Originally Posted by
davidad
I prefer the shimano pads. They stop better in the wet and dry conditions. Canti brakes take a little more force when used with road levers.
I just built up a Surly Cross Check with Shimano BB-R550 cantlever brakes using road brake levers. So far (about 100 miles) the stock pads have been satisfactory in both wet and dry use. Yes, they take more hand effort than caliper brakes but a lot less than the older style canti's I had on an early '90's MTB.
BTW, for a touring, hybrid or cyclocross type bike that used cantilever brakes with standard road/STI/Ergo levers, I highly recommend these brakes. Installation and set up are MUCH easier than earlier type cantilevers and, as noted above, hand effort is acceptably easy.
My experience with Shimano brake pads on both cantilevers and caliper brakes has been quite satisfactory over the years but I find the Kool Stops are a bit better all around. Either make beats Tektro pads hands down.
