Originally Posted by mikejo
I'm in the same position as well. My XTR Vbrakes are great but I am getting ready to build up another bike and trying to decide what to do with brakes. If I keep my Vbrakes, I save a lot of money. However, what am I missing by not going hydraulic? My rides are basically up a mountain (2000ft) and back down.
Since someone has to do it, I'll chime in for V-brakes. Do your brakes stop you now? Do you like spending money on something that really isn't necessary in all but a few conditions but is fashionable? (I gonna catch hell for that
)
Look, I'm a very large person. I have a touring bike with cantilever brakes and I carry touring loads on it (me plus bike plus touring gear). All told it weights in excess of 300 pounds. The bike also has cantilever brakes and I've never had a problem stopping with them. I've never blown a tire because of excessive heat build up and, when I've broken a spoke, I was able to adjust the brakes so that they would still stop me but not keep me from moving down the road.
I also have a hardtail with V-brakes - more properly, linear brakes - that I ride off-road in some pretty hairy conditions and never had a problem with it stopping either, even in a driving rain storm or snow or mud or sand or just about any other medium you can name except, possibly, jello. But I haven't tired jello, so I can't say.
I also have a dual suspension bike with hydraulic brakes. They are powerful. They will stop you - NOW! But I have yet to experience the so called "superior modulation" that everyone says hydraulics have. They are like an on/off switch. I have to be much more careful in their application or I feel like the bike is going to pitch me on my head! You DO NOT want to grab a fist full of brake lever in a panic with the hydraulics! It's a good way of doing self-inflicted dentistry! I personally find that linear brakes (and cantis) have a smoother, more progressive feel then the hydros. That's what I would call modulation.