Originally Posted by
hokiefyd
This is good advice. I have Tektro CR510s on my Trek 750, and use Avid 20R pads in them. This is working very well for me -- these liner pull pads are strong and quiet, and very easy to setup and adjust in these cantilever brakes.
This is generally true (lower straddle cable = higher mechanical advantage) for most low- and medium-profile cantilevers, because they need to be pulled in, towards each other, for best brake force. This isn't true for the traditional designs like the CR520/CR720, old MAFACs, etc. With these, because the cable attachment on the cantilever brake arm is so low (below the pivot, actually), they need to be pulled up to achieve the best brake force. With these, the longer straddle cables work better.
I may have overstated at "all real world scenarios" because people are indeed rolling around on old Mafacs etc, but for literally everything in current production or in production in the last 20 years this has been true. Even a CR720 is really a medium profile because the arms actually are still above the pivot--at least they are as installed on my personal CX bike.