Who has tried at least two out of three and what is your choice? I've been generally happy with my Pauls but the hardware is getting old and corroding. New hardware is expensive and I'm tempted to try something new anyway, probably the TRP or Avid Ultimates.
Canti Lovers: TRP v Pauls v Avid Ultimates
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I've used Paul's and they are very good. I recently tried a set of cantis from FSA - they work well and were fairly easy to set up. They also have a barrel adjuster to fine tune. I got them from Excel here:
http://tiny.cc/yfi4z
http://tiny.cc/yfi4z
The FSA looks like a Tektro base model, wide canti... but more expensive.
I've had pauls and they are really nice... but a bit heavy. They do have nice adjustability though. I also don't like the stock brake pads they come with... pretty much toss those as soon as I get them and put some rim wrangler 2's on there. That way you can swap pads without removing the entire holder.
The TRP Euro X models are my favorite though. Great mud clearance, killer looks, light weight, and they are easy to setup. I also like the fact they use common road size pads.
The Avid's look nice as well.... but I haven't used them personally.
I've had pauls and they are really nice... but a bit heavy. They do have nice adjustability though. I also don't like the stock brake pads they come with... pretty much toss those as soon as I get them and put some rim wrangler 2's on there. That way you can swap pads without removing the entire holder.
The TRP Euro X models are my favorite though. Great mud clearance, killer looks, light weight, and they are easy to setup. I also like the fact they use common road size pads.
The Avid's look nice as well.... but I haven't used them personally.
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Haven't used all three.
I have Ultimates now, and so far, I'm happy. They out-perform the Shorty4s and Cane Creeks that preceded them.
I have Ultimates now, and so far, I'm happy. They out-perform the Shorty4s and Cane Creeks that preceded them.
I've used Paul brakes for years. Both geared and SS race rigs have them now. I built a new team rig yesterday that I *just* set up with ultimates. They went together smoothly and seem well made. Easy adjustment, road cartidges with swissstop blacks, nice thick springs. I'll Ride them more than just around the block this week and report back. I've also ridden TRP Mags on a teammates bike. They worked really well, but I didn't really put them through any serious riding.
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I've used the Pauls and now the Ultimates
Both have great snappy return spring tension--I hate the feel of mushy brakes. I ran the Pauls Neo Retro's on the front and the Touring on the back last season. You can definitely tell the difference between the Neo Retros which have a lot more power than the Touring set up.
With the Avid Ultimates, this front-back difference is much less pronounced. I am set up wide on the front and narrow in the back. The biggest difference is the ease of brake pad set-up for the Ultimates. I find this the most tedious part of setting up canti's, however, the Ultimates make this process very easy.
Both have great snappy return spring tension--I hate the feel of mushy brakes. I ran the Pauls Neo Retro's on the front and the Touring on the back last season. You can definitely tell the difference between the Neo Retros which have a lot more power than the Touring set up.
With the Avid Ultimates, this front-back difference is much less pronounced. I am set up wide on the front and narrow in the back. The biggest difference is the ease of brake pad set-up for the Ultimates. I find this the most tedious part of setting up canti's, however, the Ultimates make this process very easy.
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Used TRP last year and they were not easy to set up, always had to file my pads to get full contact on the rim- there are other factors such as the frame ect... but this year I acquired the new Avid Ultimates and they are all around a better brake. Easy to set up, standard road pads, 2 options for set-up...sold.
I just switched from the TRP Euro X to Paul's. I wanted Paul's from the beginning, but due to cost decided to go with the TRP's.
I was never really happy with the TRP. Getting the right toe in and pad contact on the rim was difficult. As mentioned above, filing the pads was about the only way to get a clean flush contact on my bike. I was also not impressed with the level of spring adjustment and feel at the lever. Lots of people seem to use them without issues though.
Setting up of the Paul's was much easier. There was a lot more adjustment. The conical spacers on the Paul's made setting up pad angle and toe in very easy. Even with the stock pads, I feel like there is a lot more braking power than before, and that is comparing them to my TRP's with Swissstop Green pads.
I also really liked the infinitely adjustable spring tension design built into the Paul's. With my particular setup, the brake line comes down on an angle from my hanger, and the straddle ends up being off centre; this was causing the brake pads to fall away unevenly from the rim. By compensating with spring tension I was able to counteract this and get them even on both sides.
Super pleased with them so far. We'll see how they hold up on the race course.
I was never really happy with the TRP. Getting the right toe in and pad contact on the rim was difficult. As mentioned above, filing the pads was about the only way to get a clean flush contact on my bike. I was also not impressed with the level of spring adjustment and feel at the lever. Lots of people seem to use them without issues though.
Setting up of the Paul's was much easier. There was a lot more adjustment. The conical spacers on the Paul's made setting up pad angle and toe in very easy. Even with the stock pads, I feel like there is a lot more braking power than before, and that is comparing them to my TRP's with Swissstop Green pads.
