I replaced the Mafac pads with Koolstop salmons and they squeal horribly. I've lightly sanded and cleaned the rims and sanded the pads but it hasn't helped much. I think I need to toe in the brakes but I'm not exactly sure how. Twisting the arms of sidepulls was simple enough but these cantis are different animals.

Would you bend the posts of the brake pads? I don't have access to a vice so that's going to be tricky. Plus I'm afraid of weakening the posts or snapping them in two.

Would you use a wrench to twist the round part of the brake arm where the pads insert? Seems like that might be easier...the taper of the area just below the round part (looks like the "waist" of an hourglass) might make it easier to bend. However it's going to be a pain because I'll have to take the brake arms off the frame so I don't accidentally bend the mounting posts. I'll also have to remove the brake pad because the screw head will get in the way and won't let me get a good flat contact between wrench and brake. Seems like a very inexact and inefficient method...I can easily see getting it "not quite right" after all the disassembling and reassembling.

If there's anything else I should consider (or any steps I might have missed above) please speak up!

I've heard the Paul Neo-retros are easier to adjust. Do they have a mechanism that allows you to "tilt" the brake pads with respect to the rim?

Also, I wonder why the Mafac pads didn't give me this problem even though I installed a previously unused set? I suspect it's because they're made of a softer material (that's one reason I replaced them; while they did a fine job stopping the bike they seemed to wear quickly).

Thanks for any advice you can offer...this bike is currently unride-able.