The Deore LX cantilever brakes on my drop bar '98 Santana 26"er don't stop very good. I've tried spraying isopropyl on the pads and rims, sanding the pads, and scrubbing the rims with dish detergent, none of which made any difference. Reading
Sheldon Brown's cantilever adjustment tips, it seems that there's too much mechanical advantage. The link wires are Shimano B in front (82mm) and A (73mm) rear. Seems that Shimano link wires in longer lengths are harder to source, but Tektro and Sunlite also make longer ones. Does anyone still use cantis, and are you using longer lengths? The choice seem to be between 106mm and 93mm.