brakes

Brakes are obviously extremely important. More critical than the type of brake or even brake adjustment (assuming the brakes work at all) is proper brake technique. Per usual, Sheldon already wrote the definitive article on the topic. If the statement “you shouldn’t use your front brake because you’ll go over the handlebars” sounds correct to you, please please please read the linked article.

Most touring bikes, including ours, use cantilever rim brakes. This style is a requirement for the wider tires that tourers generally prefer. Unfortunately, they require special attachment points on the frame that many road bikes don’t have; this is one reason that it’s important to have a frame designed for touring. Cantilever brakes are easy to adjust and maintain on the road but it does require some knowledge and experience to do so. To get the best performance out of them, it’s actually necessary to make adjustments as the brake pad wears. It’s worth taking the time to learn how to properly adjust them, especially because in my experience many bike mechanics mostly see caliper brakes and don’t really know how to set up cantilevers correctly (or that’s the conclusion I draw from getting my bike back from tune-ups with brakes that feel ok at first but in fact are set up with too little mechanical advantage).

Some touring bikes are now sold with disc brakes which generally offer more stopping power and much better performance in the rain. I’ve never owned a bike with disc brakes so I don’t have much to add, but certainly it would be important to be confident in understanding what can break and how to fix it before heading out on a long tour.