Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 44,320
Likes: 6,606
From: New York, NY, and High Falls, NY, USA
Bikes: 1962 Rudge Sports, 1971 Raleigh Super Course, 1971 Raleigh Pro Track, 1974 Raleigh International, 1975 Viscount Fixie, 1982 McLean, 1996 Lemond (Ti), 2002 Burley Zydeco tandem
Just about all center pull brakes work equally well. One exception for me was those Shimano 500 brakes, as they didn't work so well for me, but maybe I used bad pads with them. So the decision is pretty much down to esthetics and price.
[MENTION=61614]verktyg[/MENTION] mentions dual pivots, and if you don't mind the non-period-correct choice, they are a good suggestion. I've noticed that even cheap dual pivots work really well, and I wonder why that is. Perhaps good stiff aluminum is easier to use than it used to be. So if you decide to use dual pivots, use any brand, once again considering esthetics and price.
[MENTION=424205]Salamandrine[/MENTION], what do you mean MAFACs are not linear? You may be right, but I haven't noticed.