Originally Posted by Het Volk

I have not understood the need for these brakes on a Touring bike? I guess I envision that what I need for a touring bike is ability to repair it, and keep maintenance to a minimum. Adding a hydraulic brake and added mechanical complexity, not to mention increased weight just seems to outweigh any benefits. Perhaps, depending on the terrain, when fully loaded, the beneficial stopping power on a mountain pass might be necessary, but it seesm good old cantilever brakes have worked in these circumstances for years (and in some cases, they were single-pivot brakes such as on the Fuji America of the early 80's no less)

I was actually a little disappointed that Trek dropped a Cantilever 520 option in the latest model run. Unfortunately, it seems a self-reinforcing prophecy, that as companies initially pushed disc brakes, it ingrained in the public's mind that these brakes were absolutely so much better, that it inherently dropped demand for a cantilever options, which further led to manufacturers dropping such options.