I have used Suntour XC Pro cantilevers on various bikes with various drop bar levers. I had similar problems on the most recent bike (OT LHT) after mixing some parts and getting the springs in the wrong places (3 out of 4!).
They worked, but they sucked.
Jeff Slotkin, usually at The Bicycle Shoppe, Charleston, SC
On Oct 4, 2009, at 10:11 AM, Tom Hayes wrote:
> I have been trying to set up Suntour cantilever brakes with Suntour
> Superbe
> levers on an early eighties Holdsworth. No matter what i change or
> adjust,
> I come out with an unsatisfactory or unacceptable result. The brake
> levers
> squish into the handlebars and do not snap back into place; they only
> sluggishly return to the front most position. I have changed
> ferrules,
> cable housing, increased tension on the sping mounting without
> getting the
> brakes to operate as one needs. As a last resort, I have thought
> perhaps
> the levers are inappropriate for the cantilevers, like they have too
> much
> pull or something like that. Anyone have any suggestions as to what
> I might
> be missing in setting this up? Or why I continue to get the squish
> instead
> of the snap?
>
> Thank you.
>
> --
> Tom Hayes (looking for no rain at T-town next Satruday)
> Chagrin Falls, Ohio USA