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For those that DO rided fixed w/ a brake

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For those that DO rided fixed w/ a brake

Old 05-15-09, 10:15 PM
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For those that DO rided fixed w/ a brake

What brake do you use? If I rock a brake on my planned build I know I want a Paul e-lever but I have no preference for a caliper as of yet.

The plan, FYI:
Bare Knuckle
Phils (maybe Profiles) laced to custom painted DT 1.1s (maybe Open Pros), 32 28
Omnium crank (not firmly decided)
King Headset
White Industries pedals (drool)
Thomson stem and post, silver
undecided bar, flat or riser, silver
Animal Edwin grips
My all-time favorite tires are Gatorskins but I will look into colored tires for this.

Specific colors undecided, but all very soft/pastel. Painting the rims because I like the look of Velocites but I want something nicer and less ubiquitous. Considering mixed black and silver spokes. I know it's a bad idea but anodized nipples would be hot.
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Old 05-15-09, 10:21 PM
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Good choice on the open pro's. I love mine. They're nice and light, and damn bombproof. If you're looking for a cheaper hub option, get some miche primatos. Made in Italy, and they're really durable. Just don't go too crazy on color coordinating your spokes and nipples. It's really not that important.

But I just have a Shimano long reach caliper brake on my steamroller. A brake is a brake.
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Old 05-15-09, 10:34 PM
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I don't have a brake on my BK but if i did put one on I would get a newish 105 front caliper, they go on sale for real cheap sometimes.
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Old 05-15-09, 10:40 PM
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Yes a brake is just a brake and on any other of my bikes it would be but this is my "nice" bike, and all decisions are based on form as much as function. Same goes for spokes and nipples. On my other bikes this stuff doesn't matter, but it's the whole raison d'etre for this one.
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Old 05-15-09, 10:45 PM
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i like the looks of some of those campy calipers, but that's just me. As far as function, they all work the exact same. I use a tektro caliper. I guess you could get like a DA or something? i donno man...they all look pretty similar unless you get something out there like that campy caliper.
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Old 05-15-09, 11:27 PM
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i use a tektro on my fixed


but the sram red calipers on the road bike are legit. if you're looking to needlessly blow money try those
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Old 05-15-09, 11:37 PM
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I'd go with the RR1.1 rims over the Open Pros, but that's just me.

For brakes, I run some old 105 calipers and they're great. If I had beaucoup bucks to drop on a pair, the Zero Gravity calipers are pretty sexy.
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Old 05-15-09, 11:46 PM
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If color is important why not just go with Aeroheads? Same style as the RR1.1 or Open Pro, but come already powder coated, take the stickers off if having Velocity products bothers you. They're cheaper than the RR1.1 or Open Pro too, even without any paint, and they come in the drillings you want. I really like my DT Swiss Rims, but painting new rims seems like more trouble than it's worth.

No real need to go top of the line on a brake, I have a Tiagra front brake on my Serotta and it looks great, the quality of the forging is very good, and it performs just fine. All the Shimano brakes are going to work just fine. I like the look of my brake (https://www.jensonusa.com/store/produ...r.aspx?sc=FRGL) more than the current Dura-Ace brakes, not to mention the obscene price of the Dura-Ace. Campy brakes are very good, but do not have a QR lever built in, so with an E-lever you might have some issues taking the wheel out with anything over a 23mm tire.
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Old 05-15-09, 11:49 PM
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Originally Posted by CliftonGK1
If I had beaucoup bucks to drop on a pair, the Zero Gravity calipers are pretty sexy.
A lot of the lightweight calipers give up some stopping power for weight. Check this review: https://www.fairwheelbikes.com/forum/...pic.php?t=4289
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Old 05-15-09, 11:59 PM
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I ride with a Cane Creek Super Light Single Pivot Brake in front, partly because it almost floats on water, and mostly because it does not have enough stopping-power to put me over the handlebars.

I go months without using my front brake, and then, when I least expect it, I need it to augment my back-pedaling.

