Originally Posted by cyccommute

I think you are confused about the brakes. The cartridge brake pads are only there to allow you to easily slide new pads into holders. It has nothing, really, to do with the type of brake. Cantilever brakes and linear brakes ( same as a v-brakes) use different cable pulls to make the brakes function. You need to match the levers to the brakes. You can use a cantilever lever on a linear brake but you need a device called a Travel Agent to account for the different cable pull.

Because the mountain biking world has run away from cantilevers, finding brake levers for flat bars that work with cantilever brakes can be difficult. Your life will be simpler by going the linear brake route if you are using flat bars.