[Sol Ford]

A bit of nerdy, tech advice needed.

I've canti brakes on my singlespeed On One. I don't want to swap to V's.

I'm getting brake judder from the front brake. I know it's the brake hanger causing it.

The hanger is attached to the steerer tube, it's a high end part, but some of it is missing, so it's got a cobbled together stop. I think the judder is caused by the whole hanger vibrating. The steerer spacers are all tight, without causing stress.

Anyone got any suggestions for a vibration proof hanger for a steerer tube?

Alternatively, I could go with a hanger that attaches to the forks. Unfortunately, the forks aren't drilled for brakes, but the front face is drilled, probably a mudguard mount. It looks fairly low down the fork, near the open end.

I'm thinking of drilling through the rear of the fork and attaching the hanger. My concern is the mount will be so near the bottom of the fork, it may snap or bend the fork edge under heavy use.

Anyone got any suggestions? Are the forces likely to cause this to happen?

I don't mind spending time and (a bit of) cash on it.

Cheers.

Sol.

 

[maplesyrup]

Hey Sol, I went through all this some years ago, when you brake the fork blades flex pulling on the long exposed brake cable and in turn pulling the brake on tighter which makes the fork rebound and judder, if you were being nice you could call it a “feature” it can be hard to cure but you’re on the right lines.

It can be solved by running a fork crown mounted cable stop with a short run of brake cable below it to the bridge, on a correctly set up canti brake the bridge can get a bit close to the stop as the pads wear though which is something to be a little wary of.

I would not drill a carbon fork to accept a fork mounted cable stop, I would change the fork for one with a drilled crown or fit a mini V on the front or perhaps a Paul’s brake if you’re feeling flush.

I cured my fork judder all those years ago by basically making the front brake completely useless so it stopped doing it, latterly I ran a mini v on the front but kept the canti on the back for mud clearance.

Hope that helps in some way.

 

[Sol Ford]

Thanks.👍

I'll try and cover where I'm heading and address your suggestions together.

The flexing fork pulling the cable is new to me, but makes total sense. I always thought it was the steerer tube and pivot points.

V and Mini V are out. I intend to stick with the cantis.

I've a fork cable stop that is for cantis and gives plenty of clearance.

The front fork is steel and can be drilled.

Here's my dilemma: The fork has a hole drilled already, but only through one surface and I think it's lower (nearer to the open end of the fork) than the holes that would drilled for a fork mounted brake. I'm worried that if I drill through the opposite side it'll be near the edge and bend or pull through the metal.

I need a working front brake, it's my preferred one and gets a lot of use.

 

[maplesyrup]

Sorry I assumed your fork was carbon based on previous posts, I’ve drilled through the crown on many steel forks over the years to take Incasso nuts for short reach aero caliper brakes and I’d happily drill a good steel fork to take a cable stop. If you’re at all unsure get in touch with Argos Racing Cycles in Bristol they’ll be able to help you out. I dropped a Salsa disc fork in to them this morning (in my bug) to have canti studs brazed on 👍

 

[Sol Ford]

Ah yes. I have two singlespeeds. My road going one has carbon forks.😁

Just had a nosey online for Argos, my brother-in-law used to live about two minutes away from them. He's moved, probably about ten minutes away now. I might pop in for a browse next time I'm down there.🙂

Thinking about it, it's probably easier to run it into my LBS for their opinion or ring On One direct.

Thanks for the advice. 👍

 

[Dinsdale]

If you stick with cantis there's no guarantee you will ever fix the problem. I spent 3 years trying to remove front brake judder and tried every solution imaginable. Going to a mini-V front - same as maplesyrup - was the only thing that cured it - still squeals like a bastard though.

I have drilled steel forks to take different brake bolts with no ill effects yet.

 

[Sol Ford]

The bike is my current 'go to' and I enjoy using it, but it's a mix of low end parts on a decent frame. The actual brakes worked well on a previous frame, but I think I need a fork mounted stop.

When the wheels and chainset give up the ghost, I'll probably rebuild it with drops, decent wheels and look at brake types while I'm at it.