BobbyG

I have disks on my drop-bar commuter and cantilever rim brakes on my old roadie and v-brakes on by MTB commuter. All three are cable-operated. I have as little brake pad clearance as I can get on each. The disk and rim road bikes feel pretty much the same with quick and progressive braking response. In my case the roadie rim brakes feel a little spongy at the end and the disks feel more "direct". The disks are more consistent ride to ride, especially in the wet, but the variance in my rim-brake roadie's brakes are not alarming, except in the wet, when they sometimes take a rotation to grab.

My big, heavy MTB-based commuter/utility bike had cantilevers for almost 20 years. But and as me and my hands reached our mid 40s, the big bike was getting difficult to brake well, especially in the wet. So three years ago or so my LBS put V-brakes on for me...with the same pads I had been using. Not the same brand and model...they transferred the same brake pads from the old mechanism to the new.

I knew that V-brakes are often referred to as "digital brakes"...you know either full on or full off with little or no modulation, but I find them to be the most modulation-able brakes of the three. This may be due to the big MTB being 49.5lbs with the old rack, fenders, water bottle and commute backpack. And that's before you add my weight.

All I can say is it is the only one of my three bikes that I can immediately lock up the wheels at any speed, on any downhill...not that I'd want to. And with the big 26x1.85 slicks it wears for spring/summer/fall it stops right now! And yet...it seems to have a wider range of modulation available than the other two bikes.

From testing out various bikes from various stores myself, I'd say you really can't tell how brakes will be until you get on a bike and ride it with your weight on it. And then, you have to make sure the brakes are tuned.