oneraindog

my next consideration is which way to go on brakes. after the miles start adding up, the fatigue is setting in and you need a reliable, solid stopping power who likes which brake set up more

center pull (NOT attached to the fork crown with the center screw but mounted to bosses on the fork blades) or cantilever.
pros and cons of each?

i know side pull is an option but its not one im considering for various reasons.

Six jours

Cantilevers give you more options with tire width and fender selection, if that's important to you. Cantilevers are also much more available, as far as I know. The only modern centerpull I'm aware of is made by Paul, and it isn't cheap or easy.

They both work, though, and I'd be happy with either for an LD bike. (I'm currently using El Cheapo Tektro cantilevers and levers, which work just fine.)

oneraindog

so is it fair to say that one isnt necessarily more powerful than the other?

i have a nice pair of NOS mafac "racers" im considering building up with. but i also like the look of the front rack legs meeting the cantilever bosses on the fork

Six jours

I haven't used the Pauls, so my only experience with centerpulls is on the old Mafac stuff, along with the old Mafac pads. Mafacs are a pain to set up and keep adjusted, they tend to squeal unless everything is perfect, and the old pad compounds sucked out loud. According to people I trust, the Pauls solve all those problems, but are machined to extremely tight tolerances and require nearly perfect stud placement. I am led to believe that they often do not fit bikes set up for "standard" centerpulls.

Having said all that, I am fairly confident that Mafacs, with modern pads, will stop very well. If you don't mind the squeal and the fact that toe-in must be adjusted with a pair of pliers.

IMO, the great majority of "stopping power" originates with the pad compounds regardless of the type of brake. Just about any brake will do the job, as far as I'm concerned, as long as good pad compounds are used.

HTH!

supcom

I see no compelling reason to use centerpulls. Paul brakes, as nice as they may be, are very expensive and require a boss placement that is incompatible with other brakes, including, I believe, old Mafacs. So, if you go with Pauls, you had better like them or you'll need to have your frame modified.

Cantilever brakes use a standard boss placement and are well supported. Avid and Shimano both make cantis as well as Tektro, Paul, and many other boutique makers. It is unlikely that cantis will become unsupportable anytime in the foreseeable future.

Cantis provide plenty of stopping power as evidenced by their popularity with tandems and touring bikes. And, if you are planning to build up a randonneuring bike in the French tradition, you can rest assured that cantis were used extensively by the constructeurs. You can even get cantis that resemble the old Mafacs.

bmike

this sort of depends on how big a tire you want to run...
i went with shimano long reach (there is also a tektro long reach...)

Hocam

Calipers and center pulls are far easier to set up than canti's. You just bolt them on, center them and adjust the pads and go.

My avid shorty 6's won't stop squealing no matter the toe in and I don't think I'm getting the maximum braking power from them.

Six jours

Cheap cantis, like the Avids and my Tektros, are a bit hit-and-miss, IMO. Sometimes they work fine and sometimes they don't. I am led to believe that intractable squealing problems are caused by lousy tolerances, in particular where the calipers fit onto the posts. In my case I got lucky and everything worked fine from the start, but I was prepared to have to shell out some bigger bucks if there had been problems.

Along those same lines, my experience has been that the more you pay for cantis, the easier they are to set up. The Tektros took a bit of effort. Some of the more expensive stuff is a good bit easier, and I am told that Paul cantis are very straightforward. Old Mafac cantis, BTW, are a gigantic PITA.

All told, I'd stick with cantis unless I had a really compelling reason to use something else. Having an NOS set of Mafac centerpulls would probably qualify, but I'd be prepared to A) install better pads, B) put up with a very balky toe-in setup, and C) live with squeal, just like they did back in the day.