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@hurricanejosh
V-brakes are better than calipers because they have an adjustable effectiveness. With caliper brakes, the amount of cable pulled to how much the brakes move is determined by the brake itself. With v-brakes, this can be adjusted by changing the length of cable between each side of the brakes, and the levers are designed to pull more cable in general. I disagree that u-brakes or traditional cantilever brakes can be equally as powerful than v-brakes though, since u-brakes have additional friction from their mechanical parts, and cantilever brakes lose effeciency through The cable yoke. I believe that u-brakes are widely used by BMX riders because they are less inclined to skid, as smaller wheels skid easier. Also traditional cantilever brakes are the system of choice in cyclocross because they allow better speed modulation where v-brakes skid quite easily. I'm not claiming to be "right" about any of this though, these are just personal thoughts