Cane Creek no longer makes this brake, but they make a nice dual pivot now that has nothing wrong with it except it might work too well.

https://www.canecreek.com/component-o...brakes-road-sl
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Old 05-16-09, 12:16 AM
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as long as it's a dual pivot you should be good.
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Old 05-16-09, 02:29 AM
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I ran an old 105 brake on my old bareknuckle, worked great. Most any modern dual pivot brake is going to work.
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Old 05-16-09, 03:23 AM
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i use a carbon tektro r750 shipped by mistake!
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Old 05-16-09, 10:19 AM
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Campy delta. No other brake is appropriate for a pretty fixed gear,because it's not appropriate to actually slow down a bike by itself
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Old 05-16-09, 10:40 AM
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Your build sounds similar to mine!

I'm building up a purple Bareknuckle, with silver components: nitto stem & bars, miche seatpost, and silver chris king headset. I'll be building a wheelset with silver phil wood hubs, laced to open pro's. The drivetrain is sugino 75, with a phill wood BB.

I'm going to use dura ace brakes - but only because I have a set available. If I had to buy them, I'd go with 105's.



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Old 05-16-09, 10:57 AM
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Dual pivot Shimano. Even the Sora has a very positive feel with a bmx or cross top lever.
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Old 05-16-09, 11:02 AM
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Was running a 105 front to a Tektro cross lever. Replaced the lever with my Modolo hoods.
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Old 05-16-09, 12:24 PM
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Riff, that's a sweet-looking seatpost. If only someone like Phil would make a brake, or if Paul made a tighter lower profile caliper. If this wasn't an aesthetics-driven build I would probably do Tiagra.

Anyone have a circa 1933 Campy caliper???
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Old 05-16-09, 01:32 PM
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I use whatever brakes are hanging around - for the 3rensho, that's a shimano canti, for the holland it's a 105 caliper, and for the mountain bike it's avid v-brakes.
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Old 05-16-09, 01:41 PM
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mavic ssc.
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Old 05-16-09, 01:47 PM
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Originally Posted by iwegian
as long as it's a dual pivot you should be good.
What's so special about dual pivot? I use this on my FG:



I seldom need it, but when I do it works just fine. Dual pivots do have higher mechanical advantage, but if you're only using a front brake I don't know if that's a big advantage.
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Old 05-16-09, 01:49 PM
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Originally Posted by chase.
mavic ssc.
+1000

i have used a lot of high-end road calipers in my time...record, DA, delta, zero g, M5, feather, trp, kcnc...and today i have SSCs on almost all of my bikes. they are all that. absolutely the best caliper on the market, atmo.

buttery smooth, tons of power, great modulation, reasonably light (same as DA/record at ~300g/pr), reasonably priced (~$175/pr MSRP, but often on ebay at <$100), and have that 'don't see those very often' cache.

if you like the look and can find a good price, don't look any further...i promise they will not disappoint. and if you find yourself with a bit of buyer's remorse, hit me up...i'll gladly take 'em off your hands.

ps - don't fear dual-pivots as a front-only solution, just learn to control them...it ain't that hard.
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Old 05-16-09, 01:54 PM
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I love that all the guys who have the zen skills to ride brakeless are terrified by the idea of a lever-operated brake - like it's some sort of booby trap just waiting to launch them over the bars.
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Old 05-16-09, 02:02 PM
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^^

Last edited by teiaperigosa; 05-16-09 at 02:06 PM.
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Old 05-16-09, 02:23 PM
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Originally Posted by JohnDThompson
What's so special about dual pivot? I use this on my FG:

I seldom need it, but when I do it works just fine. Dual pivots do have higher mechanical advantage, but if you're only using a front brake I don't know if that's a big advantage.
What are you trying to argue about? Dual pivots are clearly better than single pivots both in power and modulation.

If you're arguing that a single pivot works, yes it does, no one said they don't. Dual pivots are just better.
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