V-Brake Adapter for BMX`

[knoxie]

Hello

Whilst out enjoying the summer sunshine and nippy speed of my BMX the brakes were starting to concern me a little! the front brake was a very poor quality cantilever brake and hardly worked at all, the lever was plastic and would bend under load.

I popped along to e-bay, I got a full set of v-brakes including cables, levers and blocks for 15 pounds, I also picked up a v-brake adapter plate, this is a great piece of kit as it means I dont have to swap the forks out for v-brake forks ( I really should have got a BMX with them on in the first place) the difference between the 2 setups is amazing, I can stop on a dime now!! superb.

I may even do the back brake as that is a U brake, which is also pretty poor, I may first try an aluminium u brake lever instead of the plastic one I have to see if it helps first.

Always thinking about making things faster thought I would spend some time making them go slower!! :lol:

Those little plates are a good option for other folks who have canti mounts and want superior stopping power, I doubt there are many mtbs without them these days but there are a lot of BMX that dont have them, most kids on BMX use their 90 quid trainers as brakes anyway you dont see many with working brakes on the bikes, their bikes may not be quite as quick as mine though!!

Knoxie

 

[Lenk42602]

Knoxie,

Can you post a link/info for that v-brake adapter plate?

Thanks,

len

 

[knoxie]

Hi

Yes sure, you can no doubt get the same thing stateside.

http://www.cyclesportuk.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=25&products_id=187

Cheers

Knoxie

 

[Lenk42602]

Thanks my man.

Long term I will be moving to 24" wheels on my fast bike. Disc front, and need to come up with a solution for the rear to relocate the posts lower for the v brake......

peace,

len

 

[Jozzer]

A nice convenient way to get better brakes, though more secure is to get hold of the Bosses and braze them onto the frame. It should be easy to find someone to tackle it if you dont have the gas..
I used these v brake adapters on my linear recumbent a couple of years back, and broke 1 (in everyday use, it just exploded under pressure one day!) and the second one slipped a little and stopped functioning (on a steep downhill ride!). Jubilee clips are not a good way to hold your brakes together I decided!
On the linear I made some new clamps that were alot more solid, and bolted the clamps to the frame just to be sure.

 

[knoxie]

Hi Jozzer

The supplied jubilee clips are not brilliant I must say, I will get some British made ones fitted to it, there is a tiny little clamp on the rear of the fork else I would have mounted the brake on the other side of the fork so its pushing against the fork when I put the brakes on and not pulling away from it.

I will put some better clips on it, I reckon it will be OK though, I could get the bosses brazed on I suppose but dont think I will need it, I dont use the BMX all the time and they could not be any worse than the std brakes as they basically didnt work at all, I think I will grind the little clip off the forks and fit them on the rear, they should be even more effective when pushing back against the fork, the clips wont be under any stress then either.

Cheers for your input though Jozzer, it will be nice having decent stopping power.

Knoxie

 

[Lenk42602]

my mig welder would be the first choice, provided I become skilled enough to weld on som canti/v posts.... .

 

[chvidgov.bc.ca]

I found one in the U.S.

also known previously as "Big Cheese" brake adaptor, now known as "Dimension Linear Brake Adapter"

http://www.jensonusa.com/store/product/BR400A00-Dimension+Linear+Pull+Brake+Mount.aspx

By the way, this works with a Raleigh 20/Folder on the front fork (I saw a picture on one on the net, on an R20, about the only way to get a V-Brake on there without brazing or replacing the fork which is hard, given Raleighs proprietary 26 thread per inch threading...thanks for the information, it was enough of a clue to get me started on my search stateside.

Chris

 

[LewTwo]

That adapter is no longer available. See this thread for a DIY version
https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=82702&p=1213570#p1213570

 

[maydaverave]

I wonder if the odyssey evo II brakes would of fit on your bike. They are strong bmx caliper brakes that can setup several different ways. I have them on my bmx bike and i love them.
Sorry i looked closer at your pic and realized you just have the center hole mount originally. I have never found a decent set of caliper brakes that mount that way. I could of used this plate on my first ebike build on a jameson boss! I never did get that bike to stop well and i tried several center mount calipers.