Rim Brake Types For Mountain Biking

V- Brakes or Cantilever Brakes? Not really a choice anymore for most, where most bicycle corporations have moved to V- Brakes, A stronger, safer brake that applies more brake force. You may ask... why is it stronger? well I'll explain; the distance from the brake post to the brake pad is the same on both types of brakes (A). The thing that makes the V-Brakes stronger is the longer moment arm (B) compared to that of a cantilever brake (C). The longer moment arm will take the same force that is inputed at the brake lever from your hand and the longer moment arm of the V-Brake will have a larger amount of force placed upon the rim. The move from cantilever brakes to v-brakes happened through the nineties due to there increased strength over cantilevers and in turn, there increased safety compared to cantilever brakes. So there you have it, why V-Brakes are better than cantilever brakes.