>>1595262what brakes does your bike have specifically ?
a basic set up is to have the straddle wire form a 90 degree angle
and have the depth of the pads set such that the lower half of the cantilever arm becomes perpendicular to the rim upon pad contact
but this only works if you have the right set of brake levers for your cantilevers
>my front brakes keep shutteringthis can be caused by un even pad contact
as you adjust the brakes and then test them under load, make observations of how much the cantilevers flex
in addition to this during adjustment you can check how worn out the brake post bushing is by pulling the tip of the cantilever arm back and forth in the direction of the wheels travel
the combination of bushing wear and cantilever arm flex effects how much toe (and rotation) needs to be applied, (this also apply's to v brakes)
most pads will have been set up with slightly too much toe so their front edge wears out first
if no toe was applied the flex of the brake arm will have caused the rear edge to wear out slightly
excessive adjustment in either direction should be obvious as the wear will not cover the entire surface of the pad
some other things to do are
clean the braking surface of old brake dust and check for scratches or dents, also check if the brake surface is concave or not
check the brake pad for even and symmetrical wear, any dips or truncated corner's can be sanded flat to better mach the braking surface (remove any metal or stones from the pads too)
