# Cane Creek Drop V levers + Direct 5 Brakes = Good



## meat tooth paste (Oct 6, 2004)

Took my Tricross out for a 2000ft climb up the fireroad over the weekend and was very pleased with the performance of the lever and brake setup.
Cane Creek Drop V levers
Direct 5 Linear Brakes
Stock pads
I decided to go V/linear because I haven't been happy with canti's and long downhill runs.

Turned around at the top headed back down. Had total control with the levers and brakes as I barreled down to the trailhead. Modulation was excellent on the front. The rear tended to lock up too easily in the rear, I need to make some adjustments. My other bike is an Intense 5.5 mtn bike with Avid disc brakes. At no point during the descent did I feel like I wish I had my disc brakes, the Cane Creeks had plenty of downhill powerful.

The trails were muddy in some section, but mud clearance was not a problem, lots of room.

Only drawback is that this setup needs the Tektro or Cane Creek levers that pull enough cable for the linear brakes, so no brifters unfortunately for those majority who ride with them. I wonder if Shimano has thought about a brifter that pulls enough cable. Seems like there'd be a market for these for touring bikes atleast?


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## myette10 (Jul 20, 2003)

meat tooth paste said:


> Only drawback is that this setup needs the Tektro or Cane Creek levers that pull enough cable for the linear brakes, so no brifters unfortunately for those majority who ride with them.


Those look great. The drawback you mention is a fairly big one.


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## PeanutButterBreath (Dec 4, 2005)

I'm glad they work for you but, man, that pad-rim clearance is crazy small! :skep:


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## MIN in PDX (Nov 29, 2007)

Looks neat. I like the contoured levers.


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## colinr (Nov 20, 2006)

PeanutButterBreath said:


> I'm glad they work for you but, man, that pad-rim clearance is crazy small! :skep:


Yeah, are you pulling the lever by any chance while taking the picture, or are your wheels exceptionally true? Do you just have them set up really tight? 

Basically, my cross wheels are never especially true, so pad clearance is kind of important


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## meat tooth paste (Oct 6, 2004)

Yeah, I need to open up the clearance a tad. I haven't setup V-brakes in ages since going to disc on my mountain bike. Road calipers are a breeze to setup.

The wheels are brand new, so they are true for now and I have no rubbing issues at all.

But still need to fiddle with the setup.


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## singlering (Feb 19, 2006)

What does the set cost?


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## meat tooth paste (Oct 6, 2004)

singlering said:


> What does the set cost?


The levers are $45/pair.

The calipers are $75/each, which is expensive for v-brakes. I went with them because I needed to have the front brakes pad to be position fore of the lever arms. The crown on the Tricross fork is so massive that most vbrake levers wouldn't spread open wide enough for tire removal.


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## PeanutButterBreath (Dec 4, 2005)

meat tooth paste said:


> The levers are $45/pair.
> 
> The calipers are $75/each, which is expensive for v-brakes.


Its kind of weird how Cane Creek positioned the DC5 and the DC3, given the comparative weights and prices. Maybe the CNC'd version is stiffer?


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## meat tooth paste (Oct 6, 2004)

PeanutButterBreath said:


> Its kind of weird how Cane Creek positioned the DC5 and the DC3, given the comparative weights and prices. Maybe the CNC'd version is stiffer?


One of the advantages of the DC5 is the modular design. The levers can be swapped left to right. The pad placement can be swapped fore/aft of the lever arms. So it's the customizable sorta like the Paul MotoLite brakes.

On my front brake, I positioned the pads to the front of the lever arms to clear the massive crown on the Tricross fork.


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## meat tooth paste (Oct 6, 2004)

Seeking some tips...

Is this photo a good example of v-brake rim clearance?


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## meat tooth paste (Oct 6, 2004)

myette10 said:


> Those look great. The drawback you mention is a fairly big one.


Just a thought that occured to me. I read some post on other forums on riders setting brifters with v-brakes using an inline barrel adjuster to take up some of the slack, bringing the pads closer to the rim.

Since I have bar top levers, would the bar top barrel adjusters do the same the same thing if I paired them up with brifters and v-brakes?


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## PeanutButterBreath (Dec 4, 2005)

I just go by lever feel and stopping power.

