Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 9,830
Likes: 1,807
From: Northern California
Bikes: Cheltenham-Pedersen racer, Boulder F/S Paris-Roubaix, Varsity racer, '52 Christophe, '62 Continental, '92 Merckx, '75 Limongi, '76 Presto, '72 Gitane SC, '71 Schwinn SS, etc.
"...why is the cable entry on the 'wrong' side on these side-pulls? is this a low-end issue or ..?"
The very old European norm was for the rear brake lever to be on the left, so older designs descending from and/or licensed from old Weinmann calipers have the cable entry sides reversed.
My 1952 E. Christophe (French) road bike has unrelated LAM calipers that are backwards just like old Weinmann calipers.
Dia-Compe's early designs were licensed from Weinmann.
I have wondered why Shimano's first "600" sidepull calipers were made this way, even as their earlier Dura-Ace calipers were normal.
I guess it was because Shimano was copying Campagnolo for their pro parts, then copied DiaCompe for their mid-price gruppo.