I also really liked the infinitely adjustable spring tension design built into the Paul's. With my particular setup, the brake line comes down on an angle from my hanger, and the straddle ends up being off centre; this was causing the brake pads to fall away unevenly from the rim. By compensating with spring tension I was able to counteract this and get them even on both sides.
Super pleased with them so far. We'll see how they hold up on the race course.
I had Pauls before but I found a set of XTR cantis my buddy had and they are the best working canti brakes ever. My wife's bike is running the 1st gen XT (I think they are the BR M650) and they are so powerful they could throw you over the bars if you wanted (this is good for her weaker hands she doesn't have to squeeze as hard)
I reccomend trying to find old Shimano, Suntour, Dia-Compe cantis on Ebay or something and give them a try
$0.02
I reccomend trying to find old Shimano, Suntour, Dia-Compe cantis on Ebay or something and give them a try
$0.02
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Those of you who had to file your pads to get the toe correct, did you have the more recent models with in-place orbital pad adjusters or the older style with no orbital adjustment? I assume the older style, but if it was the newer style, was there just not enough adjustment range to make it work?
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for those running the Ultimates, are you running them in the wide or narrow stance? Is there really any big difference in power or clearance in either setting?
I have run the Paul's and I'm only commenting to the wide vs. narrow discussion. I have a Neo Retro on the front and Touring Canti on the rear. I have been messing with this set up for a couple of years and can't seem to get the front to feel as strong as the rear. Not horrible, but the touring canti definitely has more power.
I did some research and via Sheldon Brown's site, it seems the wider stance cantis just don't have the ultimate power the narrow cantis offer. What they do offer is more clearance, which I'm sure is very beneficial to those in areas that have a lot of mud.
My Neo Retro works pretty well, but have been puzzled that even while trying different lengths of straddle cable, it never really balanced out. I also read the the majority of pros prefer the narrower cantis for their power.
Anyway, just thought I'd share as I was quite surprised.
I did some research and via Sheldon Brown's site, it seems the wider stance cantis just don't have the ultimate power the narrow cantis offer. What they do offer is more clearance, which I'm sure is very beneficial to those in areas that have a lot of mud.
My Neo Retro works pretty well, but have been puzzled that even while trying different lengths of straddle cable, it never really balanced out. I also read the the majority of pros prefer the narrower cantis for their power.
Anyway, just thought I'd share as I was quite surprised.
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481 Posts
Much prefer TRP to Pauls. Setup is a bit fiddly, but didn't have to make adjustments for nearly two seasons after getting them dialled in. Didn't find toe-in to be an issue (old shoes), found them to be very tolerant.
As someone who is inclined to brake too much, the gradual braking and lack of sudden grabbiness improved my race performance.
As someone who is inclined to brake too much, the gradual braking and lack of sudden grabbiness improved my race performance.
Paul setup help
OK, so am resurrecting this thread to ask of the wisdom from Paul Touring Canti's owners. Have a set that are tough to set up on the rear of a custom Ti frame.
The problem: On rims 20mm's or wider, I can only use thinline pads. If you get into a wider, cross-specific rim and the thicker, cartridge pads like Avid Wrangler, the bottom of the pad contacts the rim before the rest of the pad. I'm maxing out the conical washer's range to address the problem, and when I go to tighten it all up, the pad move out of place (because the conical is at such an extreme angle). Super frustrating.
At first I wondered if my canti post's were spaced too inboard, so would like to hear if others have seen same issue (particularly the KishCx owner). Trouble with being limited to Thinline pads is that they don't make a yellow-carbon one, and you have to toss the whole think after they wear (so wasteful IMO).
So for now, I'm working around all this with Open Pro rims at 19mm - no problems atall. But when I go back to tubulars, I'd like to get the greater surface area of a wider rim for glueing cx tubulars, if possible.
OK, so am resurrecting this thread to ask of the wisdom from Paul Touring Canti's owners. Have a set that are tough to set up on the rear of a custom Ti frame.
The problem: On rims 20mm's or wider, I can only use thinline pads. If you get into a wider, cross-specific rim and the thicker, cartridge pads like Avid Wrangler, the bottom of the pad contacts the rim before the rest of the pad. I'm maxing out the conical washer's range to address the problem, and when I go to tighten it all up, the pad move out of place (because the conical is at such an extreme angle). Super frustrating.
At first I wondered if my canti post's were spaced too inboard, so would like to hear if others have seen same issue (particularly the KishCx owner). Trouble with being limited to Thinline pads is that they don't make a yellow-carbon one, and you have to toss the whole think after they wear (so wasteful IMO).
So for now, I'm working around all this with Open Pro rims at 19mm - no problems atall. But when I go back to tubulars, I'd like to get the greater surface area of a wider rim for glueing cx tubulars, if possible.
i had trouble getting the pauls to fit with one tire-rim combination, so instead of filing down the brakes I threw on some of the cheap tektro cross brakes and have been very happy with them once I replaced the pads. The return springs are a tad weak.
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