These guys are both absolutely correct in what they say - you need to spring for a new set of levers to *assure* that your nice new Vs will work reliably. I moved from cantis on my '94 alu-framed MTB to Vs about 18 months ago - the difference ismore than worthwhile, especially if you ride in traffic and the only other thing I would say is this - if you've got Shimano V-brakes, dump the Shimano pads and move to something softer as soon as the first pair wear out, sooner if you ride off-road a lot (where you 'll see an increased level of abrasive grime between pad and rim). Common consensus seems to be that the Shimano pad compound is very aggressive, and those $5 pads will eat your $100 wheels quite quickly. The increase in braking force that comes with V-brakes comes with an increased level of friction at the rim...