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Cantilever Brake
A cantilever brake has two separate arms, or cantilevers, one on each side of the rim. Each arm pivots on an independent boss attached to the frame or fork, and the two arms are usually coordinated and linked by a transverse (or straddle or crossover) cable that runs above the top of the tire. The transverse cable is commonly connected to the main brake cable by a yoke. In some newer designs, the end of the main cable becomes half of the transverse cable, and a short link wire forms the other half. For details on cantilevers, see my articles on Cantilever Adjustment and Cantilever Geometry.
A recent variation on cantilever brakes is the V brake, which dispenses with the transverse cable altogether. This was adopted for mountain bikes because the transverse cable could snag on a knobby tire if the main cable broke --often resulting in a serious crash.
Traditional cantilever brakes and V brakes have the pivots below the rim. The U brake and roller-cam brake, which have the pivots above the rim.
