Originally Posted by ClydeClydeson

cyccommute Rolla sjanzeir Jeff Neese

'Direct pull' brakes have the cable pulling the arms straight together, so doubling force at the lever will approximately double the force at the brake, while doubling the force at the lever for a centre-pull cantilever makes some increase less than double the force at the brake. This is not to say cantis are necessarily bad brakes - I have had many great rides on canti equipped bikes on rough terrain, but decent quality V brakes (direct pull) were an immediate upgrade when they came out.

And how do we know that it is the cable orientation and not the amount of cable pull that defines linear-pull brakes? Because there are 'short pull' linear pull brakes for touring/Cx/bmx bikes that use the same short-pull levers as you would use with road calipers or cantilever brakes. There are also cable-actuated disc brakes that work with short pull levers. The difference between the brakes is the way the cable actuates the arms, not the amount of cable pulled.