Originally Posted by
loose spoke
I'll try... The following is my opinion and others have valid reasons for differing... I just hate seeing someone or something getting a bad rap unfairly.
In my opinion, modern, dual pivot brakes are miles better than vintage single pivot SIDE PULL brakes with a few exceptions in the late 80s. Try an old Campy or Shimano, etc. single pivot side pull compared to modern dual pivot brakes and you will see a big difference. As a result, in recent memory, dual pivot was a big improvement in stopping compared anything made earlier. The key is recent memory.
But, vintage center pull brakes are also dual pivot! A quality, forged center pull like Winemann, Dia Compe, Universal, or Mafac with modern brake pads are awesome and easily outperform all but the best single pivot brakes. Even with old pads they aren't too shabby. Yes, really good modern dual pivots are a tiny bit stiffer, but pure stopping power, either can lock up your wheels if you are average or moderately weighted. Power past the ability to lock up the wheel is surplus.
In my opinion, the myth of side pull being better than center pull started in the '70s when Campagnolo brought out their Record side pull. It was a few grams lighter, had less hardware and was totally cool looking. So, with the trendiness typical of the race crowd, it became very uncool to use center pulls. Not may people would admit the side pulls were a big drop in stopping power... but they were!
Also, cheap department store bikes came with really thin, flexible, crappy center pulls that gave cps a bad rep.
Oh.. and center pulls are cool on quality '70 and older bikes.... no disgrace and much street cred in the C&V crowd. My favorites are Dia Compe Gran Compe
http://www.velobase.com/ViewComponen...=117&AbsPos=27
The Gran Compes have a nicer finish than any other vintage cp I've seen, but I don't think they are any better stopping than the others I listed above.
Speaking of unfair bad raps: The advantage of the early Record brakes compared to contemporary sidepulls was lack of flex. Maybe the braking power was not up with the centerpulls, but in those days I had Weinmann CPs and Weinmann 500 sidepulls, and neither of them were very powerful. What I thought were good stoppers were Mafac Racers.
But a racer in a 200-person peleton might value responsiveness and instant control a little more highly than ultimate braking power. And I'm not sure that performance metric isn't also critical to a civilian cyclist. I rarely encounter the need for a panic stop. I often encounter the need to adjust my speed quickly.
Now on several bikes I have Campy dual-pivot, Campy Record single pivot, DuraAce 1st gen sidepulls, and Mafac Racers. All but the Campys have KoolStops. In braking power I'd rate the Campy DP, Mafac, and then evenly the original Campy Record and DuraAce SPs. In control I'd rate them all excellent, but the DPs and Mafacs will do more braking with a light pull than will the SP designs, even the best SPs like I have.
I've had panic stops in the past year on the Campy DP and the DuraAce SP. Both allowed me to put my feet down after avoiding a crash and to ride away. I think it's really hard to have objective data, enabling one to make any kind of generalizations. Yes, we can theorize about calculating mechanical advantage, but fact is, even a low-leverage brake like an SP can generate life-saving stopping power, at least the best ones can when set up well.
And what do you mean by "trendiness of the race crowd," and do you have direct experience? Do you mean the wannabees and poseurs? or are you talking about "fads" among the top TdF riders, framebuilders, and their sponsors? Doesn't sound like a crowd I'd expect to be faddish! Conservative and hidebound, yes, especially when reliability is involved. One does not win a Grand Tour if one cannot finish a Grand Tour. You just lose your investment, making sponsors not happy. I don't see room for faddishness here. Among civilian riders, yes of course, we all find fads to follow. Even us.