Bicycle Mechanics - Center Pull Cantis to Caliper Brakes, Where to Mount Calipers?

Hello,

I was looking at going from my center pull old school cantis to the tektro (or similar) long reach calipers. I'm going to be going to 700C wheels from 27".

I have a whole on the crown part of my fork (see picture below) and a similar hole on the rear wheel crossmember. They used to be for the Reflectors. Could I mount the calipers in the those holes? They seems like they would measure out correctly. Are those spots strong enough for caliper brakes, and the forces of braking in general. It is a columbus tenax steel frame (1986 Schwinn Voyageur).

Thank you for the advice,
John

http://gallery.a-symmetric.com/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=190&g2_serialNumber=2

I think you'll be able to mount the calipers in those holes, but you'll have to make sure their reach is long enough for the wheel, especially if it's 700c.

Out of curiosity, why don't you want cantilevers?

Out of curiosity, why don't you want cantilevers?

It isn't that I don't want them necessarily, it is just that I don't think they will reach the extra 4mm down for the 700C wheels (which is a way off, that is why I cleaned and added new pads).

However, here is just a few of my other reasons
1) They are ugly
2) Not sure of the extra reach
3) They are a royal pain the rear to adjust properly, I'm still adjusting the ones in the pictures (Maybe I'm missing something here, since every time I adjust them, they go off center. Do they go back to center after braking a few times?)
4) I will not have a fender and therefore do not require the extra space

There are probably other reasons, but that is all I can think of right now.

The cantilever brakes are the best feature of that bike.

Yeah, those are pretty awesome cantis. But you're right - they're a pain in the ass to adjust.

The hole in the fork, to answer your question, should work for your brake. There might be an issue with the nut in the back if you're using new calipers, as they have recessed nuts which require larger holes. Get back to us if that's the case. Same goes for the rear - should work fine, except perhaps the nut.

It's going to look pretty lame with road calipers and empty canti posts. I say stick with 27" wheels and get some better cantilever brakes. That's a touring frame and cantis are better for stopping when you're carrying a heavy load. Decent vintage touring frames are hard to find. Don't ruin it.

Yeah, those are pretty awesome cantis. But you're right - they're a pain in the ass to adjust.



Are they? they are just the Dia Compes the bike came with, and I used some fine steel wool and completely disassembled and reassembled.

Ok, thank you for your answers, even though I don't like them. I'm purchasing a cheap 700c wheel w/tire for 20 bucks and I'm going to try to see if the brakes will adjust.

You are right, I would like to keep the original look, however, my front rim has a small dimple which doesn't seem to affect the structural integrity of the rim, just makes it difficult to get the cantis to apply enough brake pressure without rubbing against the small dimple. Do you think a good truing job could get rid of the small dimple?

The dimple might/ should be repairable depending on it's severity.
Remove the tire and use a crescent wrench to straighten the bent section of rim. If necessary, support the backside of the rim and use a ballpeen hammer to flatten/straighten the rim. True to complete the job.
The alternative is to buy a new, inexpensive wheel. Good luck.

What I've done in cases like this was to remove the cantilever posts and fork dropouts, cut 20mm off the fork-blades and re-installed the dropouts. Bent the fork over a mandrel to restore rake to about 80% of the original amount (not as much needed due to steeper head-angle).

For the rear, I removed the cantilever posts as well and installed a new brake-bridge 15mm lower for the 700c wheels and short-reach brakes. Also required new paint as well.

It's going to look pretty lame with road calipers and empty canti posts. I say stick with 27" wheels and get some better cantilever brakes. That's a touring frame and cantis are better for stopping when you're carrying a heavy load. Decent vintage touring frames are hard to find. Don't ruin it.

Alright, so I got my cheap 700C front wheel today, and it looks like the cantis have the reach! The pads are slightly angled when they hit the rim surface but I'm assuming they would wear into that angle pretty quick . . . I could probably adjust it out, but this was a quick 5 minute check to see if the 700C would fit.

http://gallery.a-symmetric.com/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=233&g2_serialNumber=2

Alright, so I got my cheap 700C front wheel today, and it looks like the cantis have the reach! The pads are slightly angled when they hit the rim surface but I'm assuming they would wear into that angle pretty quick . . . I could probably adjust it out, but this was a quick 5 minute check to see if the 700C would fit.


Be really careful with that adjustment, particularly as the pads start to wear. It's really easy for the brake pad to start cutting into the tire, just above the bead. You'll never notice it until BOOM! the tire blows out. Then you're walking home.