soylentjosh

I'm seriously considering buying a new frame that requires long reach brakes (Waterford Road Sport Touring, or Rivendell Rambouillet, etc). These look like a great idea, allowing for wide tire clearance, plus the flexibility of adding fenders. Yet, I want to keep this bike for a long time (15+ years, hopefully). What happens when one of the brakes fail in ten years, do you guys think that someone will still be making long reach road brakes? Or will I be out of luck? This is really my only hesitation I have before buying one of these bikes.

Josh

Rev.Chuck

Yes, you should be able to get long pull stuff down the road. Also, I have never seen a road caliper break that was not seriously abused. The single pulls on my old touring bike are 21 years old (and long pull)

MichaelW

They are a sensible choice, I use them on my commuter bike. If you are really paranoid, you can archive a spare set, but brakes dont wear out. I dont think it will be a worry.

mrfix

I think you'll be all set in the future, But if you're really worried about it, have the frame built with canti mounts, you will always be able to get some stoppers to bolt on them. They also stop a loaded bike much better then caliper brakes.

MichaelW

You can have canti-mounts added at a later date. Pity to clutter up a nice frame with them, and they do trap a lot of dirt. I use both types, but dont regard cantis as having more stopping power. This thought probably dates from the time when long drop calipers where those crappy Weinman brakes. Shimano dual pivots are a whole lot better.