Replace side pull brake center bolt
 

I'm curious if anyone has replaced a recessed bolt with a nutted bolt. I accidentally ordered a recessed brake, and the old one was a nutted. I took the old one apart and was able to remove the bolt, put it back in, and reassemble the brake. It seems pretty doable, seeing as I was able to do it, but would there be any complications doing this "for real", removing a recessed bolt and replacing it with a nutted one? Are the bolts different diameters?

Other question, what is the bolt length on the tektro R556 recessed mount? It looks like I'll need at least 30mm to get through the fork.

If you can source the correct bolt in a longer version, then it's an easy swap. If you ordered a pair of brakes there may be an alternate fix. The front brake's recessed bolt is usually long enough for service as a nutted type in the rear. That leaves the very short bolt for the fork. Drill the back of the fork open to accept a recessed style nut (no need to counter bore for a flush fit). Then buy a recessed nut long enough to reach. (measure and buy the nut before you make any modifications).

BTW- if you go this route, don't forget to reverse the brake shoes back to front on each brake.

I have the nutted version of the brake, so hopefully that will be able to replace it. If not, yeah, I'll just drill and use it as it is, though I'll probably have to get a longer nut. I only bought a front brake.

You'll want to use a washer in the recess of the crown and brake bridge to narrow the opening to fit the pivot bolt.

Back in the day, you could get special shouldered washers for this purpose:

http://www.os2.dhs.org/~john/washer.jpg

An older, well established bike shop may still have some of these. Otherwise, try to find one that fits inside the recess on the crown and bridge.