Originally Posted by cudak888
Rule of thumb:
According to Forum Member #1, the Dia-Compe/Weinmann centerpull design is the greatest thing since sliced bread.
According to Forum Member #2, the Dia-Compe/Weinmann centerpull design is the worst thing since (fill in the blank with your favorite repulsive object/person/thing/place/et c.).
Personally, I hate them for their sloppy center cable.
The design of the Shimano 500 centerpull far surpassed that of the Weinmann 999/Dia-Compe design, in my opinion - both in performance, lever arm strength (resistance to bending under brake loads), and ease of cable adjustment.
Take care,
-Kurt
Actually, neither answer above is correct. My experience with the brand was that they were always decent, solid, middle-of-the-road components. Their greatest attributes is that they were easily available and did a decent (although not great) job when put to the task.
When I got back into the sport, one of my first moves to start filling up a spare parts box was to stop at the local re-cycle bicycle shop and pick up about three or four pairs, which I then took home, disassembled, and polished. Some were used immediately, and other sit available for future projects.
Probably the best proof of their status is that Schwinn adopted them. This shows that they were neither cheap pieces of junk, nor expensive example of mechanical brilliance. I always found that this is a very good rule of thumb on 60's/70's components - the Huret Allvit being the only exception.
Syke
Deranged Few M/C