Actually there is a great comparison article in the rivendell reader about the differences between canti's and centerpulls. Personally I have bikes with both. My Holland has Ultegra gruppo w/ dual pivots and they stop great. My RRBcycles Fix Gear (great commuter) has as an old set of Mafac "Racers" on them. As with most centerpulls the pad compounds suck. I switched my out with some old mathauser pads. The bike stops so quickly you will lose your chewing gum. By the way if you are thinking of running fenders and larger tires centerpulls are the way to go.