[QUOTE=purevl;8659935] This latter may be what gives you the impression that the "height" of the cable run above the pivot is important, but that's not really the case.

Purevl,

It appears to me that if, in an extreme case, the cable run is lowered until it's in line with the brake arm pivot, it would have zero mechanical advantage and be unable to produce any torque at all on the brake arm. Conversely, the further above the pivot the cable run is, the more leverage it would have in producing torque on the brake arm, and therefore more force at the brake pad. The best case would be if each brake arm had a cable pulling straight up, in which case the mechanical advantage would be appx. 3:1. A relatively long straddle cable would approach this scenario.

Regards,
Bob P.