sailorbenjamin

Is one better than the other in performance?
I've read that the levers aren't interchangable. I've found the V-brakes easier to set up than the cantis so I use them on quick flips but are the cantis better in terms of stopping the bike?

KonAaron Snake 

Properly set up cantis, in my experience, work as well as v-brakes...but v-brakes are MUCH easier to set up. Traditional v brakes can't be used with road levers unless you use a pulley to change the pull of the lever. The reason cantis still exist is for when you need tire clearance with road levers...though mini v's have made ground there. I've never used mini-v's so don't have an opinion on them.

Sixty Fiver

Properly set up cantis are a joy to use and provide more than enough stopping power... it is the difficulty in setting them up that makes many averse to using them and the v brake is a type of cantilever which is relatively easy to set up.

RJM

My preference is for a nice set of cantis with wider tires; however, I set up my Rivendell Sam Hillborne with a set of Shimano XT V-brakes just cause I had them lying around. I am using barend friction shifting and just picked up a set of Tektro v-brake road levers. The combination on that bike performs very well, so no issue there I may switch over to a set of Paul neo-retro cantis if I ever get the money to do so. I was also throwing around the idea of buying a pair of the Paul motoBMX linear pull brakes just to be able to use 700s on the Riv sometime, but the way the bike is working with the 650s I don't really see the need to screw with it.

I would say that the v-brakes are a little easier to set up and may be a tad more powerful except for maybe the high profile cantis are just as powerful, I don't really know for sure. I have never had a problem locking a wheel using cantis, so I don't think that they have an issue in power. You will need different levers if you are going to run V-brakes though and they won't really work with brifters (or use a set of travel agents.)

toytech

My experience with both is that linear pulls have less effortrequired to stop, but canti's properly set up are easier to modulate. V brakes on a mountain bike were a big improvement in that long descents would result in less hand fatigue. They both stop equally well. V brakes have generally more mechanical leverage.

sailorbenjamin

Thanks for the advise. Maybe I should explain my context (other than just wanting to know).
I picked up a late model Schwinn retro-aluminum-50s-look-with-modern-features frame and it's got canti posts. I've got a nice set of cantis on this Raleigh USA mtb, complete with Koolstop Salmon pads. I've also got several other sets of both kinds. I'm thinking it would be nice for towing the Adams Trail a Bike with a kid. Either one would probably work just fine, but I also like to know things.

degan

Properly set up, either kind will work fine. Something I have noticed is that some cantis that stick out further, like Dia-Compes, may stick out so far that panniers interfere with them. This was a problem when I had DCs on my touring bike. I switched to Avid Shorty 6s, which have a much lower profile, and there was no more pannier interference as well as greater stopping power. It is nice to be able to use regular levers, though. That was one of the reasons I went with cantis.

Sixty Fiver

I pull a trailer with a canti and u brake equipped bike and my extrabike runs a canti up front and a v brake in the rear and has no lack of stopping power.

The XTR cantis on my hynrid were among the best brakes I have ever used and had to warn people when they rode it that it has stopping power they may not be used to.

frantik

i guess my cantis are set up wrong because they suck bozack. my rear ubrake is way better and vbrakes on my old Hardrock were also better than the cantis on my diamondback

RobbieTunes

I like the mini-V's. They stop with serious intentions, are easy to set up and adjust, and are light.

top506

Roger that.
My all-purpose Miyata has worn cantis, full size V-brakes, and mini-Vs at various times, and I settled on the mini-Vs. I am, however, running them with V levers.

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noglider 

What are mini-V's?

strock 

As others have said, v-brakes are easier to set up than cantis. I don't find a lot of difference between the two in terms of stopping power, if they're set up properly. But I do find that wide-profile cantis give me the best modulation. If you want to split the difference between v-brakes and cantis, Shimano's BR-R550 brakes use canti cabling (and levers), but have the linear springs and the threaded posts characteristic of v-brakes. I have a set and like them a lot.

southpawboston

Cantilever brakes very a lot in terms of their geometries (lever arm angle and length), which affects how much mechanical advantage they have and how well they modulate. To say that cantis are great, or that they suck... well, neither is a valid claim, because it's all relative to the amount of effort it takes to make them work. For cantis with very little mechanical advantage, a lot of force must be applied to the levers, which causes a lot of tension in the brake cables, and compression in the housing. This in turn can reduce braking performance because all that force is causing flex in the system, instead of compression of the pad against the rim.

V-brakes, on the other hand, have very little variation in their basic geometries, so cheap $10 V-brakes generally work as well as high end Paul or Shimano XTR V-brakes. What makes V-brakes very powerful is the tremendous amount of mechanical advantage built into the design. So much so, that they must be used with levers specifically calibrated to counter some of that mechanical advantage.

bradtx

sailorbenjamin, Performance wise, either will provide more clenching power than anyone may want in certain situations. Linear pull brakes simply don't bleed some of the rider's energy in the upward cable pull and provide a more solid 'bridge' than a straddle cable.

Brad

RJM

Southpawboston is right about the different cantis and their ultimate power. Something like Pauls neo-retro brake, which is a high-profile canti brake has less inherent power than their touring canti, which is a low-profile canti, they have different mechanical advantages because of their design. The Tektro cr720 is a high-profile design and something like Shimano's CT91 is a low profile and there is a distinct power difference between these two brakes, even though both are cantilever brakes. I have used both of these brakes on the same bike and the felt power difference is real. They both stopped the bike (a stumpjumper) but you had to pull the lever harder for the Shimano brake to get the same power.

bionnaki

if v-brakes were more compatible with road levers/brifters, I'd go with v-brakes. the v-brake road levers that are available are not my thing, so that's not an option. mini v-brakes are great, but the tire/fender clearance is more limited. on my touring bike with 35mm tires and full fenders, I go with cantilever brakes.

but as been said, if setup properly with decent pads and quality housing (and perhaps a fork crown hanger), cantilever brakes can be excellent. I use shimano cantilevers and the supplied link-wires along with yokozuna brake pads and housing (incredibly stiff housing -- the reaction cable set is highly recommended). toe-in with a folded business card and I'm all good.

frantik

what is the difference between "high profile" and "low profile" cantis?

RJM

High profile would be like this https://www.paulcomp.com/neoretro.html

Low profile would be like this https://www.paulcomp.com/touringcanti.html

Check out Sheldon Brown's page on Cantilever brakes for some "fun" reading on mechanical advantage of the different canti brakes.

https://sheldonbrown.com/cantilever-geometry.html

frantik

i have the low profile kind.. i guess i need a shorter yoke cable or something cause mine are only good for slowing down, not stopping

sailorbenjamin

Those Pauls are pretty. I should get a real job so I can put some of that eye candy on my bikes.
Lots of good info, folks. Thanks.

Mithrandir

I'm putting together an LHT with brifters. I'm deciding on brakes and I looked at the Shimano BR-R550's but I've heard a lot of complaints about them. Anyone use the new CX70 canti's yet? I figure if they're for cyclocross they ought to have good braking power. Will be running fat tires and probably fenders.

top506

https://www.tektro.com/_english/01_pr...X&sort=2&fid=8

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RJM

What is the advantage of mini-v's over regular v-brakes?

KonAaron Snake 

They can be used with conventional road levers/STI.