Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Steep hill, new brakes

So I rode down some steep ass hill today. Like almost a black diamond type hill, in ski/snowboard terms. I had the front brake clamped down hard and I will still going like 20mph. Had to carve down the bottom end or else I wouldve ran straight into the intersection.

Right now i have a generic single pivot front brake on a non machined weinman dp18. Generally, that does the job for me with some help from slowing down the pedals but on something that steep, I couldnt counter pedal for ****. So now, im going to buy a dual pivot brake.

Question is, are there any dual pivot brakes that have the long screw and nut models? The hole on my fork for the brake is not large enough for the recessed nut type brake. Also, is a dual pivot brake that much more effective than single pivot on a non machined rim? I have an old shimano 600 dual pivot recessed nut type brake that I bought on craigslist a while ago but i got hustled and its a rear brake so i never installed it. Is there a place where i can buy a longer screw thing for it?

in my recent experience with brakes, they are easy to take the bolt out and just replace it with a different one. i had one front brake and two rear brakes and I was able to exchange the bolts between all of them.

As far as helping to brake better, have you tried taking the paint off of where your brake pads touch? can be done easily by gluing some fine sand paper to the pads just with elmers glue, then holding the brake down lightly and spinning the wheel. once the paint is off that line, just put water on the pads and the glue will melt off.

try some kool stop salmon pads on the existing caliper?

You can probably get a longer nut from your LBS. If not, they sell them here too: http://www.universalcycles.com/shopping/product_details.php?id=38871&category=1595

You can fit a recessed nut in a fork that was not intended for it by drilling out the hole in the back of back of the fork with a 5/16" drill bit. It's a bit of work, but not terribly hard. Also, kool stop salmons are generally a good plan, but see how the dual-pivot works on its own first, that may be all you need. Dual-pivot calipers are significantly more powerful than single-pivots.

i agree with try nicer pads before replacing the whole brake. also probably avoid those hills until you're a little more comfortable with a fixed gear, what were you currently running?

if you don't want to drill your fork...
tektro r536 calipers come in a standard nut version, but they are long-reach
i've used them & was very satisfied with their performance

Yeah, I went ro an lbs and they told me I have to get a long reach type caliper. They didn't have koolstops in stock so they recommended v brake pads cus it has more contact. But it's still not enough when going super fast and they squeek like a girl.

I'm running 45/16.

try some kool stop salmon pads on the existing caliper?

this was a very specific recommendation...not meant to say just 'better pads'.

the ks salmon is described as a wet weather pad, and i believe would work better than most on the slick non-machined rim surface. they are also very rim-friendly (non-abrasive), and might save the looks of the rims a little longer. if you can't find them to fit the old pad holders, you can definitely find them to fit the v-pads.

for the record, they make fantastic everyday pads...no reason to save them for seattle. i literally run them on everything i own (without discs or carbon rims), including a set of campy deltas.

this was a very specific recommendation...not meant to say just 'better pads'.

the ks salmon is described as a wet weather pad, and i believe would work better than most on the slick non-machined rim surface. they are also very rim-friendly (non-abrasive), and might save the looks of the rims a little longer. if you can't find them to fit the old pad holders, you can definitely find them to fit the v-pads.

for the record, they make fantastic everyday pads...no reason to save them for seattle. i literally run them on everything i own (without discs or carbon rims), including a set of campy deltas.

drill the back of fork, get a dual caliper tektro med reach and the correct length recessed bolt and yellow swiss stops ... SRAM BRAND works too swiss stop makes them align and adjust properly should work well

WTF is with everyone suggesting he drill out his fork? It's far easier to just replace the bolt on the brake with a longer one. Just go to a hardware store and get a longer bolt for 20¢ and avoid putting a drill to your bike.

And no matter what brake pads you use, take the paint of your rim where they touch. Use steal wool or sandpaper or whatever suits you.

try some kool stop salmon pads on the existing caliper?

They are wet weather pads that will just squeak like **** doing down steep hills when dry. I know

They are wet weather pads that will just squeak like **** doing down steep hills when dry. I know

True. I know as well...although they do work pretty good.

But it's still not enough when going super fast and they squeek like a girl.

Ugh, my pads are doing the same thing right now... it's annoying the piss out of me.

don't drill out your fork. it's not hard to find brakes with the old style long bolts, tektro makes plenty of models that will work.

a few things that will improve braking performance:
- make sure the brake cable/housing is properly installed and in good order.
- get some nice pads and remove the paint on the braking surface.
- a quality brake lever will also help

those of you with squeaky salmons...is this on a non-machined rim? i've never done that, but as i said, they are superb (and quiet) everyday pads on many different machined rims in my experience.

WTF is with everyone suggesting he drill out his fork? It's far easier to just replace the bolt on the brake with a longer one. Just go to a hardware store and get a longer bolt for 20¢ and avoid putting a drill to your bike.

And no matter what brake pads you use, take the paint of your rim where they touch. Use steal wool or sandpaper or whatever suits you.

drilling the hole is easy and you are only enlarging the rear hole ... so then you can run a nice dual pivot short or med reach caliper.

It's 2011. Drill and recess.

WTF is with everyone suggesting he drill out his fork? It's far easier to just replace the bolt on the brake with a longer one. Just go to a hardware store and get a longer bolt for 20¢ and avoid putting a drill to your bike.

And no matter what brake pads you use, take the paint of your rim where they touch. Use steal wool or sandpaper or whatever suits you.

Unless I'm mistaken, you can't just swap out the bolt on a recessed-nut brake. The manner in which it attaches to the fork is entirely different and requires that the hole on the back of the fork be wider in order to accommodate the recessed nut, regardless of how long the nut is. Drilling out the back of the fork is what Sheldon recommends to do, and I have done it on two bikes without issue.

So yeah. It's 2011, drill the fork and you can put any old modern brake on there.

They are wet weather pads that will just squeak like **** doing down steep hills when dry. I know
that's why i use kool stop dual compund & they last longer too...
209131