Originally Posted by
Retro Grouch
Actually, there's a bit more to it than that.
He needs to drill out the back side of his fork crown to accept the recessed hex hut. That's the easy part. Figuring whether and how to drill out the front edge of the brake bridge to accept the rear recessed nut is the hard part.
Also, late 80's road bike? I'm not making any bets about brake reach.
Drilling might not be needed, it depends on the fork. I didn't need to drill my fork crown for my '85 Trek when I replaced the single pivot for some dual pivots.
One other option is to put the nut inside the head tube. I did this until I was able to get a longer recessed nut. I didn't like it this way, so I did get a longer recessed nut and ground it down ( I couldn't find one the proper length I needed). But this will only work if you use the rear brake on the front and the front on the rear. But I am assuming that is what you did, since you didn't mention that the recessed nut wouldn't fit in the rear brake bridge. So I guess you used the front on the rear and used a nut to hold them on.
The reach could be a problem and it might not be.