V-brakes provide greater stopping power than cantilever brakes but if used with normal-pull STI or Ergopower, their requirement for a greater pull of cable results in a sensation at the lever akin to grasping a sponge.
Dia-Compe claims that the shorter arms address this but in practice we felt that they still lack incisive feel at the lever and that they only felt right when partnered with the Dia- Compe 287 levers.
The arms aren't quite long enough to provide sufficient mud clearance for 34mm cyclo-cross tyres such as Michelin's Cyclocross 2, though there is ample clearance for a bike fitted with touring tyres and mudguards.