Cantilever vs centerpull brakes

[jobob]

Oooh, you looking to get a Saluki??? Excellent choice, m'dear

My husband has an Atlantis that's equipped w. cantilever brakes. He's found the cantis to be a bit more difficult to adjust than, say, sidepulls - and he expects centerpulls would be about as straightforward to adjust as sidepulls.

Also, canti brakes are prone to squeal. We've noticed that with his bike, and with other bikes equipped w. cantis - we went on a night ride last month and one of the participants had a very nice Co-Motion touring bike w. canti brakes that squealed like a stuck pig. At least he didn't need to call out when he was slowing down

My husband was able to get rid of the squeal for the most part by fiddling with the toe-in angle on the brake pads, but it's a bit of a hassle.

One advantage of the cantis is that they can accomodate wider tires than the centerpulls, but that said, the centerpulls can take pretty beefy tires - at least up to 38 mm* with fenders [*edited to add: I'm assuming you're asking about the Saluki here, since AFAIK it's the only production bike currently offered w. the canti vs centerpull option].

The cantis would open up wider than the centerpulls, which would make removing a wheel with a fully inflated tire (say, to remove the front wheel to put your bike on a roof rack) a bit easier with the cantis than w. the centerpulls, esp. if you're using a very wide tire.

I'm told that cantis generally have better braking power than centerpulls, but the centerpulls work well too.

That's all I can think of.

[edited to elaborate] I'm going with the centerpulls myself, based on my husband's experience w. the cantis, and just my own personal aesthetic preferences, but that's just me .... I intend to use my Saluki for light touring, I have no imminent plans for fully-loaded/self contained (tent/sleeping bag/cooking equipment) touring, but if I did, I would think 38 mm tires would be more than adequate. For fully loaded touring I would however consider going with the beefier wheelset (36 spoke) rather than 32 spoke wheels.