cheers mate........i need some new levers and thought i could use some old V brake ones but i'll have to get some new U brake ones then 
anyone got some spare?? 
Rob, I think you can run V brake levers with non V brakes but not the other way round, I'd try it and see
You can use them, but if you run a V lever it wont have much power on it. On a normal brake (side pull or U-brake) the lever has quite a bit of "leverage" on it, but it doesnt pull that much inner cable through. On a Vee lever, the lever doesnt have much "power", it just pulls more inner wire through, cos the Vee brake caliper converts the extra movent to power at that end.
If you used a Vee lever on a U brake, it would feel a little strange as the lever wouldnt come it to the bars very far, and it wouldnt be giving much power to the caliper.
Having said that. On a cantilever or U brake, there is loads you can do to alter the feel and power of it by changing the hanger wire so its still worth a go.
