AMoney

I have two cyclocross bikes, a singlespeed and a geared bike. The singlespeed bike has the Avid Shorty Ultimate Cantis (an upgrade I made a while ago). My geared bike has the Tektro Oryx brakes that it came with. Needless to say, the Shorty Ultimate brakes are noticeably more powerful than the Oryx bikes. I am looking to upgrade the cantis on my geared bike. My geared bike has 105 5800 STI Levers. Would the Avid Shorty Ultimates be compatible with my Shimano brake levers? I'm also considering the CX50s. These are a lot less expensive, and I've read that they're better than the Oryx brakes. How do they compare to the Avid Shorty Ultimates? I'm leaning towards cantis, but will consider the Mini-Vs if someone on this thread can persuade me. Is it true that the Mini-Vs require that the wheel to be more in true than cantis? Also, which brake style is easier to maintain once they're set up?

FBinNY 

I'm sure you'll get all kinds of advice and "expert" opinions based on specs. But the reality is that there's always wiggle room, so it becomes a question of what the rider can live with.

You're in good shape here since you already own a pair of the brakes you're considering. Do what Admiral Hopper would have done---- switch the front brake from the other bike then try it out for yourself.

Arrowana

I've used all 3. The Oryx doesn't seem to hold up that well on bikes that see a lot of use, whether it is due to corrosion, bolts stripping, or whatever else. Still, it is one of the better choices at it's price point.

CX50 held up well enough through a few winters, and did it's job, then the bike they were on got retired for other reasons. Not sure I would call them a massive improvement stopping power wise over the Oryx, but they feel more like a quality part. Make sure not to lose the hardware for the brake pads.

Avid Shorty Ultimate is definitely the best canti I've come across. Plenty strong, has a built in barrel adjuster, and it has the best design for the tension adjusters, giving them far more adjustment than the average brake, plus they don't rely on the spring holes on the cantilever post. They are a bit more of a challenge to set up, but didn't really need much fussing with afterwards.

It is worth mentioning the bike that had the Avids was set up with compressionless brake housing while the bike with the CX50 had standard housing, so it is hard to say how much better the Shorty would feel over the CX50 with the same housing.

Not a fan of mini-V brakes. Less clearance for fenders.

Russ Roth

The ultimates are probably your best improvement, the Paul brakes would be the only other one to look at. I've tried running mini-v brakes and hated them. They grab well once they grab but unless you set the pads closer to the rim than I like brakes to be, they wouldn't work. I had to have the pads close enough that I couldn't get the noodle out without undoing the cable or deflating the tire, neither of which is a good option.

grumpus

Remove the Oryx arms, grease the spindles and replace. Move the thick brake shoe spacers to the inside of the arms. Ensure the straddle wire is low enough. Enjoy your improved brakes.

AMoney

Would the Ultimates be compatible with the Shimano 5800 Brake Levers (on my SS with the Ultimates I have Sram Brake Levers)? The one thing I don't like I like about the Ultimates is it is easy to lose small parts (I have spare parts in my small parts box now). Would this be an issue with the Paul brakes?

Kontact 

Exactly. I don't think there are a lot of truly bad cantis, but there are a ton of bad canti set ups. The pads should contact the rims when the canti arms are at top of their arc.

And I would add: Replace the Tektro pads with good ones. The Tektro cantis I put on my wife's bike were about as grabby as nylon.