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Why do you think I went for centerpull over cantilevers? my direct mount centerpull are almost as powerful as my disc brakes on a normal day, the distance from the pivot to the brake pads are quite short, less flex involved when modulated, the main reason why your Shimano direct mount brakes is quite effective.
Looking back you'll notice a fair number of components from the early 20th Century is making a comeback in the last decades.
A good example is the compact crankset, in the past they use crankset with a 16t jump (46/30 being the obvious one, 48/32 is widely use), nowadays they're called the compact (50/34) because it fit quite a broad range of riding style.
So having ran into the brake reach issue (resolved now) with 650b conversion made me read into centre pull brakes. Esp this article: http://velo-orange.blogspot.co.uk/2006/06/centerpulls-are-swell.html
Interesting stuff and basically very similar in design to shimano modern direct mounts except centre pull instead of side. Having used DA direct mounts I think they have more power and modulation than standard calipers the reason which now makes sense according to the VO article and other interweb reading.
csb etc