Most recent activity
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what have you been using to tighten up the lockring and sprocket?
cavendish is open sunday i think. central mind...Not sure it is. Maybe it used to be (?) but I've been past a few times on Sundays in the past couple of months and it has been shut.
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I got sick of doing mine as well, it can be so frustrating. Have a broken thumb at the moment so that's my excuse! Ended up just risking it with tyre levers to get it back on and got lucky this time. Saw this Park Tool video and decided to give it a go for £20 (from Chain Reaction)... hasn't arrived yet but it looks like magic.
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Building your own is good experience, and worth it in the end, but don't underestimate the length of time it will take to get all the parts together and overcome the various problems you will face. Don't forget to budget for tools - you need a fair few specialist bits and pieces to build something up from scratch. It's not the quickest or cheapest way to get something running, but having it unique at the end is nice.
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Mini V brakes get fitted to Pomps with road/cross levers, not mtb v-levers.
Yeah, I meant that mini V and normal V must both fit on the same bosses. Interesting that they use road / cross levers though - i.e. must be short pull. Sounds like with my short pull lever I could either use cantis or mini V's...
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The cables I am using for my Paul E-Lever are MTB style.
Have also now heard from another source that mini V brakes can be fitted to a Pompino, so I guess that's some evidence that they must be interchangeable with "normal" V brakes.
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c) get a V-brake lever.
Yep, that could certainly work! Would just have to part with this e-lever that I am stupidly attached to. That could well be the easiest option though.
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Thanks for the comments so far, much appreciated.
As much as I like the sound of a carbon fork for feel and the better options it would give me brake-wise, I think the overall look of the bike in this case might be compromised. This particular Pompino had quite a few scuffs when I got it so (and I guess this could be sacriledge?) I had it powder coated. Carbon forks would probably have to be black and the colour scheme is white/green so it might not work too well in this particular case.
I think these mini-V's (if I could get a reversible one) might be the way forward.
How do you think I can tell if it is currently a deathtrap though? It certainly doesn't feel like it is.
Thanks again.
Paul.
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Hello All,
Long time listener first time caller here. If anyone has the time I would appreciate some advice on brakes... not sure of the best course of action.
I am currently running a front SRAM V-brake with a Paul Components E-Lever. Got the lever because I liked the design, used brakes that came with the bike (I got a good deal on a second hand Pompino that I have stripped down and painted up etc). Hooked it up and as far as I know it is working just fine - rode with it for an afternoon and didn't seem to have any problems stopping (i.e. needing to pull the brake unusually hard), but I can't say I tried a real emergency stop from speed. This is a fixed gear used as a general purpose city bike.
Because a) the lever is right-hand, b) the V-brake noodle is also on the right and c) the cable housing I have is fairly thick, I've had to leave a much longer cable than I would have liked - i.e. it has to loop in quite a wide S shape over the tyre. An expert would no doubt rig it shorter than I have been able to (maybe I could have another go), but I think it would still look messier than is optimal...
So for aesthetic reasons initially I started looking at brake alternatives, and it was only then that I read that V-brakes require a different type of lever to cantilevers (presumably types of cantilevers other than V-brakes) and side-pull calipers.
My fork is not drilled for centre mounted brakes, so I think that leaves me with a choice of either (and I'm going to use Paul only as an example here - I'm completely open to alternatives):
a) getting a centre pull cantilever brake that mounts on bosses, e.g. the Paul Racer, the disadvantage being that I think I need something to attach the cable to the headset and I can imagine other compatibility issues there that I've not thought about yet...
b) if it's ok mechanically, getting a V-brake (i.e. because it also mounts on bosses) that is reversible, e.g. the Paul Motolite. In this way I could also end up with a neater cable.
I like the Paul stuff but know it is not necessarily the cheapest and/or best style/quality per pound - I am not committed to it, those are just examples. If there are other nice examples I am up for it. On this topic I just please need a bit of advice from the experts as to what is the best approach for me to take as I have no experience at all with brakes other than V.
So a couple of questions to summarise...
a - is my current setup incompatible / an accident waiting to happen?
b - should I get the centre pull cantilever, and what other things do I need to condider there etc?
c - any other comments!?Many thanks in advance for any advice you have...
Paul.
I am currently squeezing in a steel frame by 15mm and it works fine. Just make sure you squeeze equally at either side. London Fixie Bike sell spacers too. You need a pair of cone spanners to install them.