Best race-worthy cantis that won't break the bank?

[chiasticon]

Originally Posted by p nut

I purchased a set of Avid Shorty Ult on here a year or two ago for $75. I bet you could find some around the same. Throw up a WTB ad.

this. I'm running three sets of 'em. love 'em. they're so good I used my cx bike as a winter bike for a couple years and never had that "OMG! I can actually stop again!" moment when I switched back to my road bike in the spring.

if you can't find a used set, they're just marginally over your budget, new. esp if you get 'em from the known UK dealers.

also, I would never consider mini-V's if I lived in Portland. here, we usually get one or two sloppy races a year, so they could work. but I still don't use 'em.

[Lewis Moon]

Another vote for ASUs (Avid Shorty Ultimates). I went through a bunch of brakes before I found these. Paul Neo Retros were just about worse than no brakes at all. Every single linear pull brake I've had has had an incredibly spongy feel that I just couldn't deal with.
The ASUs were easy to set up (YMMV), had great feel and modulation and the stopping power correlated very well with lever pressure (unlike linear pulls). I could lock up the wheels on dry pavement no problem. Fork judder can be a problem with all cantis, but I always got it solved through some combination of short pads, straddle cable length, crown mounted hanger (the best fix if you can mount one) or toe in.

[AngryScientist]

Originally Posted by Lewis Moon

Paul Neo Retros were just about worse than no brakes at all.

i have to imagine you had them set up wrong, or some other issue. the paul brakes are THE best canti i've ever used.

plenty of super steep descents here, including a few gaps in VT with some fairly technical descending. zero issues with my paul brakes. all the power and modulation i could ask for.

[colker]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

i have to imagine you had them set up wrong, or some other issue. the paul brakes are THE best canti i've ever used.

plenty of super steep descents here, including a few gaps in VT with some fairly technical descending. zero issues with my paul brakes. all the power and modulation i could ask for.

... aren´t those in the seatstays supposed to be Paul´s front brakes?

[Lewis Moon]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

i have to imagine you had them set up wrong, or some other issue. the paul brakes are THE best canti i've ever used.

plenty of super steep descents here, including a few gaps in VT with some fairly technical descending. zero issues with my paul brakes. all the power and modulation i could ask for.

Oh man...I tried just about everything. Everything. I'm a damn good wrench, I have mad Google skills, my wife refers to me as an engineer who dabbles in biology (I'm a biologist)...
I love the look and workmanship on the Pauls, but I never could get them to be better than horrifying during panic stops.
Besides...I hate the "stabbed in the back" feeling during carries.

[MerckxMad]

Originally Posted by Lewis Moon

Another vote for ASUs (Avid Shorty Ultimates). I went through a bunch of brakes before I found these. Paul Neo Retros were just about worse than no brakes at all. Every single linear pull brake I've had has had an incredibly spongy feel that I just couldn't deal with.
The ASUs were easy to set up (YMMV), had great feel and modulation and the stopping power correlated very well with lever pressure (unlike linear pulls). I could lock up the wheels on dry pavement no problem. Fork judder can be a problem with all cantis, but I always got it solved through some combination of short pads, straddle cable length, crown mounted hanger (the best fix if you can mount one) or toe in.

Not my experience at all. IMHO Paul's are the easiest to set up, stay centered, and stop the bike quickly. Dental work is not cheap. I say spend the $ on Paul's.

[MikeD]

Originally Posted by AngryScientist

i have to imagine you had them set up wrong, or some other issue. the paul brakes are THE best canti i've ever used.



plenty of super steep descents here, including a few gaps in VT with some fairly technical descending. zero issues with my paul brakes. all the power and modulation i could ask for.

Those old fashioned Mafac style cantilever aren't supposed to work all that well, according to https://www.sheldonbrown.com/cantilever-geometry.html. They were basically obsoleted back in the day when mountain bikes came with cantilevers, which were then obsoleted by V brakes, then by disc brakes. Maybe they work well in this application because road bike levers are high leverage.

"Wide-profile cantilevers have a cantilever angle much greater than 90 degrees. The best example of this type is the old Mafac cantilevers, in which the anchor arm actually sloped downward from the boss in some installations. This design is now pretty much obsolete. Wide-profile cantilevers have rather low mechanical advantage, and work well only with levers with a high mechanical advantage."