Are the Avid Ultimate levers I link here for V's or Canti's?

[gtRTSdh]

Copied & pasted from the Gospel according to Sheldon...

Brake Levers for Direct-pull Cantilevers:

Direct-pull cantilevers (that means V-brakes) have double the mechanical advantage compared with traditional brakes (canti's ets), so they require special (V) brake levers. Direct-pull (V) brake levers pull the cable twice as far, half as hard. The lower mechanical advantage of the lever compensates for the higher mechanical advantage of the cantilever. It is not generally safe to mix and match levers/cables between direct-pull and other types for this reason.

Conventional (canti) brake levers used with direct-pull (V-brake) cantilevers will usually not pull enough cable to stop in wet conditions without bottoming out against the handlebars. (depends how the brakes are set) In dry conditions, they either won't work, or will grab too suddenly.

There is no reason for there to be a difference in where the brakes engage between wet and dry conditions?

Direct-pull (V) brake levers used with any other type of brakes will feel nice and solid when you squeeze them, but due to their lower mechanical advantage you'll need to squeeze twice as hard to stop as you should, so unless you are a lightweight rider with gorilla-like paws, this combination isn't safe either.

Yes sheldon has it right, although a little questionable in places, he uses language that could be interpreted in different ways i.e. 'or will grab too suddenly', what does that actually mean, in context it means that the lever pulls so much cable that the brake will engage earlier in the lever stroke than expected, but this is purely a function of brake setup so is a moot point.

 

[We_are_Stevo]

No, what he means is that as there is no modulation you cannot feel what the brake is doing at any given point; therefore, especially in the wet, because the brake doesn't work very well in the first place it may well 'grab' when the friction has cleared the water from the rim...

... or not!