Originally Posted by
Aubergine
I had a thread recently about improving those brakes.
What can I do to improve Universal 68 Sidepulls? The advice, which I agreed with, was to find levers with better leverage. I chose old Nuovo Record levers, which are a help. I think old Weinmann levers would work also. In any case, the brakes work best when braked from the drops, and not from the hoods. When braked from the drops, there is enough leverage to stop well with many if not all the brakes of that era.
I need to read that topic, thanks. (a) Dang, I just went through the effort to get the Universal brakes, the levers and the hoods. And they "look just right" in this installation. I wonder if I have a set of spare Campagnolo levers in the parts stash -- I suspect not. (b) Not surprised about better operation from the drops but, alas, mostly likely most often operated from the hoods.
Originally Posted by
C9H13N
I've actually done this comparison on a modern road bike with dual pivot sidepulls. I preferred Swiss Stop blue BXP pads over Kool Stop salmon. Unfortunately they only come in Shimano and maybe Campy variants. Kool Stop wins for their C&V compatible selection though.
Good to know. The blue ones were what I was considering. So, now I have to determine if I can bolt up pads to the Universals -- so bolt length would be one determinant, another is are the pads long enough that they might run afoul of the stays or fork blades.
Originally Posted by
abdon
I never had issues with Kool-Stop pads.
Me neither, but in this instance I'm thinking the bike really could use better braking.