Best / favourite / best made Canti brakes from 90ies

[Prodigal Son]

987s for me if you want later designs. Sure M900 look nice but it's the triumph of marketing.

However wide profile ones avoid the compromises with cable pull and highly variable mechanical advantage of low profile cantis. The old M730 wide type therefore take the win for me.

I was gonna say that: if you want the ultimate in canti design you have to go back to wide profiles. Low profile is a compromise in marketing bikes w/ slopping top tubes that look sexy. Since everyone decided brakes should not be on chainstays; a bad decision based on a bad muddy day. Chainstays are stiffer and seatstays should provide comfort, not stiff platforms for brakes. The sum of those fashionable design decisions givs you finicky mushy braking. Solution was Vbrakes and finnaly disc brakes on chainstays.
M900 or exage, avid or suntour.. it´s the same bad geometry, bad location.

 

[ferrus]

“seatstays should provide comfort…” - great comment. But that bad muddy day can last 6 months in the UK!

 

[ibbz]

There’s a bunch of pic’s of the Boulder canti’s here. It’s a fab brake, much nicer than Onza HOs..
https://www.retrobike.co.uk/threads/boulder-brakes-sold.378833/#post-2811694

They look sweet!!!
I
Also like the FRM ones that don’t need a canti hanger

 

[ibbz]

I was gonna say that: if you want the ultimate in canti design you have to go back to wide profiles. Low profile is a compromise in marketing bikes w/ slopping top tubes that look sexy. Since everyone decided brakes should not be on chainstays; a bad decision based on a bad muddy day. Chainstays are stiffer and seatstays should provide comfort, not stiff platforms for brakes. The sum of those fashionable design decisions givs you finicky mushy braking. Solution was Vbrakes and finnaly disc brakes on chainstays.
M900 or exage, avid or suntour.. it´s the same bad geometry, bad location.

I had the Paul Neo Retro wide cantis before - I really liked those a LOT!
But they had a habit of tearing my legs at times when getting on and off the bike as they stuck out

 

[KermitGKona88]

My personal favourites were control tech, just the one main spring replacing the straddle, wish I had never got rid of mine...

 

[ibbz]

My personal favourites were control tech, just the one main spring replacing the straddle, wish I had never got rid of mine...

Rare and damn fine looking ! And expensive I recollect

 

[ibbz]

I was in the VTT francais thread and saw the CNC French V brakes by ABC
Then looking around the web I saw these
https://www.cycling-vintage.com/abc...em-for-mtb-frein-avant-vtt-et-vtc-c2x33823006

 

[KermitGKona88]

Did the Modolo not work out?

 

[ferrus]

Rare and damn fine looking ! And expensive I recollect

The missus and I bought a few sets of these for £15 each, from Ricci Cycles back in 96-97. Canti’s had become old hat so they were selling them off.
There were a couple of iterations; some fully machined and others forged with only partial machining.

I’m not convinced the dual purpose spring was a good idea though, the missus broke loads of them. It also meant you were stuck with a lot of return-force as there isn’t much tension adjustment possible.
I have a set still going strong.

 

[Canuckbiker]

I’d say M732 canties are hard to beat but M900, M735 & 987s are not far behind and clear the heels much better.

Honorable mention to Machine Tech Zero-Flex canties which work as well and look so sweet