Sheldon wrote about the brakes he's selling:
(http://ebay.com/<blah>
>
> Personally, I don't like them. They were hot stuff in their
> day, but unlike modern cantilevers they have no proper pad
> height adjustment, and no spring tension/balance adjustment whatever.
Well its true that if the framebuilder put the posts on at the wrong height, then you might wish for a height adjustment. I've never run into that myself however ;)
But no spring tension adjustment? C'mon, they had the easiest and best adjustment scheme ever! You just grab one side of the brake in one hand and reef on it in a rotational motion, to make that side's spring weaker or stronger as necessary. ("Reef" is a technical term meaning to stress to the yield point and a little beyond). Instant results, no tools needed (usually), without any extra mechanism that can get out of adjustment later. Since normal use will never stress the spring beyond it's yield point, they stay exactly where I put 'em, forever. I usually bend one brake side inward, the direction that makes the spring a little weaker, which requires taking the wheel out. Reefing outward sometimes requires loosening the brake shoe clamp, especially with long brake shoes and/or short braze-on posts, because the brake shoe hits the fork crown before the spring takes a set.
Similarly, the toe-in adjustment is truly superior - you put a screwdriver in between the two plates and REEF. Instant, permanent results. Most fancy-schmancy "modern" toe-in adjustment schemes I've seen require you to re-adjust it every time you change brake shoes, but these brakes, once bent, STAY bent goldarnit.
I should say, I'm using the language rather loosely when I say I'm making the spring "weaker". It's certainly not making it likely to break, these springs are not hardened, they are very malleable. Also the reefing is not reducing the spring constant any, just reducing the preload.
Also it should be noted that reefing is usually not needed. Just bolt 'em on and go -- if the wheel is centered in the frame, and the posts were brazed on accurately, the centering and toe-in are good right out of the box.
As far as effectiveness, I can't compare 'em to modern brakes because I never use any modern brakes, don't have 'em on any bikes. But among on-topic brakes, they seem pretty good to me, stronger braking than, say, Campy Rec/SR. One trick is to set the straddle cable fairly short/low, which improves the leverage. Too low, and the brake lever might bottom out on the handlebar -- there is such a thing as too much leverage! But I like that you get to adjust the leverage to your taste, unlike with most brakes.
Lighter weight than Super Record too! (Including the braze-ons and housing hangers, of course.)
Mark Bulgier
Seattle WA USA