only i had seen this. Why didn't i think of using a card to toe the brakes?!

[@gza4704]

Question for GCN and users: Which are the best cantilever brakes for a 650rim monstercross with STI levers?

[@gandytroll]

MAKE YOUR MIND UP SIMON! I want to see a video of you maintaining 'disc' brakes on the road

[@leonardolarocca5569]

gandytroll utilize

[@m3ta1head]

How about a comparison between mini V brakes and cantis? A lot of local CX racers seem to be favoring the TRP CX8.4/9 these days over cantis.

[@dennyyusoff7129]

Thanks

[@ongbaklegends]

I am after setting mine up toe-in. Glad you agree its the way to go but its not clear how to set them up toe-in from the video ... ?

[@tom2b99]

I've used mini v on the front, completely eliminates the judder

[@cathoderay7202]

5:22 Most important info in video

[@zmertzie]

You guys should definitely do a "Top 10 Excuses for- Pulling (riding in front)"

[@romanmentor9238]

In my experience the most important thing to make them stronger is to put brake pads as close as possible to the rim.This won't work of course if wheel has issues with truing

[@fawwazsulaiman7922]

GCN's 1000 vids..yeay i win!!

[@futureshock7425]

Lowering the yolk made maassive difference

[@victorgarin1925]

This porta potty will work great on our boay

[@emanuelpradera9717]

Hello, I'm struggling to get brake power on Tektro CR720s front brake on my gravel bike, does lowering the housing stopper (brake hanger?) really make a lot of difference? I'm already thinking of getting mini Vs instead, thanks!

[@karlrovey]

Mine developed a weird issue after having to make a sudden stop. I felt a pop in the brake and it got extremely squishy. It still pulls the brakes and gets the pads to the rims, but there's no braking power. When I examined them, the only thing I can see is that the anchor is loose (but the wire isn't sliding around). I tried to tighten it, but failed completely.

[@sebastiangreenwood3019]

cheers

[@FJ-xz7yy]

watching this in 2023 because I just bought an Avid Ultimate shorty for my SSCX.

[@guti1101]

never seen such like that can it be applied to road's?

[@sexyboi2221]

What is the stem size for the traxion?

[@bzzt_jgtc]

Do V-Brakes /Mini V-Brakes as well! Theyre increasingly popular on integrated systesm on aerobikes.

[@decentdad1160]

Canti's aren't dead!

[@MohsinReza2517]

nicer

[@mariuskaupas]

this is the only useful video in this disk ruled age

[@charlificity]

This video feels slightly obsolete given disc brake dominance in 2020, but cantis and rim brakes in general do have a certain charm.

[@andyli1423]

Was that a Roll for the Soul card I saw Simon using then?

[@gcn]

It was indeed, the guys at RFTS were good enough to let us use their workshop for this video :-)

[@DavidCulshawmer-r]

if you had canti's on your bike in the 70's and 80's you had the dogs dangly bits of brakes , basically they where the only ones that would slow you down and needed readjusting on every ride , personaly I thought they were shit until v brakes came along , how things change eh

[@jonathanbobowicz9036]

Is there any reason that the right lever controls the front brake?

[@gcn]

It's just the way of it in the UK. Some people do switch thier brakes over to be the other way round here, but most ride with the right lever controlling the front brake.

[@jenslessing6996]

0.57 is complete nonsens, with froglegs it should be as long as possible only with low profile cantis your advice is correct.

[@IamtheWV17]

Yeah this... the angle of pull is entirely dependent on the specific brake.

[@romiarkan450]

Will a CX bike work for not-so-smooth urban roads or will a legit road bike be enough since it's still on urban roads?

[@gcn]

A CX bike will work on pretty much any road surface! However road bikes are used on the cobbles of Paris - Roubaix, so equally are pretty darn tough.

[@chuahaoen8153]

Global Cycling Network can do some tips on hybrid bikes too? Pls

[@rollinrat4850]

CX bikes are pretty much THE MOST versatile bikes! Get 2 or 3 sets of wheels for road, trail, mud etc. Stripped down theyre light enough to road race if youre not a poser! My old 90s redline cx bike is set up for off road touring and rough randoneering. I ride mine on rough rocky single track all the time. I also have an even older Miyata cx bike set up singlespeed or fixed. This is the bike I ride most often. Waaaay too much fun on the trails and practically no maintenance. I also have a hardtail and a fully but only ride those on my mega death rides in big mtns.

[@nnbrit]

Hmmmm.....didn't know that Campy also does canti.

[@DayDHourH]

Hey guys, my Felt Z95 has 25s tyres, but when I try to pop them out opening the calipers but they wont drop because the space is too narrow, so I have to remove all the air every time I take a wheel out. Can u pls give me some ideas¿¿ Thank you very much. And sorry for bad englando

[@gcn]

Hi there, are you undoing the lever that pushed your pads nearer the rims? If not then that could be it, or you could adjust th ecable length so that you get more movement.

