Greetings + Shimano Cantilever Replacement Conundrum
Posted: 24 Jun 2024, 11:07am
Hello from Australia 
I'm looking for some decision-making advice regarding replacing the cantilever brakes on my plucky '90s Avanti hybrid bike and seeing as that, in my online search for information, this particular cycling forum looks to contain some individuals with some great insights, I've come all the way to the UK to ask for your further assistance if you would all be so kind!
But first of all, I thought it polite to explain the situation first as a way of introduction (or, please just skip the next two paragraphs to get straight to the point).
In the early days of COVID, my (much more valuable and practically new) bike was stolen from my workplace, and whilst I managed to get most of its value back on insurance, it was also when you couldn't buy a bike anywhere at that time. I'm not what you would call a "cyclist" as such and have never come close to pulling on any lycra, but more so just a guy who likes cruising on a pushy - weather permitting - and when I stumbled upon the aforementioned, Avanti (Purple) Breeze on an online classifieds site for the princely sum of $50AUD (£26), and despite some, ahh, signs of use, I thought it had the potential to see me through as a stop-gap pub/beach/work commuter with a bit of TLC. Luckily, at the time I was blessed with a great local bike shop and mechanic and with some tuning up and some new shifters, grips, rear derailleur, cables and brake pads, I discovered that it was actually a really fun ride - to the point that over the years I've become quite fond of the old girl.
Fast forward to now, and sadly, a) I've moved cities and needed to find a new LBS, and b), the original cantilever brakes were a variant of the infamous Shimano Altus BR-CT90. Originally, when I first had the bike looked over, the plastic spring covers were broken, but, my legend of a mechanic somehow found some un-broken replacements from his parts bin to get them working again. He also installed some cool-looking (although, from what I can see, fairly budget) Jagwire branded pads and the combination stopped like a champ - including down hills and in the wet - with no shudder or squeals. But alas, one of them broke again so I bit the bullet and found what I had hoped would be my new LBS for some new improved brakes plus a couple of other upgrades (some new tyres, plus a new head stem and headset to replace the rusty ones).
Anyway, long story short, it all turned into a very disappointing experience involving three trips back to the store to get all the (pretty straightforward, or so I thought) work done correctly and, despite being assured that the new, modern cantilever brakes on over would stop even better than the old, outdated ones they were replacing, they're cheap off-brand rubbish. They don't stop well nor have any feel, and after only a handful of rides the cable of the front brake has pulled through the pinch bolt, and when reset, it pulled through the yoke instead so I've had it with them and want to go back to some Shimanos. I should add to this that whilst a v-brake upgrade was mentioned at the time, I wanted to stick with canti's for reasons of period-correctness, the fact that the existing CT90s stopped great and that I also think that v-brakes look a bit naff (they simply remind me of the cheap chain-store bikes that were around at the time). As for wanting to stick with Shimano, Purple Breeze also has what I think are pretty cool, retro Shimano Altus Equipped stickers
.
As it turns out though, Shimano doesn't sell any here in Australia, so, I've had to venture online where I thought I'd simply pick up a set of the current BR-CT91s, however, I've made the mistake of going down the rabbit hole of spotting some used and NOS items on eBay (primarily) that has got me questioning if those are the best solution. Which, is how I ended up here - or more specifically, via the very useful, Boring McBorings guide to Shimano Cantilever Brakes post! Thank you to you, Brucey (I don't know if you can tag people here?).
So, here are the options that I've found and am hoping someone more knowledgeable than me could assist with some feedback on which might be the most advisable way to go (I have just enough bike knowledge to be dangerous, as they say);
New sets of BR-CT91s - the only issue I think I have with these is that the shiny finish looks a bit cheap (as pointed out in the McBoring guide) and doesn't match the matte silver finish of other components on the bike. And to a lesser extent, the noodle on the stadle cable has changed from silver to black which looks a bit odd/non-matching (the new bike store threw my originals out
).
A NOS set of BR-CT90s - I found some online that have untouched grey collars that look slightly different to the ones on mine so I;m not sure if it's just because they haven't been weathered or if they may have revised them somewhere along the way? The appeal is that otherwise, they match the original look and Altus badging but I'm worried about the longevity of the collars if they are indeed the same... They also don't come with the staddle cables (did I mention that the store threw them away? ) so I would have to figure out the right size and buy again.
Used ACERA X BR-M290 - from 1995 apparently and in great looking condition. Not sure where these might sit in the pecking order if someone could help?
Used Deore XT M737 - circa 1990s. Again, how might they stack up? Being older but from a higher-spec range.
Used Deore LX BR-M560 - circa 1993. Black which could be cool. A few dings in the pint that could be touched up but otherwise look good. Again, higher-spec'd perhaps than what they sell now?
STX BR-MC32 - I like the look of these as the matt silver finish matches well but can't otherwise find out much about where they sat in the lineup. Sad lack of Shimano badging though
NOS Acera X in black - Looks quite nice and in theory, a step up from Altus, which would also match with the updated Acera derailleur
. I don't have any model number or year info though. Also, no bolts or straddle cables (urgh) but not the end of the world I guess.
Anyway, as you can tell, I've got more options than expertise so any suggestions to help me narrow down the field would be amazing.
