Review on 🚴 Avid Shorty Ultimate Cantilever Brake - Rear by Tyler Owens

I use these brakes on a road bike optimized for travel. These are the best cantilever brakes I've ever used. They're easy to set up and fairly powerful, although the pads may not be as good as the Kool Stop pads I've seen in reviews. I have used these brakes to replace Shimano V-brakes which worked well but were difficult to get right. The need to keep the pads close to the rim with V-brakes also made tire removal more difficult. These brakes are adjustable for narrow or wide stance. The front brake enters the wide position and the rear brake enters the narrow position. I do not know why. A Torx T10 wrench is required to change from wide to narrow shank. Almost all if not all road bikes should have a narrow stance front and rear. 2.5mm, 3mm, and 4mm hex keys are also required for installation. I use these brakes with Cane Creek Drop V brake levers and have nothing but good things to say about this combination. They enable an increase in the rim clearance for easier removal of the tire (at least 28 mm) and at the same time ensure a great racing bike feeling. They have a quick release button to make tire removal easier. To make parking the bike easier, as with road bikes, you can adjust the brakes so that the brakes lock in the normal working position and ride with the levers in the quick-release position. I personally prefer the old strap on the brake lever to lock the front wheel for parking. I used a set of SRAM brake cables to keep the cable running smoothly. The installation instructions were good enough.