Shimano 5600 stis and mini-v brakes

[djnotts]

Tried searching honest!
Any experience of 10 speed 105 brifters with mini-Vs? Are flexible noodles a help?
Or do I fit cantis (which I hate)?
Or are barcons and Tektro drop levers for full size Vs the only sensible option?
Thanks.

[MartinC]

I've used Mini V's with 5500 STI's. They work fine. Flexible noodles are optional but noodles with adjusters are almost essential. Haven't used mini V's (yet) with NSSLR (5700 and up) STI's but I guess they'd work even better 'cos more cable pull.

Cantis are a faff to set up but work well.

My current Tour/Utility bike (Surly LHT) is set up with 7 speed DT shifters, full size V's and Tektro 520 brake levers. I like this set up for many reasons. It's simple, effective, reliable and cheap and easy to maintain. I grew up with friction DT changing, I like STI's and Ergos but they're a minefield of compatibility problems now so it's easier just to watch the world go by now. I bought a stash of 7 speed cassettes and hubs when Rose and Chain Reaction were giving them away for a fiver or less.

To be honest, Cantis, Mini V's, full size V's with DT's/BE's or discs are all sensible options - it's whatever suits you best.

[mcshroom]

I've used mini-vs with 2300 levers (which should be the same brake pull as your levers I think), and with the modern NSSLR alternatives (R2000). The pads had to be closer to the rim with the older pull levers, but the brakes themselves worked absolutely fine.

[slowster]

I've no personal experience of mini-Vs. Spa's suggested standard drop bar 9 speed build for its steel tourer pairs Tektro RX-6 mini-Vs with Sora R3000 levers, which I believe are NSSLR and the same cable pull as 10 speed 105 levers (they appear in the same box in the Shimano compatibility chart - https://productinfo.shimano.com/#/com/1 ... &cid=C-453), which suggests that is a good combination.

There have been previous threads on the subject of mini-Vs and STI levers, and one of the important points was that mini-Vs are not all the same, nor perform as well as each other. There are variations in the length of mini-V arms between some manufacturers, and I think Tektro have different lengths in their range (Spa state the RX-6 arms are 90mm). I think 531colin has commented that Spa switched to fitting the Tektro calipers on their bikes because they found them to be significantly better than the brand they originally fitted.

Another factor with any variation in the height (arm length) of different mini-Vs might be that it would affect mudguard clearance above the tyre (again something which I think 531colin has pointed out). Spa's choice of the RX-6 for their steel tourer might therefore not be quite so good for another brand frame/fork, e.g. if it had a significantly different axle to crown measurement and/or the studs were brazed on higher/lower.

Nevertheless, I suspect that the RX-6 would probably be your best bet.

[MartinC]

All good points. Mini V's seem to vary from about 80mm to 90mm arm length which as you say will affect their cable pull requirements and the mudguard clearance so some measuring is required. The other issue is the height of the rims over the pivots, this too will affect the MA and the cable pull needed. Working all this out is fairly straight forward trigonometry. In my experience Arm length of 85mm and pad height of 30mm seemed like a sweet spot for pre NSSLR levers (I think Spa's RX6's are 85mm, they also have stiff arms). NSSLR levers should be more tolerant.

You need enough cable pull to apply the brakes really hard. The more you have after this will reduce the frequency of adjustment and give you more scope to lift the noodles out for wheel removal. Release buttons at the lever help too but Shimano don't provide these.

[djnotts]

Thanks all - much to read and ponder!
Mudguards would not be an issue for this bike, it would be a bare wheels, slightly bigger tyres, version of my disc Boardman ASR 8.8 for "gravel".

[gxaustin]

I use mini vees with Ultegra 6600. They work fine although the noodles need to be carefully positioned and cable lengths just so to avoid pushing pads onto the rim. I have noodles with adjuster screws.
And it's a pain to change tyres. I leave enough slack to take the noodle out of the brake to get more clearance. It works with the adjusters to take up the slack.

[mcshroom]

I've happened to move onto bar end shifters and full Vs at the moment, but I was wondering about whether one of these would be a good idea with mini-vs. It's an in line QR, normally used for TT bikes: -

https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/shi ... prod131356

[531colin]

As Martin says, the point of the Tektro RX6 is that the arms are stiff, so you don't get much "lost motion" due to the arms flexing. The arms are like a "U" channel https://www.tektro.com/products.php?p=49
(Shimano also (used to?) make a mini-vee with stiff arms, but I can't find it....)
However, its still necessary to set the pads pretty close to the rim...a barrel adjuster in the system somewhere helps, but you have to set it up so that the adjuster is always part-way "out".....so you can screw it all the way "in" and then you can disconnect the noodle...a minor faff!

[MartinC]

I've just checked - the RX6's are 90mm arm length. No use to STI users but the Tektro 340 levers made for these have a brake release button at the lever.

[mcshroom]

That's the same design as the RL520 v brake levers.

My mini vs are Tektro RX5s, which have an 85mm lever arm. I had an RX6 with the same levers, until one of the springs snapped.

[slowster]

I use mini vees with Ultegra 6600. They work fine although the noodles need to be carefully positioned and cable lengths just so to avoid pushing pads onto the rim.

Which model of mini-V /what is the brake arm length? Ultegra 6600 pre-dates NSSLR, so it would be better suited to a mini-V with shorter arms.

And it's a pain to change tyres. I leave enough slack to take the noodle out of the brake to get more clearance. It works with the adjusters to take up the slack.

Do the noodles have plain tips with a constant diameter? If so, you could change them for ones with a notch which reduce the amount of cable slack needed to unhook the brake.

For example, the BBB noodle:
https://www.merlincycles.com/bbb-bcb-91 ... source=PHG


The slimmer section of the tip supplied with Tektro RX-6 brakes is longer, which is probably even better (less need for precision to align the bracket with that part of the tip):

[gxaustin]

Ooh thanks for the tip.