Originally Posted by
hokiefyd
To continue the post above, anecdotally, I've used 100mm brake arms with short-pull levers before on my 1997 Trek 750. This is the combination that will give you the most mechanical advantage, at the expense of a very small window for brake adjustment tolerance (rims have to be very straight, etc.). It did work pretty well, and it would absolutely stop On. A. Dime. Like, right now. I did eventually change the brake configuration on it to something else, but that combination does work sometimes. That Raleigh bike I mentioned above was the opposite of that -- long-pull levers paired with short brake arms. That combination gives the rider the least amount of mechanical advantage.
I can attest to this. I have 100mm v-brakes with long pull levers, but an interrupter (mid-cable) lever out on the front of the aero bars, and interrupters only come short pull as they are intended to fit on the top section of road bikes. I need to have the wheels in top true (always, and my initial retrue job, very close, more equal tensions, hasn't moved in years of use) and the brakes well adjusted, because otherwise, the lever can bottom out. But otherwise, great, I wish my main levers were that lower force, and I use the interrupter lever to hold in place on grades at a stoplight, so easy.
My rim sides are polished smooth, so with standard pads, grip is not what it should be. Softer pads might help, but the rim sides are getting pretty concaved after ten years in a hilly city, I may need to trade out the wheels.