Quick Cantilever Question
 

I want to increase the mechanical advantage of the canti's on my MTB. I've seen Sheldon's link but I'm not quite getting it. If I loosen the brake pads, and pull them out, that will increase the mechanical advantage, right? As opposed to, say, pushing the pad all the way in (away from the rim, so it bottoms against the cantilever) -- I want to pull it outward, closer to the rim? I did that today, loosened up the cable as a result, and it did seem to help.

[I need more advantage--I believe a bike shop last year put the wrong shifter pods on. I had Alivio Rapid Fire stuff I think; now I have Acer shifter pods and brakes. On the brake lever it states right on it "V-Brake", which I do not have--they are center pull cantilevers. Needless to say, the brakes are now lacking. I didn't realize it when I brought the bike home, and I didn't ride it last year anyhow.]

Yeah, you really need to be using the standard cantilever brake levers. V brake levers don't have enough leverage when used with canti's... Adjusting the pads might help a little, but not enough to overcome the difference made by the wrong levers...

Yeah, had I known what I know now, only back then... I don't think the bike is worth replacing them a second time though. Just trying to make a bad situation slightly better until I figure what to do (replace brakes or replace bike). I might only ride it a few more times until the spring thaw, on the road, at a slow pace--definitely not off road!

Get a cheap set of V brakes

Alot of the Acera brake shifter combos can do either v or canti brakes. If you pull on the lever, you should see a red piece of plastic that holds the brake cable in position. having the plastic piece in one way makes it v-compatible and the other makes it canti compatible.

If going back to the shop that installed the wrong levers isn't an option, or your lever doesn't have adjustment for mechanical advantage, yeah...a set of cheap V-brakes is probably the cheapest option and will give the best performance.

Shop tip:

Some of the longest conversations I've ever been in have started with the words, "I have a quick question about...".

It makes me cringe every time I hear it.

Sorry, wasn't looking for a long one. I'm pretty sure I'm not going change anything out. But v brakes would give some needed clearance over the fenders, so that'd actually be a nice to fix the situation.