A cantilever brake device is disclosed having a pair of opposing brake arm assemblies with cable tension or the traction point at the distal end of the body members at the bottom trunk portions rather than at the upper level by the adjustable arm members. By moving the cable tension and traction point to the bottom level of the body members, the brakes are applied more evenly and uniformly against and onto the rim surface for greater braking power and mechanical advantage. The cantilever brake device is also disclosed having a shoe housing member that is easily adjustable on a y-axis for height adjustment of the brake shoes since the brake shoes are each mounted on the shoe housing member and allows uniform adjustment of both shoe housing members holding the brake shoes. The shoe housing member is easily rotatable to modify the pitch angle of the brake shoes on a pivotal, horizontal axis to align the brake pads squarely against the rim surface so that the top and bottom portions of the brake pads touch the rim surface equally and uniformly when brakes are applied. Consequently, all of the vertical, horizontal, roll angle, pitch angle, and toe-in adjustments are easily achievable for fine tuning the brakes by using the present cantilever brake device.