Originally Posted by
nubcake
I had v-brakes all the way around for a long time (until the rims wore out, which were well used when placed on the xtracycle) when I lived in Knoxville, I lived at the top of a very steep and kind of long hill that I have went down with quite a bit of weight, the only limiting factor for my stopping distance was traction.
Also keep in mind when you have very heavy loads with an xtracycle you tend to use your rear brake much more than you would on a regular bike, the added stress on the front wheel causes a lot more flex in the fork and with the weight of 50+ pounds of cargo on the back you have a lot of grip in the rear. Actually I could ride all but the steepest hills with just a rear brake.
I'd be willing to bet that either Cantilever or V-brakes would do just fine on flat terrain like here in Houston. In fact, I've salted a '90's rockhopper away for the purpose of Xtracycling it once funds allow. I'm not in that great of hurry as I have a Trike for Groceries and handles very heavy loads out to 5 miles.