V-Brakes

Here are pics of the completed V-Brake mod to my recumbent. They work great! I love them on the back. If they work half this well in the rain, I'm set for winter. The V-Brakes remind me of power brakes in a car - not much lever feedback, but solid stopping power.

I picked up these levers at a garage sale - someone had done quite a bit of upgrading, and I bought a bag of used parts for $5. In the bag were these levers (Shimano Deore XT), a bottom bracket, bar end levers (which I might use on the trike I'm building) and some small hardware.

I cut the studs off a donor bike hanging in the garage, cleaned them up a bit on the grinder, then held them in place with magnets while I measured the distance between them. Then I drilled two holes in a block of oak flooring exactly that distance apart, and inserted the studs into it. I clamped the block of wood in place so the studs were held snuggly where I wanted them, and tacked them on. I pried the wood block off, then finished welding and painting them. I stopped by Bad Monkey to pickup new brake pads, a noodle (which was missing) and got a cool sticker. I found metric cap screws to hold the levers on at the hardware store.

Now, to find an even bigger hill.......
Jack