[@DayDHourH]

Global Cycling Network Yea. sure im undoing it, i guess ill have to leave more space with the cable and unwind it a little for fine tuning, so I can drop it by winding and fit the brakes with unwinding, thnk you for answering

[@muddyfoxcourier]

DayDHourH I guess you could have longer modern pads. They can trap behind the fork leg , so the canti cant fully flip open. A shorter length pad might fix your problem.

[@martinthomas8573]

Why Cantilevers? Anyone can help out? I’m looking to buy a Surly Long Haul Trucker with cantis but wondering if this is a bad idea?

[@Bungle]

It's a bad idea. I own one and wish I had gotten a Disc Trucker. The brakes are good enough but only just.

[@caparzzo]

ohh nice, let me do that to my imaginary road bike that i have

[@CabbageShop]

Why don't cross bikes use V-Brakes?

[@gcn]

Mud clearance :-) V-Brakes tend to have the uprights for pulling the brakes onto the rim quite close to the tyre, and in the mud they get really clogged up.

[@DivineMisterAdVentures]

FOLLOW UP solution to getting the hanger / wire position right. For the front - the rear is similar. 1) follow the steering tube / fork and not the tire / wheel, to center the wire and hanger. 2) then center the wheel using the dropouts. You should now have both shoes contacting the rim at the same instant, as well as having a straight alignment of both hanger/wire and wheel. 3) However, I had to reset one brake shoe because now it was hitting the tire. 4) Remember that other than this, hanger and wire adjustment should only be to A) take up cable slack and B) to position the hanger and wire higher or lower for clearance, making sure that if the hanger should release, that it will float above the tire. (On an earlier bike I actually used a screw through the fork'fender mounting holes above the tires to provide a safety catch.) Note: unlike with V-brakes where the spring tensioning screw makes an obvious left-right adjustment, with my 720's, going from extreme to extreme made no difference, AFAICT. There are so many tricks to this that it makes the process miserable. For instance the hanger bolt takes a 10mm wrench on one side and a hex key on the other. But the bolt itself doesn't extend far enough to catch a few threads to keep the nut on and you end up chasing it on all fours with a flashlight to see where it fell, and the friction washer falls out, and there's only one way that the cable will fit (on one side of the washre and not quite on the other) .. and you really need a socket on a ratchet drive to do this at all in the rear, and the bolt hangs on a ledge and has to be torqued enough to click it down before it will actually grip the cable - meaning you could think you are done - you should be - but the cable still slips. I think that's about a quarter of the fun I had the last hour.. SO - for all the grand magesty of the TEKTRO factories and design center in Taiwan, and it really is a great place, there is still this. And did I mention the instructions (that doesn't go into any of this) and is in 4-point text? (It's really small.)

[@ayouthwellspent]

woah

[@jubycastro339]

Rims brakes are better...disk brakes are for noobs.

[@redrocker1055]

Easy to follow step by step guide to tuning cantilever brakes. Step 1: Cut cables Step 2: unbolt brakes Step 3; chuck said brakes in nearest trash. Step 4.: install new shiny v-brakes and enjoy.

[@getplaning]

I replaced my cantilevers with V-brakes, problem solved. Now my bike stops.

[@slickm7]

pit bike

[@DivineMisterAdVentures]

I got very upset with this video - it completely skipped over help with that GD wire and hanger system and getting that coordinated with the SPRING TENSION screw. This is a highly complex final tune - SO NO THANKS FOR that. Many old-schoolers like Sheldon Brown think that canti's are the most powerful of rim brakes - it's why you need decreased leverage levers to use them. One look at the leverage provided in the design and you can see why -- followed by really tall V brakes. But compared to any other brake system, tuning or setting up that last 6" of cabling is just way more difficult. My new set of TEKTRO 720's have a solid machined hanger system that looks superior to, and SHOULD BE easier to set up, than the round doohickey of Shimano's of yore - but they are just a BITCH to get right - firstly, you have to be an octopus. It's plainly just a poorly ENGINEERED system that favors looks and cost over function. There is a precise sequence to follow just to make it through. Now that I've got the pads striking exactly right, the hanger is offset from the tire's centerline by quite a lot and that's where I'm at, FYI. Not sure if that's okay even mechanically - it sure doesn't look right. Worse, I'm not sure what to do about it - and have to actually consider if it's worth the trouble - and an extra hour or more.

[@abkornburee]

It’s hard for me to understand your accent

[@ketjuariittaa]

Cantilever brakes just are "major suceneros" on brakesfamily. My sale road bike brakes are so mutch better and FatBike discbrakes are fabilious.

[@theredblood2976]

The best method to fine tune cantis is to just buy disc breaks

[@tonyboughman8050]

Worthless repeat of everything you ever heard about cantilevers. Bonus apologetic tone for even considering using them. Learn nothing here.