Mountain Biking - Quality V-brake opinions?

I'm looking for an opinion here. For V-brakes with one-finger endo stopping power that can be well modulated on a V-brake system, what would be a good option?

I was looking at Shimano XT range, and Avid's Single Digit range. Any likes or dislikes about these, or others?

Unfortunately, due to the way the frame is, discs are out of the question, so I need to stick with cantis.

avid single digit all the way

Avid Single Digit 7, the best and the lowest maintenance brakes i ever got, set and forget kind of brakes.

I've got Single Digit 5s. They work well. It still surprises me how much better they are then cheaper V brakes.

I've got Single Digit 5s. They work well. It still surprises me how much better they are then cheaper V brakes.

makes sense...more expensive brakes are usually better.

there is only one choice paul component http://www.paulcomp.com/ the motolites these are the most powerful v brakes out there. Plus they are far easier to get perfectly centered and they ar the smoothest out there. the levers really work well too. butthey cost more then disc brakes. but I found they worked almost as well in the rain too.

Avid SD7's gets my vote

I was dissapointed in the avid sd7's myself. after using the pauls they are pretty close to disc brakes with great modulation. far easier to setup and change pads too.

but for the money, SD7 hands down

I was thinking about the Avid SD Ultimate, but there is a large price difference (as in $75 for just the Ultimate brakes versus $30 for the SD7, and $16 or so for the SD5. Is the premium for the SD Ultimate worth it? If not, the SD7 seems to be at the right price/performance ratio.

Just comparing, XTR brakes are $83, and XT are $45 each. I have not read anything negative or positive about Shimano's V-brakes, so may just go for the Avid because they have a lot of positive recommendations.

IMO, SD7 is the the best. SL is same as 7 but just a few grams lighter and whatnot. Ultimate might perform a little better but that is like double the price, so it's not really worth cutting a leg.

makes sense...more expensive brakes are usually better.

You'd hope so. It's hard to see the difference when you're looking at them, and it is a pretty simple mechanism. I just don't know where the improvement comes from. They do work better though.

Avid Single Digit Series...no questions ask...NONE.

Avid SD 7 - great price great stopping power
Avid SD SL - If you like titanium.
Avid SD Ultimates - more expensive probalby better.

If you want the best v-brake for the lowest price, its the SD 7. I've ridden all three, but i have SD7's on my other bike, they were great!

If you want the best performence, get some SD or FR Avid levers, makes a huge diff aswell :D

:)

I have SD3s and they suck hard. I havent yet gotten them to stop squealing, regardless of toe. The pad distance changes whenever you open the brakes up to take the wheel off. on top of that, they have very little power. the dura ace road brakes (on my roadie) I have are 50000 times better.

AVID'S no other for the price.

Only buy SD7 and above ^^

I feel the need to also say you should get the SD7.