my current commuting setup uses a pair of cross levers as the primary braking lever. the bike uses bull horn handlebars, and I can potentially use bar end levers, but I need the ends for the shifters... it's not a very traditional setup..

anyway, the caliper brakes stop decently well, but they suck at stopping in the wet. I'm wondering if I would see a large improvement if I swap out the frame with a cross frame, and put bb7's on there, with cross levers, and perhaps use that bike as a cross bike on occasion.

my understanding is that mechanical disc brakes have similar brake modulation as rim brakes, but they do stop well in the wet. However, I also understand cross levers don't have a whole lot of leverage. would this be a problem for single track cyclocross?

lastly, with the cross levers, would i need road version of bb7's or would the mountain bike version suffice?