Otherwise, sorry for the very long post but thanks greatly for your time if you made it this far!
I'm looking for some decision-making advice regarding replacing the cantilever brakes on my plucky '90s Avanti hybrid bike and seeing as that, in my online search for information, this particular cycling forum looks to contain some individuals with some great insights, I've come all the way to the UK to ask for your further assistance if you would all be so kind!
But first of all, I thought it polite to explain the situation first as a way of introduction (or, please just skip the next two paragraphs to get straight to the point).
In the early days of COVID, my (much more valuable and practically new) bike was stolen from my workplace, and whilst I managed to get most of its value back on insurance, it was also when you couldn't buy a bike anywhere at that time. I'm not what you would call a "cyclist" as such and have never come close to pulling on any lycra, but more so just a guy who likes cruising on a pushy - weather permitting - and when I stumbled upon the aforementioned, Avanti (Purple) Breeze on an online classifieds site for the princely sum of $50AUD (£26), and despite some, ahh, signs of use, I thought it had the potential to see me through as a stop-gap pub/beach/work commuter with a bit of TLC. Luckily, at the time I was blessed with a great local bike shop and mechanic and with some tuning up and some new shifters, grips, rear derailleur, cables and brake pads, I discovered that it was actually a really fun ride - to the point that over the years I've become quite fond of the old girl.
Fast forward to now, and sadly, a) I've moved cities and needed to find a new LBS, and b), the original cantilever brakes were a variant of the infamous Shimano Altus BR-CT90. Originally, when I first had the bike looked over, the plastic spring covers were broken, but, my legend of a mechanic somehow found some un-broken replacements from his parts bin to get them working again. He also installed some cool-looking (although, from what I can see, fairly budget) Jagwire branded pads and the combination stopped like a champ - including down hills and in the wet - with no shudder or squeals. But alas, one of them broke again so I bit the bullet and found what I had hoped would be my new LBS for some new improved brakes plus a couple of other upgrades (some new tyres, plus a new head stem and headset to replace the rusty ones).
Anyway, long story short, it all turned into a very disappointing experience involving three trips back to the store to get all the (pretty straightforward, or so I thought) work done correctly and, despite being assured that the new, modern cantilever brakes on over would stop even better than the old, outdated ones they were replacing, they're cheap off-brand rubbish. They don't stop well nor have any feel, and after only a handful of rides the cable of the front brake has pulled through the pinch bolt, and when reset, it pulled through the yoke instead so I've had it with them and want to go back to some Shimanos. I should add to this that whilst a v-brake upgrade was mentioned at the time, I wanted to stick with canti's for reasons of period-correctness, the fact that the existing CT90s stopped great and that I also think that v-brakes look a bit naff (they simply remind me of the cheap chain-store bikes that were around at the time). As for wanting to stick with Shimano, Purple Breeze also has what I think are pretty cool, retro Shimano Altus Equipped stickers
.As it turns out though, Shimano doesn't sell any here in Australia, so, I've had to venture online where I thought I'd simply pick up a set of the current BR-CT91s, however, I've made the mistake of going down the rabbit hole of spotting some used and NOS items on eBay (primarily) that has got me questioning if those are the best solution. Which, is how I ended up here - or more specifically, via the very useful, Boring McBorings guide to Shimano Cantilever Brakes post! Thank you to you, Brucey (I don't know if you can tag people here?).
So, here are the options that I've found and am hoping someone more knowledgeable than me could assist with some feedback on which might be the most advisable way to go (I have just enough bike knowledge to be dangerous, as they say);
New sets of BR-CT91s - the only issue I think I have with these is that the shiny finish looks a bit cheap (as pointed out in the McBoring guide) and doesn't match the matte silver finish of other components on the bike. And to a lesser extent, the noodle on the stadle cable has changed from silver to black which looks a bit odd/non-matching (the new bike store threw my originals out
).A NOS set of BR-CT90s - I found some online that have untouched grey collars that look slightly different to the ones on mine so I;m not sure if it's just because they haven't been weathered or if they may have revised them somewhere along the way? The appeal is that otherwise, they match the original look and Altus badging but I'm worried about the longevity of the collars if they are indeed the same... They also don't come with the staddle cables (did I mention that the store threw them away?
) so I would have to figure out the right size and buy again.Used ACERA X BR-M290 - from 1995 apparently and in great looking condition. Not sure where these might sit in the pecking order if someone could help?
Used Deore XT M737 - circa 1990s. Again, how might they stack up? Being older but from a higher-spec range.
Used Deore LX BR-M560 - circa 1993. Black which could be cool. A few dings in the pint that could be touched up but otherwise look good. Again, higher-spec'd perhaps than what they sell now?
STX BR-MC32 - I like the look of these as the matt silver finish matches well but can't otherwise find out much about where they sat in the lineup. Sad lack of Shimano badging though
NOS Acera X in black - Looks quite nice and in theory, a step up from Altus, which would also match with the updated Acera derailleur
. I don't have any model number or year info though. Also, no bolts or straddle cables (urgh) but not the end of the world I guess.Anyway, as you can tell, I've got more options than expertise so any suggestions to help me narrow down the field would be amazing.
Otherwise, sorry for the very long post but thanks greatly for your time if you made it this far!
.