Originally Posted by Doug64

Based on my experince, I don't agree with your assessment. It may be true for you, but I don't find it any harder or time consuming to replace or adjust cantilever brakes than I do V- brakes. This winter I worked on 37 bikes with V-brakes. This included adjusting all the brakes, replacing several sets of brakes, replacingl brake pads, replacing cables, and several noodles. I did the same maintenance on 6 bikes with cantilever brakes, with no significant differences in difficulty or time. Sure, every once in a while there is a set up that proves to be challenging, but those are found on both types of brakes.

V- brakes have a weakness when used on flat bar bikes. With a flat bar bike the front wheel can be rotated until stopped by the front brake cable. If the force is great enough, It will bend the brake's noodle hanger which can cause problems. The hanger can be bent back only a limited numer of times before the metal cracks. This ruins the brake, and is a safety item. I replaced a lot of brakes for this reason.

This is our school district's bike safety fleet. All the bikes got a deep cleaning, all bearings lubed, parts replaced, and drivetrain and brake adjustments this winter. The sad part is that it may be awhile before we start teaching bike safety to our 5th graders again