Originally Posted by
maddog34
a few million CX racers can't all be wrong.
you see either cantis or disc brakes at CX races.... except for that cluster of newbies at the back of the race, on old MTBs they thought were "Fast".
v-brakes love to drag/change centering when subjected to adverse conditions... most v-brakes on most bikes are low grade ones that flex a lot... the noodles create drag on the cables, especially after some wet use... owners love to fiddle with the centering screws frequently, too. it rarely works out for them.
once set up correctly, and fitted with fresh, modern pads, the cantis are amazingly stable and strong...
Caliper brakes are a completely different genre.
single pivot sidepulls are history on road bikes, for good reason.
I was under the impression that before discs bcame ubiquitous cross racers used canti’s because they had superior resistance to mud clogging in comparison to caliper brakes.
My gravel bike and one of my touring bikes use Paul MiniMoto’s, which have been described as V brakes that are designed to work with short pull levers. Have not found them to be particularly fiddly, even when putting the bike back together after travel. Very happy with the stopping power and while that’s certainly an option for this next build, was intrigued by your statement, as my experience with several canti equipped bikes was less than satisfactory, even after a great deal of reading, research and comversation with other canti users. As a side note have also not been particularly pleased with centerpull brakes like Mafacs, even when equipped with modern pads.