The most common way to make STI, Ergo and Microshift brifters and any standard drop bar brake lever work with V-brakes is to use Travel Agent adapters to provide the correct cable pull.

If you decide to use cantilevers as replacement brakes instead of the Travel Agents, the current Shimano BR-R550 cantilevers work well and are easy to install and set up and use the same replacable pads as most current V-brakes.