Others have posted what I think is very good advice about canti brakes. I'll just add another positive view. These brakes have always worked well enough, I think. I never shared the deep frustration some people seem to have. MTB's used to come with them, and I had a lot of fun riding my old bike around before anyone knew any better.

One thing I like about cantilever brakes is that the brake pads can be made to last a lot longer than on v-brakes. You can keep pulling that wire out to keep the pads close and use up nearly all the pad.