I have my light touring build pretty far along and just realized my awesome looking BR-1050's aren't going to work on this frame. The old BR-A250's (57-47) that came off this frame look like crap and I cant bring myself to put them back on. Are there any reasonably priced long reach brakes you guys like, or dislike. The Nashbar long reach brakes are a super deal at $40 a set, and they don't look bad. Has anyone tried them?

There are some really cheap dual pivot long reach brakes on eBay right now for $17 shipped.

I haven't used those specific brakes, but I have used some generic quality ones. They stop you, and they're less fussy than old single pivot brakes. I wouldn't say they're as good as high quality short reach dual pivot brakes though.

Tektro's R539 long reach work well and are pretty reasonably priced. I expect the Nashbar house brand brakes are the same model. Both have recessed nut mounting so if your bike takes externally nutted brakes you will have to drill out the fork crown and brake bridge to use them.

https://www.cambriabike.com/Shimano-U...lver-Front.asp

Would these work? Andy.

https://www.amazon.com/Shimano-Front-.../dp/B005DTQ6UQ

Actually i meant to link to these which are still out there. I have used both thr R600 and the R451. Not much actual difference other then finish. Any.

I don't think they're the same model. The Tektro's cost a little more and look a lot nicer. Good suggestion, they're on the short list.

They're right in the same price ballpark as the Tekro's. I would love to see them go on sale.

There's a few listed there I like.

Wow, Ultegra long reach, fancy. Pity it says they're no longer available...

I've never seen these either, only the 105 version. I did have a pair of Ultegra long reach brakes I installed on an old Bridgestone but they were single pivots.

You can find Tektro 800A sets for under $20. They have an extremely long reach and I know from experience that they work very well. They're just not finished as well as their higher priced models. You'll need levers with quick releases.

+1.
I've used these on two 650B conversions and find them very decent. I happened to order both pairs (Amazon) on sale. Sales might come back around.

[edit: just checked, one was r539, other was r556. Both work well]

I have used Tektro 539's and the older 536's and like them both, The 539 has a redesigned quick release mechanism that allows
a wider opening for wider tires.
You may also find some of the 536's with old tyoe hex-nut mounting if you need that.
It is interesting to note that the 800's are found with hex nut mountings, and the pivot bolts are supposed to swap into
the 536 and 539 calipers. The 800's are usually available for less than the price of the hex nut pivot bolt kit from Tektro.
And, of course, the other method is to purchase 2 front brakes of the recessed mounting style, using one on the rear with the hex nut mount (remember to swap sides on the pads) and drill the rear hole out on the fork to allow use of the recessed nut.

I run some Tektro 800s. Just a note, the reach is very long. I have to run the pads all the way up for a bike that originally had 27" and clearance for fenders when I switched to 700c. The cable pull is also on the opposite side of normal. They are definitely worse than other Tektro offerings, but they do work better than most vintage brakes, and they look a little more vintage. There is good reason to just use them for the mounting hardware.

What brake levers are you using?

I bought them under the Origin8 label but the part number under the brake lever is RL340R which is a Tektro part number.

I was just wondering. I recently set up a bike that requires "mid-reach" brakes, i.e. 47-57mm reach. The bike has newer Shimano road levers (6700) and I found that brakes that are designed for the new Shimano cable pull ratio work best with these levers, particularly with longer reach brakes. Not a concern with the levers you're using-

Tektro 539 are different and nicer. My biggest disappointments with the Nashbar long reach were that 1) the brake shoes had no toe-in adjustment (despite a downloadable manual illustrating the kind of adjustability that the 539s have) and 2) the pair I got had one arm bent slightly out (opposite the way I'd toe pads in). I know #2 might be a rare fluke, but the end result was wasted time building my bike.

As others mentioned, the 539s also open nice and wide. And they have attractive pad holders that fit Kool Stop Dura2 refills.

I need the recessed nut front. I've seen some front brakes described as having "standard" front nut. Is standard nutted or recessed?

And is the 539 nutted or recessed. The Tektro website doesn't say. They show the 559 available either way.

Universal Cycles sells the recessed pair. I don't know if the 539s are available nutted.

https://www.universalcycles.com/shopp...s.php?id=48623

Ah, Harris Cyclery sells individual 539s both ways: https://sheldonbrown.com/harris/brake...ers.html#47-57

Tektro also makes the R559 long reach with both externally nutted and recessed configurations. They are a little more expensive but they're very nice looking brakes. Bought a set for my '82 Fuji project. Got the wrong ones so bought another set in the correct configuration. It's a NOS frameset, couldn't bring myself to drill it.



Just saw this after my initial response, I have a NIB set of recessed 559's I'm not going to use. If I keep 'em I'm afraid I'll buy another frame so I can use them.

I had nutted brakes on my classic road bike, but when I took them off to replace them with more modern Tektro brakes I found that the frame had recessed mounts. Go figure.

Cool. I didn't see that in any of the other descriptions I found. Thanks!

I'd ask to take them off your hands but the 559's have a little too much reach. I'm thinking the 539 is going to be just about perfect.

Cool. I'll just have to exercise a little self control until I get the Fuji built and the wife adjusts to it before picking up another frame to use them on.