My cantis have the longer v-brake shoes, so I use these in red (all conditions): http://www.koolstop.com/english/v_type.html. A description of the different compound types can be found at http://www.koolstop.com/english/compounds.html. DH has used the black (dry conditions) pads on his cross bike with equally good results, and he's quite a bit bigger than me.