Originally Posted by
Chuckk
I'm gonna chime in late.
If the calipers on the old Schwinn are low level DiaCompes, they aren't the best calipers in the world. Look for a bunch of flex with the front brake on and rocking the bike back and fourth.
Sometimes you can make them better by adjusting the freeplay between the caliper arms. Sometimes that's the front nut, and sometimes you have to remove them and adjust the rear backing nut. Might make a big difference to upgrade there.
New cable sets, either teflon lined casings or teflon covered cables make a big difference.
Kool Stop pads have a great reputation, and are usually available at even medium level bike shops.
My thought is that the handlebar levers would probably bring you the least bang for the buck, between the levers and tape. Also, you lose part of the flag that "it's an OLD bike!" when those non-aero brake cables get hidden.
Chuck, thanks for chiming in. Yeah, the last I remember, there was a good amount of flex with the calipers. I'll check to see if I can tighten it a bit. Also, good point about losing the old bike look.
Finding some salmon Kool Stop pads is like finding a needle in the haystack at the three LBS's in my city. Looks like the Internet and UPS will be my friend again.
Personal gripe for the day: When I go to my LBS and want to buy something, and their response is "we don't have that, but we can order it"... Well, I can order it -- the benefit of going to the LBS is you can
walk out with product. If I wanted to order it and wait a week for delivery, I'll just order from home.
[gripe over]