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Brake Head Screw too short for Fork

Hi everyone, this is my first post here though I read this forum quite frequently. I couldn't find any information on this issue-- I bought a nice pair of shimano a550 caliper brakes to put on an 80's peugeot frame. The problem I'm having is that the the head screw is too short to make it all the way through the front fork. I can't find a way to get the head screw out and was wondering if anyone knows if this possible to replace or possibly another solution to this problem.
Thanks, James

How short is it? You can get longer allen-key nuts to fit on the back side that'll reach forward far enough to engage the bolt on the caliper.

the bolt is too short to pass through the back side of the fork and the allen bolt is too thick to engage the bolt through the hole on the back side of the fork (i assume it is not meant to do this). it seems like it should be possible to remove and replace the bolt itself but i want to be sure of this before i potentially ruin these nice new brakes.

That fork probably has a 6mm hole in back meant to be used with a long caliper-bolt with an external hex-head nut. You can drill a larger hole in the back of the fork to use the recessed allen-head nuts.

Silly question, but are you trying to install a rear brake on your fork?

no, its a front brake but i've realized (thanks danno) that the recessed allen bolts are designed for newer framers with a wider hole. i think as opposed to drilling the frame i'll opt for the long caliper bolt model.

I know you can buy longer center bolts for Campy Nuovo Record brakes to convert from recessed allen to nutted style mounting. I bought one, but I don't remember where I bought it. Maybe the same thing is available for Shimano brakes.

QBP has 'em. They also have offset brake bolts for converting bikes with 27" wheels to 700c in the even the pads are already at the bottom of the slots.

Don't bother changing the bolt. You can drill out the 6mm hole in rear face (ONLY the rear face) of the fork crown with an 8mm or 5/16" drill bit and then mount the brakes using the supplied recesssed allan nut.

I've done this on a couple of mid-80s Bridgestones and it works just fine.

Ok, I'm convinced; I'm gonna try to drill that out tomorrow. Thanks for the info.

Wait! before you drill there is one small thing you need to check ( i know this because I just drilled out my peugy fork the other day). A newer road brake's short arm reach might not be enough to actually reach down to you rim. Double check to make sure your new brakes will be adjustable to get the pads all the way on the rim.

I drilled out the fork whole to put a sweet ultegra road brake on my peugot fixie, only to find out it would not work out--not the end of the world-- because the brake pads couldn't be adjusted down far enough to not rub the tire. What a bummer. Not irrevocable damage was done to the setup, though, I just slapped the old brake back on

Quote:

Shimano and Tektro both make "long reach" DP caliper brakes just for the situation you describe. They fit older bikes and current frames purposely built to have clearances for larger tires and/or fenders.

The Shimano brakes are "Ultegra quality" and the Tektros are a lot cheaper and quite functional. Nashbar sells the Tektro's as a housebrand (S/N NS-LRB) and these are on sale for only $30 a pair on their website.

As to "slapping the old brakes back on", the now oversize hole in the rear of the fork crown will allow them to move under braking loads. Get the right ones.

my shimano long reach brakes are working quite nicely with the wider hole. thanks for the help.