Originally Posted by
Vermilion
As with other cycling-related subjects, the terminology can be confusing. Linear-pull calipers are cantilevers but side pull instead of center pull. "V-brake," apparently a Shimano term, has never made sense to me since center-pull calipers look more like a V and linear pull, more closely resemble an H. From the perspective of a literal-minded English major at least.
I posit that a cantilever brake is not a caliper, but just a pair of brake arms. The notion of a caliper is something that spans a diameter (like a measuring caliper) but the classic cantilever brake is not joined in the middle, just attached to the frame/fork. A classic centerpull brake OTOH is both a cantilever and a caliper, but it's that peculiar sort of cantilever that pivots above the rim, like the U brake which is also a cantilever but not a caliper. Discuss. 😀