Originally Posted by
oldbobcat
Look for brand-name brakes (Avid, Shimano, Tektro, Origin 8, etc.) that don't have plastic return spring housings that eventually get brittle and break. Ask a shop mechanic to show you, if you don't understand.
The plastic spring covers cracking (and resultant loss of centering consistency) was pretty much limited to One series of Shimano cantis first produced around the late 1980s. Shimano both made good on these by offering replacement springs and covers (which didn't crack) for free for many years after that series was discontinued. And, BTW, the cracking covers were not a safety thing as they only involved pad retraction and not pad clamping the rim.
While one will see these brakes on some old bikes they haven't been produced or sold as new for close to 30 years.
I'm waiting (April Fools) for someone to test out the suggestion pads are a big reason why old brakes don't work well by buying new brakes and cables but replace the new pads with the old dried out/worn ones and report back how well the "new brakes" work now
Andy