Upgrading Promax Cantilever brakes to Shimano BR CX-50
Published at December 5, 2023
When I bought my all-rounder Sensa Fermo SL I can’t help but notice that braking sucks. This is aluminium cyclocross bike from 2016 with Shimano 105 shifting. But for the breaks they’ve used cheaper Promax-something cantilevers.
First thing that I tried was to replace pads. These brakes use V-Brake pads. Also, there is a very tight clearance for a tyre fit. So I found some Kool Stop Thinlines to do the work.
Well… if there was an improvement, it was hardly noticeable. Also I ran into another problem. Adjustment bracket in the rear was running out of adjustment range. I had to press pads hard to the bottom-most position and it still was not enough. When I tighten the screws it went out of adjustment.
Solution was to install pads from a road bike. Luckily, I had Ultegra 6800 brakes lying in my drawer. Just like a little GCN Tech moment here.
Braking power improved as well. But was still not good enough. One day, I found a listing of brand new Shimano BR CX-50s on a dutch classifieds site called Marktplaats. I read good reviews about them and ffter some hesitation, I bought a pair for 50 EUR.
As per hints on the internets, I decided to move Ultegra pads to the new Shimano cantilevers. Final setup is on a picture above.
These were much better. Still less strong than my other road brakes, but finally good enough to ride around with confidence. Very soon I had a chance to test them in the wet on a steep descends during my trip to England, check that out.
In a conclusion, I can say that installation and adjustment was very easy with these CX-50s. I followed this guide from Park Tools and had absolutely no problems at all. Braking power is noticeably better than stock Promax. On little advice that I have for you - buy these as a complete package. It comes with bolts and pad guides in several different length. Only some will work for your frame and wheels combination, so if you buy it used, be aware of that.
Have a nice ride!
