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Shoutout to the old timer who showed me his trick for setting up cantilever brakes | Bicycle Mechanics - Freelance Forum - The Community for Independent Professionals

ray643•6mo ago

Shoutout to the old timer who showed me his trick for setting up cantilever brakes

I always thought the old-school way of using a zip tie as a third hand to hold the pads was a bit silly, but this guy in the shop last week showed me how it makes lining up the toe-in so much easier. He used a 4-inch tie on a set of Tektro Oryx brakes and got them perfect in about two minutes flat. Has anyone else got a simple trick for setting up cantis that actually works?

4 comments

4 Comments

rosecarr6mo ago

My buddy had this ancient pair of Mafac cantis that were driving him nuts. He watched some old mechanic at a co-op just take a short piece of inner tube, loop it over one brake arm and under the other to pull them together. It held the pads against the rim with way more tension than a zip tie, and he said it was a total game changer for getting the spring tension right. He uses that trick on everything now.

sean486mo ago

Wait, you can really use an inner tube like that? I always thought zip ties were the only way until I saw @the_leo mention toe straps too. Might have to give this a shot.

the_leo6mo ago

Yeah, that inner tube trick @rosecarr mentioned is solid. I've used a toe strap for the same thing, just hooking it around both arms to really yank them together. It gives you that extra pull to fight the spring while you fiddle with the mounting bolt. Makes dialing in the centering way less of a fight, especially on those old Mafacs where the springs are super strong. Honestly, once you try a real strap instead of a zip tie, you won't go back.

garcia.wren4mo ago

Totally feel you on this one, that zip tie method always felt a bit janky to me too. I had a similar moment watching a mechanic at a shop in Portland do the inner tube trick, and it clicked right away. @the_leo is spot on about the toe strap approach, I tried it after reading his post last week and it made centering my old Shimano cantis way less of a headache. That extra tension takes all the guesswork out of getting the pads even.