OrangeOkie

After a couple of failed attempts to purchase a period correct nutted Dura Ace brake set for my 78 Volare, what do you guys think of my idea to drill the front fork crown and rear brake support to fit a recessed allen nut period correct Dura Ace brake set?

crazyb

Nice bike, I wouldn't drill it.

tolfan

do you have a period correct recessed allen nut dura ace brake set? Can you swop out to a nutted bolt?

marqueemoon

Shimano RX100 brakes might work (use two fronts) if you want to run modern dual pivot brakes without drilling the frame. They won't be period correct though, obviously.

OrangeOkie

The threaded posts are not long enough to stick through the holes in the fork crown nor the rear support. If I drill the "coming out hole" a bit larger, the recessed allen nut will be able to slide in and screw onto the threaded bolt.

Otis

Just change the pivot bolts on your calipers. Nutted 600's are easy to find and would probably work for the swap.

Drilling is not a great idea, unless you can do it in a drill press and have the proper drills. I've seen a lot of real sloppy jobs done in the early 80's when the recessed style brake were getting popular. Besides as soon as you drill it the right calipers will show up.

OrangeOkie

I appreciate the comments and suggestions, but due to time constraints (I'm leaving on extended business trip and want to finish this bike and take it with me) I'm going to proceed with surgery. If there is any interest, I will post before and after photos to document my success, or lack thereof!

infinityeye

go for it! Drilling is not so hard especially on the higher end steel. Just use a nice new titatinitiulm bit. It will drill like cheese!

beakgeek

Ahhhhhhhhhh....no drill. I would never put a drill to my 1977 Volare - she's too pretty.

cudak888 

Refurbishing a vintage bike is not something that should be done under time constraints. You're hurting the bike and its sentimental value to other collectors by drilling it.

-Kurt

John E

It's a pretty subtle change, and one can always reinstall period-correct brakes with near-invisible bushings, so I actually vote to "go for it."

HillRider

No bike made will ever give a regular carbon steel drill bit the slightest trouble. The steel may be strong but it's not hardened. Use any good 5/16" or 8 mm drill bit and drill with out fear. I've done several bikes and it always works fine. Just drill carefully and use the current 6 mm hole as a guide to keep the bit centered.

Drilling the rear brake bridge can be tricky since you can't get the drill motor between the bridge and the seat tube (and of course you DON'T want to drill all the way through the bridge). I've held a short 5/16" bit in Vise-Grips and rotated it a fraction of a turn at a time to gradually ream out the hole. It's slow but it works.

divineAndbright

Pretty indeed! Orange and chrome wow, where do I get me one??

cyclotoine

Well could you settle for non dura-ace nutted brakes in the mean time? I feel shameful and the mods may remove this but I am selling a set of black dia-compe nutted brakes on ebay ending this evening... I imagine they would look good.

repechage

Higher end steel easier to drill? Hot rolled or free machining steel is, not decent alloys.

titatinitiulm, what is that material? Some drill bits are titanium oxide coated, usually HSS bits, Cobalt bits are the way to go.

Not drilling the the best solution, the consul of waiting and not proceeding under duress is best.

beakgeek

They only made this model in 77-78. I have only seen reference to a very few of them on-line. I know mt. airy has one for sale, but from previous experience they are not cheap.

I got lucky and had a friend tell me he saw it at LBS. I swooped down there and bought it.

OrangeOkie

I had a set of black dia compe's mounted. They looked beautiful, but then I felt a twinge of guilt since a little voice inside of me kept telling me to use Dura Ace components throughout. Now, I am almost obsessed.

I have not yet drilled, because neither set of Dura Ace brakes I bought will reach the 700c wheels. The search continues.

marqueemoon

The (will be posted eventually) bike I just got came with crazy long reach nutted Dura Ace calipers. The only drawback is they're black (kinda ugly with the silver bits on the rest of the bike), but they're Dura Ace and they do the 27">700c reach quite well. No they are not for sale

divineAndbright

Awesome.. I'm in Ontario/Canada and Schwinns were never sold 'round these parts, at least not till sometime in the 90s I think, and even then they were just the cheap-o department store variants, so my chances of ever coming across one are basically sweet F-A, unless I try for one that shows up on ebay and I feel like spending a lot of cash obvliously.. but I dont think I'd ever be doing that anytime soon. Do you have any photos of it built up? Whats the wheel base like?

OrangeOkie

Great. Thanks for the info. ;>)

cmdr

Go to "Recessed Brake Mounting" I would choose option #3

https://www.sheldonbrown.com/gloss_r.html

charlisity

I'm not sure if I'm understanding this right(no Dura Ace experience). Are you saying the threaded bolt that is at the top center of the brakes won't extend through the mounting holes? If so, why wouldn't you just replace the bolt with a longer one? I bet a good hardware store can help or if weight is an issue, a good machine shop can make you one out of any material you choose. That would be cheaper and cleaner than drilling a nice frame for brakes that weren't made to go on it.

beakgeek

I have the handlebars wrapped now with black cork. I did a 20 mile ride on her last Saturday and it was sweet!

OrangeOkie

Yes. The threaded bolts are too short.

It doesn't look to me that changing out the bolts for longer ones is an option. At least it is not within my capabilities.

beakgeek

Have you thought about trying to find a bike like a Voyaguer II and buying it to get the components? I've seen bikes like that for sale for $125 before. Worth a try.