Bicycle Mechanics - How crazy is this idea for my rear breaks???

Please don't judge me too harshly, but I just blew a huge chunk of change on a pair of Zero Gravity brakes :o

They're quite nice and very (VERY) compact.

As I was mounting up the rear brakes on my non-compact frame, I noticed that I could mount them on both the back of the rear seat stays (conventional mounting...or on the inside(!).

Mounting the calipers on the inside won't offer me any real performance advantage (and might look a litte weird) but I could then mount my bike light right above the rear tire where it might be more visable.

What says the collective? --Is there any danger that I am not seeing that would result from my putting the bakes in that little triangle-y area that's behind the seat tube and between the seat stays and tire?

Thanks -Dave

Make sure you reverse the pads so that they don't come out of the holders when you apply the brakes.

http://feaverish.com/images/bikeAccident.jpg

http://feaverish.com/images/bikeAccident.jpg

so my head will pop off???

Harry Havnoonian does that.

Since brakes come in front and rear versions, it makes sense to me that they might be meant to resist force in a certain direction. I'm not sure if this is true. But it would mean you'd want to use a front brake if you're putting it underneath the seat stays.

^^^ use two fronts then

Many time trial machines over the last 30 years (maybe longer) have used this technique.

How will they line up with the axle? The farther the caliper arms are from a radius, the more you'll have to angle the pads.

If the frame is set up for recessed nut brakes, the hole at the front of the chainstay bridge will be larger (8mm) than the back (6mm) so the nut won't fit and the brake bolt will be a sloppy fit if you reverse mount them.

I would not do this (not the least of which is the reason HillRier points to), though I congratulate you on being one of the only people I have ever heard of with a Zero G brake set who is concerned about blinkie placement.

Potential Problems: brake pad alignment if axis of screw-hole isn't tangent to (though not intersecting) circle, the recessement problem hillrider mentioned, although you could probably get around this were you to mount your blinkie using the rod and nut with the brake. Might need to drill your blinkie attachment, though. Cable routing might be an issue because the barrel will be on the other side from your braze-on.

If you can get around all those and mount it solidly, I'd say go for it. Nice to think outside the box. BTW, the only differences between front and rear is rod length and the side the barrel is on (I think). Also ironic that you buy the lightest brakes in history, yet mount blinkies on your bike.. I guess if you bike at night a lot this'd make a bit of sense.

Dunno why, but I have the urge to drill the brace down by the bottom bracket (where a kickstand normally bolts), and mount the rear brake down there, which would clear up the space you want for the blinkie too. I kinda want to do it so I can run my cable down the downtube to clean things up a little.

Also ironic that you buy the lightest brakes in history, yet mount blinkies on your bike.. I guess if you bike at night a lot this'd make a bit of sense.

Well, to extend the irony further, I have 17% body fat, so I ain't no anemic mountain goat either! I'd be better served--money-wise and health-wise--by trimming 200g off of my fat a*s ;)

Blinkie is mostlty for the morning fog we sometimes get here in middle TN..., morning fog plus morning rush-hour traffic makes me nervous.

Potential Problems: brake pad alignment if axis of screw-hole isn't tangent to (though not intersecting) circle,

Well a tangent should never intersect, should it? ;) but consider your point well-taken. Thank you.

Retro Grouch, you brings up what seems to me to be the most important consideration: I need to evaluate/be aware of the off-tangent stress (torques) on the break mount, and realize that (because of differences in frame geometries) the safety of doing this is probably best evaluated on a bike-to-bike basis.

Good job guys. I feel emboldened enough to give it a try.

Thanks to all! :)

If the frame is set up for recessed nut brakes, the hole at the front of the chainstay bridge will be larger (8mm) than the back (6mm) so the nut won't fit and the brake bolt will be a sloppy fit if you reverse mount them.

Cable routing could be an issue as well if the frame has brake bosses.

Dunno why, but I have the urge to drill the brace down by the bottom bracket (where a kickstand normally bolts), and mount the rear brake down there, which would clear up the space you want for the blinkie too. I kinda want to do it so I can run my cable down the downtube to clean things up a little.

I suspect this bridge will be too far away from the tire for the pads to reach the rim but it would be interesting; kinda like the old Bio-Pace era MTB U-brakes.

Since brakes come in front and rear versions, it makes sense to me that they might be meant to resist force in a certain direction. I'm not sure if this is true. But it would mean you'd want to use a front brake if you're putting it underneath the seat stays.

It's not true; the only difference between F & R brakes is the length of the mounting bolt (F is longer).
The exception, of course, is "differential" brakesets where the front is dual-pivot and the rear is single.

so my head will pop off???

Apparently your hands and feet too, not to mention your chain rings, and chain.:p ,,,,BD

Too bad he didn't have any brakes.

Dunno why, but I have the urge to drill the brace down by the bottom bracket (where a kickstand normally bolts), and mount the rear brake down there, which would clear up the space you want for the blinkie too. I kinda want to do it so I can run my cable down the downtube to clean things up a little.
I'd resist the urge. A brake mounted there will pick up every bit of dirt, water and crud the road has to offer. The MTB U-brakes mentioned in another posting wen't off the market very quickly for that reason. They packed with mud and wouldn't work along with the crud abrading the rim even more than normal brakes do.

http://www.wooljersey.com/gallery/d/117724-2/Vietto_brake_1938.jpg

Well a tangent should never intersect, should it? ;)

A tangent intersects a circle or slope at one point, while a secant does it at two. I guess I meant "perpendicular to the radius".

More info: on some Felt time trial bikes, they mount the brake down by the bottom bracket off the seatstays.. looks very nice and is supposedly a bit more aerodynamic.

http://www.wooljersey.com/gallery/d/117724-2/Vietto_brake_1938.jpg

Ah, the gold ol days when you carried your team car with you! :)

Nice find Sluggo!

Well a tangent should never intersect, should it? ;) but consider your point well-taken. Thank you.
)

Uh, a tangent intersects the curve at one point.

Uh, a tangent intersects the curve at one point.

So the y-axis of y=x^2 is a tangent?...(I learn soooo much on these forums)

More info: on some Felt time trial bikes, they mount the brake down by the bottom bracket off the seatstays.. looks very nice and is supposedly a bit more aerodynamic.
TT bikes lead a much easier, lower mileage life than most road bikes so the abuse the brake takes in that position isn't as much a consideration.