Originally Posted by
juggleaddict
http://sheldonbrown.com/canti-trad.html see "Mechanical Advantage." I'm surprised nobody has mentioned this, but you can try a more shallow link wire, from your picture it looks to be very long. New pads are still a good idea, but I would try to adjust that first to see what effect it has.
+1
I was considering commenting on that.
I've never seen such a long straddle cable on a canti.
Also, that is a tall frame, with a long head tube, and a cable stop mounted up by the stem. That is a recipe for a front brake that shudders and grabs on steep descents. In my experience, it made my front brake unusable in descents of more than 9%.
Lennard Zinn explains it here:
http://velonews.competitor.com/2010/...o-cross_101807
The solution is a cable stop mounted at the fork crown. Tektro and Specialized make them.