Originally Posted by
Gene2308
If installing these things exceeds the ability of so many people, I see this as a disadvantage - not something I need to spend more time working with to master.
I can't argue with this, since a lot of people seem to like their cantilevers just fine.
My experience is just that these brakes require more technical expertise than probably 98% of cyclists have. I've just given up on them after seeing how a poorly adjusted v-brake can crush the power these things have after an hour of work.
Once again, this doesn't even touch on the idiocy of cantilevers requiring extra bends and threaded stops for barrel adjusters (when using road brake levers). Less power and more crap running along the housing to introduce more problems.
Yes, I sort of agree with you, cantis are a little bit more difficult to setup. But it does depend on your experience and the quality of the cantilever brakes.
I recently converted a sport/touring bike from road calipers to cantis. I am using Avid Shortys. I can't believe how far along cantis have come since I used last had them on a bike 15 years ago.
I am amazed at how much easier the Avid Shortys were to setup. I cannot use linear pull (or V-brake) type because of the road STI lever. For now, these have plenty of stopping power and setup seems fine to me.
Again, one's perception or experience will be a factor. I have used Tektro disc brakes on a MTB bike, which were crap and I replaced them with Avid BB5s. I also have a set of Tektro road calipers on my commuter, not as good as Shimano calipers, but will stop the bike.