Point taken, so there is a delay when compared to a side pull?

The system's stiffness is but one aspect that affects the feel and function. Some of the stiffest brakes, WRT the lever pull, I've felt are cheap stamped steel units found on many English 3 speeds. But their leverage leaves much to be desired. Then add in the hard last a lifetime brake blocks (not sure "pads" is the right term ) and slick in the rain steel rims...

Back to center pulls- Yes there is a greater chance of more flex in the system, The hanger can bend under cable pressure, the straddle cable gets drawn taught, the arm pivots cab be sloppy. But the leverage factor is often greater too. As I alluded to before a well sorted out center pull system will have great leverage, be stiff enough to not bottom out a lever, have a lot of tire/fender clearance and it's adjustment state will last a long time. But some of the same can be claimed for a side pull system (the bike I'm about to ride has 30+ year old campy NR side pulls that will go for another 30 years). So you picks your poison. Andy.

Start by swapping what appears to be the stock pads for Kool Stops... the fix might be that easy.

no delay

just a slightly softer feel
as the tension increases
and the bends in the wire straighten out

Looking at the pictures you posted I can imagine what those brakes feel like in their current state. You should definitely get new cables and housing, read up on proper cable routing here: Cables

Get some Kool Stop salmon pads too, those ones are toast. If you want to make them feel better take the calipers apart, clean and grease all pivot points. Your brakes will never feel as good as a modern dual pivot set but you can at least get acceptable stopping power from them. I have a similar set of Dia-Compes on an 80s Panasonic and they work great.

Given this is a 700c bike with short reach brakes, I'd put a modern dual-pivot on the front. If you don't want to drill out the fork (fair enough), nutted versions are available.

Because it's pretty oldskool, I'd leave the original brake on the back. Very little point upgrading a brake that can already lock the wheel.

Vintage charm is all very well, but IMO the only place for a vintage front brake is on a bike that hangs on the wall.

Your detailed mechanical engineering post grad thesis on that is anticipated ..




the 'mush' can be a high MA.. & fresh brake pads.

The dual pivots in my Brompton have a little more Mushiness, now, just by replacing the original dry Fibrax Pad inserts
with new .. Kool Stop Salmon ones .. but stops nicely..

A possibly related issue is the true of the wheel. If it laterally out it will cause uneven rubbing on the pads. Make sure they are true.

Center pulls are great as they are really dual pivot brakes existing prior to the DP side pulls. When set up properly they are more than adequate. Keep in mind that back in the 60's and 70's, nearly all the top of the line models were Center pull, either Mafac "Racer" or Universal Mod 61, and for a good reason. The down side is the hardware required for the rounting. you need a specific cable stop for both the head tube and the seat cluster. Often used sets do not include these pieces, which can be frustrating. Here is an example of a Mod 61 from 1972 installed on a 1984 Trek 610

Or you could use the correct tool.

Park Tool OBW 3 Offset Brake Wrench 14mm Bicycle Brake Tool Bike Shop Tool New | eBay

If there was any truth in that, I'd be in big trouble. I have ten bikes, nine with vintage brakes.

Okay, I'll admit a lot of the centrepulls can often be set up to work quite well...

But I guess it matters just as much how you ride.

Since I tend to ride like a bike messenger, I often put the back wheel in the air (probably at least 2-3 times a week); I could make do with a centrepull but I'm a lot happier with a DP.