V brakes vs. cantis?

[NHAero]

I may be acquiring a bike that has studs for V brakes or cantilever brakes. I've never had cantis on one of my bikes. What are the short form reasons why one would choose one over the other?
Thanks

[mktng]

ive always been told V brakes grab harder than canti, but dont offer the same clearances?

i personally think my canti's grab enough. with the right cable/housing and set up.

never tested the theory. haha

[GOTHBROOKS]

wide set cantilevers look so mean! attitude is everything.

[rheosibal]

Cantis are sufficient for cross racing, where you don't really need to come to a complete stop.

V-Brakes are good for everything else. Plenty strong for the road, trails, etc.

But yeah, canti's look mean

[cadence90]

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[Mark McM]

One of the most important practical differences is the number of variables that can be modified when setting up the brakes. Cantilever brakes have many different independent adjustments, that can affect the power and modulation of the brakes. While that sounds good in theory, in practice it makes it more difficult to set up cantilever brakes to behave the way you want - in other ways, there are far more ways to set up cantilever brakes poorly.

Linear pull brake (V-brakes is a Shimano trademark) are exactly as they sound - they respond in a linear fashion to lever inputs. There are far fewer adjustments that affect brake response, so it is far easier to set them up right.

Unless you have a particular situation that needs the larger tire clearance afforded by cantilever brakes, I'd recommend linear pull brakes.

(Keep in mind that linear pull brakes have a fixed mechanical advantage, so you need to use brake levers specific to linear pull brakes. These levers are usually not interchangeable with levers designed for cantilever brakes.)

[fmradio516]

I agree that V brakes are much, much easier to set up. Never had great luck with cantis not making a ton of squealing noise while braking.

[NHAero]

I'm pretty sure I have a set of XTR V brakes and compatible levers in the boneyard, so V brakes will be less $$ too. Thanks guys!

[benb]

XTR V brakes with the right levers are going to be a lot nicer than Cantis IMO.

If you're on road levers the XTR V-brakes are going to be really hard to get working right though.

For me the V-brakes are easier to setup, and require fewer changes to keep working right as the pads wear. The geometry on both types of brakes changes as the pad wears to a more obnoxious extent than it does with standard road dual pivot brakes, which means more fiddling with adjustments. I feel like we are actually pretty darn lucky with modern dual pivot road calipers.

Cantis are better for clearance unless you can run really long arm V-brakes, which generally requires mountain levers or some kind of adapter.

If you've got the Shimano "parallel push" V-brakes those work really well, they do a better job of not changing geometry as the pads wear and/or adjustment occurs. I always had poor lifetime out of them though since they have more pivots.

[zap]

edit

Cantis are sufficient for cross racing, where you don't really need to come to a complete stop.

Canti's work (as do v brakes) if properly setup on road tandems............50mph-0mph in short order........big hill with a traffic light at the bottom.

We also went down the Blue Ridge Parkway to Pisgah Hwy (NW side) and down those switchbacks. But I will say I was super careful there alternating between front and rear brakes. In this case disc brakes are safer albiet performance suffers some.

Anyhow, as they say, if it works on tandems, it sure as heck will work on a single.

[Ken Robb]

When the "One Thousand and One Nights" was compiled, 500 of the stories were pro-cantilever, 500 of the stories were pro-V-brake, and the remaining story was inconclusive.

Which is why libraries were then invented, in order to keep track of all the subsequent debates.
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And I think we have had at least 900 posts here both pro/con. :banana:

[donevwil]

Mark McM pretty much nailed it. Mini-Vs for the simple, no extreme clearance needed solution assuming you're using road levers

I'm a canti fan because years ago I found a set that outperforms any other canti or mini-V (pretty much any rim brake) I've tried. Cantis do take much longer to get just right (in addition to needing a little luck), but they do allow fenders atop 44s, which mini-Vs don't. You also get plenty of rim clearance, very good modulation and, with the right recipe, excellent power.

There's also MTB V's with Travel Agents to work with road levers, they do work very well (better than mini-V IMO), but are a bit kludgy.

[benb]

Tandem experiences always seem to come up, what I don't get is that is also a touring thing too.

Touring seems like the worst case for keeping the Canti brakes working perfectly. Maybe theirs a lot of slow riding that doesn't wear pads as much as more sport oriented riding but it's still a lot of riding and if you're out on the road it's going to be more of a pain to have to keep working on stuff.

It's not that Cantis don't work it's just they always seem to be the most sensitive to anything changing or wearing and require the most attention. Because as soon as anything isn't perfect there performance seems to plummet.

Not that I'm that happy with how my Mini-Vs perform as stuff wears either but it's still a little better.

[NHAero]

I'm envisioning Nitto Albatross bars, with barcon shifters, and MTB-style brake levers which will work well with V brakes. It's the same set-up I have on my Big Dummy, which has disc brakes.

[cadence90]

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[zzy]

There's a reason Shimano stopped manufacturing cantis as soon as V brakes hit the scene (for MTBs that is). That said the older Shimano cantis are still some of my favorites and easy to set up.

[spacemen3]

I believe Shimano still makes CX50 cantilevers for cyclocross, but not the CX70 unfortunately. I like cantilevers as long as the hanger is relatively close to the straddle. V-brakes are simpler to set-up.

[old fat man]

I'm envisioning Nitto Albatross bars, with barcon shifters, and MTB-style brake levers which will work well with V brakes. It's the same set-up I have on my Big Dummy, which has disc brakes.

Then you want V brakes, preferably XT or XTR. Make sure your brake levers are not intended for cantis though. Mtb style brake levers come in long pull and short pull. You'll need the right type whether you go canti or v.

[fogrider]

I just don't understand...when is it acceptable for braking performance to just drop off? the front brakes are the worst! because of fork flex and the long cable from stop, it grabs and shutters...go and get the cantis, set them up, ride a few miles and adjust them little more. Ride and repeat. Then get V brakes. are you using road levers? if yes, get mini Vs.

[colker]

When the "One Thousand and One Nights" was compiled, 500 of the stories were pro-cantilever, 500 of the stories were pro-V-brake, and the remaining story was inconclusive.

Which is why libraries were then invented, in order to keep track of all the subsequent debates.
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Steel is real.