Cantis

this might belong in the lycra or commuter sections, but it is a gear question, so

what's the best bang-for-your-buck cantilever brake system currently available? my beloved m734's are on their last legs after countless years of faithful service. looking for something affordable and effective

i'm pretty good at setting up canti's so not too worried about that aspect of the design

Look into Mini Vs as well. A lot of people seem happy with them.

CX70's get the nod from me based on their ability to handle varying rim widths better than most. Makes pad alignment way easier than with Paul or TRP. Can't speak to the Avid canti's as I haven't tried them.

I agree on mini-Vs too but might not be an option depending on any clearance issues (fender / mud / tire etc).

Look into Mini Vs as well. A lot people seem happy with them.

I had the Paul V-brake's for Canti-pull levers on my old cross bike and they were excellent. All the fittings are replaceable, so if you ever need fittings/springs you can just fully rebuild them… So, up front they're an investment but if you're going to keep the bike a long time they won't wear out.

Way better than any canti brakes I have ridden (Paul, TRP, Avid) properly set-up or otherwise.

The only issue may be tire clearance (Cantilevers can accommodate much bigger tires).

Avid shorty ultimate are easily the best I have ever used….never tried the Pauls though.

I have Pauls touring cantis on my cross bike. They're not exceptionally powerful or anything (not surprising, pretty old-school design) but they're serviceable and easy to set up and seem like they'll last forever. I bet a Paul mini v would be awesome.

I have a few full sets you can have free. FSA SLK beautiful finish stiff spring work badly. I think I have a full set of Avid shorty 5 too. Free to good home. They are in Whistler now but I can bring them down next week. Might even have some older Tektro mini v's.

If you want decent canti's, Avid ultimate is the go to. Pauls are awful.

thanks guys

i don't think anything made by paul can be described with the phrase "bang for your buck" or "affordable" - and those mini-v's are hideous!

i'm confused by how the cx70's can accomodate a wide range of rim widths? looks like they've only got one long ass spacer…

strangely, i'm annoyed by how easy the new generation of canti's look to set up, pretty similar to v-brakes i guess. if i can't be a snobby retro grouch… might as well run disk brakes

oh well, thanks again. off to ocb to dig through the $5 bins in search of buried treasure