Brake reach: which centerpulls are longest?
 

I have an Italvega frame which was originally fitted with 27" wheels; I'm building it up into a Frankenbike beater using all of the leftover stuff i have around. The 700c wheelset which I'd like to put on it results is some serious brake fitting issues. The circa '72 Campy Record set I have, and the '85 Shimano 600 set too, just don't reach that far ... it's close in the front, and nowhere close in the back. I'm thinking I may have to go centerpull, even though I'm loathe to buy even more parts for this one, but oh well. Any suggestions on which brands/models are known for that extra-long reach? Thanks.

The nice thing about centerpulls when it comes to reach is that they usually have different reach for front and rear, accounting for the fact that the reach requirement is usually not the same for front and rear. My "Schwinn Approved" Dia Compe centerpulls on my Schwinn (originally 27," now converted to 700c) easily have enough reach for the front brake, and the rear brake, with it's longer reach, has plenty of reach to spare, too. Here are some Weinmanns on ebay, with one having more reach than the other:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-Weinmann...QQcmdZViewItem

The BIN price on these seems kind of high, though; I think I bought my rear brake NOS for $7 on ebay. But if you need'em, you need'em-

Mafac Raids are probably the longest reach center-pull I've seen... although I haven't seen one in awhile. But just about any decent c-pull set should have more than adequate reach for this job.

I put 700's on a 27" Raleigh and the stock Weinnman centerpulls worked just fine.

I use Mafac Racers on my 70's Gitane converted from 27" to 700c. Plenty of reach.

For the Weinmann 999's (the most common centerpull Weinmann made, from the 50's thru the 70's at least) the model 750's have the longest reach, and the 610's somewhat shorter, but still pretty long. Not sure if the 750 and the 610 numbers refer to mm's of reach, but maybe? It is a bit confusing the way Weinmann used these numbers, 999 with 750 and 610 designators. Thats a lot of numbers being thrown around! Weinmann also made several models of sidepulls. The "Type 500" were pretty short reach, the "Type 730" were the same brake, but longer reach. These 2 models, as well as several others, are not as common as the 999's. If you need some, I have a couple grungy-looking 750's lying around, as I am sure most other folks who regularly acquire old bikes probably do. ew

And there is always the drop bolt to keep those Records on there. I think Sheldon Brown has a homemade brew kit on his website. I fixed one up (my own concoction) on an old Raleigh one time and it worked fine, just doesn't look as pretty a one from Campy.

I've got a bin full of centerpulls. You're welcome to a set for the price of postage. I'll need to know what measurement your looking for from center of mounting bolt to center of brake pad.

Drop me a PM when you have an idea what you need. They won't be Weinmans's, but they should work.

Most of the common brands offered one or two model with 75mm reach (Dia-Compe 750 and GC750, Mafac Racer and 2000, Shimano Tourney and 600, Universal 61 & 109, Weinmann 750). However, if you need something longer, I can only think of two. The Mafac Raid as suggested by Noah has a maximum reach of 80mm and the CLB Racer had a version with 90mm reach.

NYCBikes.com has the same center pull front brake that I have on my 73 Raleigh. The front brake with lever and cable is $15. These are old style side pulls for $5 that look like they have a long reach: http://www.nycbikes.com/item.php?item_id=370

Thanks for the comments, folks, and particularly bigbossman for the offer; I like the idea of adapter hardware, though, because there's something perversely appealling about mounting beater Campy on my beater bike ... unfortunately, the drop bolts (see image from Sheldon's site below) which Harris Cyclery used to sell aren't in stock any more. Anybody know where I can find 'em? If not, I may take bigbossman up on that offer ...

These drop bolts show up on ebay from time to time, and go for lots and lots, relative to what they are (just a bolt with a nut!)

Homemade drop bolts anyone?

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/home-drop.html

Paul

Some drop bolts, later recessed variety, Dia Compe, on the 'Bay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...ADME:B:SS:US:1