The CR720 is now standard issue on Cross-Checks and LHTs, which are the two models we sell most at my shop. I've come to dislike cantilevers in general, but I don't understand the appeal of this model in particular. I doubt I'm making any setup mistakes, as I've been setting them up and riding them for years, and I dislike them equally on bikes set up by others. I find them fiddly and underpowered. Here's why, maybe.
I guess one person's grabby, unmodulated brake is another's significant technological improvement in braking. When I switched over from Paul cantis to my current cheapish Tektro v-brakes on my touring bike, on the first ride, I had to make a semi-emergency stop when a car pulled out in front of me too close for comfort. I pulled the brakes with all my ingrained cantilever king-fu grip, and was startled by how fast I stopped. So I can see how a person who's accustomed to cantis and, perhaps, read enough Jan Heine and other conventional wisdom that says v-brakes aren't adequately modulated, would come to the conclusion that v-brakes aren't adequately modulated based on such an experience. But if you stick it out with v-brakes and make a few good stops, your hand recalibrates, and modulation is just fine, ultimate "oh sh!+!" stopping power is greatly improved, and cantis start to feel like something from the rod-brake era. Plus v-brakes are cheap and easy to set up - the number of forum posts here pertaining to v-brake setup issues here is nil, while canti setup discussions are a near weekly occurrence. IME, some men and all but the burliest women are unsatisfied with the braking power of a new, say, Surly LHT with stock cantilever brakes. Now that Tektro makes long pull aero levers, and v-brakes are excellent even/especially at the cheap level, it's a $60 upcharge to go to v-brakes on these bikes. We do the swap more often than not...which means that I have a bunch of cr720 brakes to sell at swap meets someday! -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msg/rbw-owners-bunch/-/B-axstd6j9cJ. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