Shimano & Avid spec 1mm of pad-rim clearance for their linear pull brakes. Avid specs 2.5 - 3mm for the Shorty cantis. That's the rub with V brakes -- ba-dum-pshhhhhh . On a well used wheel I don't even reach for the spoke wrench unless it is at least 2mm out of true.

I feel like my V brakes are usually about 3mm out, but I have never used them with drop levers. My cantis may be 5mm or more out, but they are not set up to be strong stoppers. I just grabbed the lever on my race bike and the pad barely hit the rim before the blade hit the bar :shrugs:

Hand strength increases as the fingers curl closer to the palm, so while setting up brakes for early engagement seems like it would make them stronger, it may actually do the opposite.


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## meat tooth paste (Oct 6, 2004)

Thanks for the pad clearance tips.

I have them about 1mm right now. With the wheels being new, they are still true, so the 1mm sounds like it'll be problem in due time.

I am going to set them out 2 to 2.5mm and see if these Cane Creek levers can pull that much.


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## meat tooth paste (Oct 6, 2004)

Just finish adjusting the brakes to have about 2mm clearance and the levers still have enough pull. If I add more clearance, the levers are gonna hit the bars as I need to pull more to get contact.

With this test, I'd say that conventional mtn bike v brake levers still pull more cable than these Cane Creek Drop V levers. The Cane Creeks pull just enough to work with V brakes at 2-2.5mm pad clearance.


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## FatTireFred (Jan 31, 2005)

I like the noodleless design... might have to check out a pair for the ss mtb


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## meat tooth paste (Oct 6, 2004)

FatTireFred said:


> I like the noodleless design... might have to check out a pair for the ss mtb


The noodleless design lends itself to a cleaner looking cable routing too. These brakes are plenty strong so far.


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## RobRobBob (Jun 23, 2006)

Very cool. How do you find using these brake levers from the hoods?


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## pretender (Sep 18, 2007)

V-brakes with travel agent works great, too, but doesn't look nearly as nice and clean.

I like the Tektro long-pull levers. Very similar size and feel to Shimano STI levers. (The Cane Creeks are just rebadged Tektros with lizards embossed on the hoods.)

My setup for summer will be the Tektro long-pull levers plus mini-Vs plus downtube shifter for the front, Shimano STI plus Cane Creek cantis for the rear.


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## jmyerz (Nov 10, 2008)

I've got the direct 3's and they work great as well. Not as stiff as the 5's but I haven't seen a need for anymore braking power yet. 

Rob: They're just great using from the hoods.


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## BLUEMEANIE (Mar 16, 2009)

FatTireFred said:


> I like the noodleless design... might have to check out a pair for the ss mtb


I have a pair that were original spec on my 99 Voodoo Hoodoo. They're fantastic.


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## FatTireFred (Jan 31, 2005)

ok, so are these levers better for bigger or smaller hands? more comparable to the SCR5 or SCR5c?


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## jroden (Jun 15, 2004)

can you get the wheels off OK? I used mini v's and had trouble squeezing the tire out and had to deflate it. Also, the close pads thing drove me nuts as some mud always seemed to be dragging.

I'd love to see a nice solution in a v-brake, cantis are no thrill.


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## RLHawk (May 20, 2004)

*Can we get an update?*



meat tooth paste said:


> These brakes are plenty strong so far.


Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but I was hoping to get an update on how the Cane Creek Drop V levers and Direct Curve 5 Brakes have held up. 

I have been looking for a similar solution for a tandem bike. I’m accustom to the crisp feeling I get from my road bike calipers or cross bike avid shorty ultimate. The mushy and week feeling I’m get from the current STI + travel agent and tektro v-brakes is just not cutting it.


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## jrm (Dec 23, 2001)

*i like the CC V levers*



RLHawk said:


> Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but I was hoping to get an update on how the Cane Creek Drop V levers and Direct Curve 5 Brakes have held up.
> 
> I have been looking for a similar solution for a tandem bike. I’m accustom to the crisp feeling I get from my road bike calipers or cross bike avid shorty ultimate. The mushy and week feeling I’m get from the current STI + travel agent and tektro v-brakes is just not cutting it.


B/c the hoods are a lot more comfortable then the tektro and diacomp levers ive had in the past. Im using the CC levers with a set of LX full V's on my crosby. What i will say is it sure is nice to reach down on a snotty trial and still have enough brakes to stay in control.. 

Shifter wise I use IRD thumbie perchs and bar end shifters mounted to a cowbell II bar. Its a great set up.


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