Originally Posted by himespau

I have some old OEM cantilever brakes I would like to replace. I've already gone down the route of checking sheldon's cantilever adjustment section and modifying the height of the straddle (yeah it's old school with the old straddle hanger) and putting on koolstop salmons. It's an old mountain bike that I'm converting to commuter usage, so I've already put drops and aero brake levers on it (a previous owner had started the transition so it's got stem shifters). Anyway I also have front and rear racks and fenders (and folding rear baskets) on board an old CR-Mo frame with a hi-ten fork. So in other words, it weighs a lot even before you add my 230 lbs on it and it needs better stopping power than it currently has.

Given that I only put the new aero levers (short pull) on the bike about 100 miles ago, I'd rather not have to replace them with long pull ones to go V-brake. Also, I'm sort of worried (justifiably or not) about fender clearance with V brakes, so I'd like to stay cantilever. I know old XTR canti's (if you can find them) are supposedly the best available, but they're also a bit hard to find (and can be pricey).

Short of that, are there others that people would recommend? I know some people swear by the Pauls, but those are a bit out of my price range.