My gf and I have recently taken a lot of interest in vintage bicycles for their aesthetics and ride quality. However, we're not used to the 30+ yr old braking technology! So we want to upgrade some mid 70s single pivot dia compe red dot brakes with something that will actually stop- and at least LOOK somewhat era specific.

I've done a search on the forums, and have a handful of useful info/retail web sites (Rivendell, VO, Ben's, Hiawatha, Harris/Sheldon) to reference... but frankly, it's been pretty overwhelming.

Can folks help give us some pointers in the right direction? I'm sure new brake pads will help some.. but I want more power altogether.

Many thanks.

Hmmm...not sure but you might be asking for the impossible - it's the design of the old brakes that gives then the "look" of the era whether single pivot side pulls or classic center pulls. Braking performance can be improved dramatically with modern brakes and there are even some out there designed with long reach for older bikes that need it but I don't know of any that look anything like 70's era brake calipers. Maybe someone else can help.

Braking performance is dictated by factors such as brake reach, cable housing compression, handle leverage, and friction surfaces (brake pads and rims). Replacing old centerpulls with single-pivot sidepulls will not improve braking performance, and may very well degrade it somewhat. Replacing non-aero handles with aero will increase your braking leverage by about 10%. Replacing old brake pads with salmon KoolStops will make a dramatic difference. Replacing single-pivot sidepulls with modern dual pivot units may help a bit, as well. New cables and modern low-compression housings are always a good idea.

As John E encourages, try these steps in this order until you are more pleased with stopping power. Also do you have steel or aluminum rims?

1. Replace the original cables with modern Jagwire brand and replace the pads with Koolstops.

2. If still not happy, replace the calipers with '60s-'70s centerpulls (if they can be made to work). Try to pick these up used. Go with Weinmann or DiaComp. I know I could provide you with at least one set. Use the new cables and brake pads with the centerpulls. Post pictures of your original calipers, seatpost clamp area, and front stem at the top of the headset.

3. Replace the original levers with Tectro or Cane Creek areo levers.

Best of luck. If all of the above doesn't help much, then you could add new dual pivot calipers and use everything I've listed except the centerpulls.

The most recent brakes prior to the advent of the dual pivot calipers were kind of the ultimate evolution performance-wise of what I'd call retro. Depending on the components on your old bikes, you might be able to match them with stiffer Shimano, Suntour, or Campagnolo calipers from the late 80's or early 90's, and put some modern pads on them. I have Campagnolo Athena brakes from Ebay on an old Italian Viner steelie that work really well and IMHO they are about as attractive as brakes have ever been.

and one last thing though it can be expensive to change, Alloy wheels brake MUCH better then Steel ones... especially when wet. Quickest way to check if they are alloy and you dont know is to use a magnet, it will only stick to steel.

wow- thanks for the informative replies. I'll get back to the thread once I've done a lil work as noted..

Word!

I've ordered up some Kool Stop pads.. and have already replaced the lines. The rims are definitely steel.. and I won't be changing them out. Can i treat the sidewalls with anything?

Also, how do i measure brake reach- with a caliper? or maybe it's written on the brake itself..

Need to ask too, hope you do not mind..

I am struggeling with a french mixte. Rear hub says 1980, think that is right. Centerpulls, long reach. I know and understand most of what you say, also the brake lever thing.

My problem is that since English is not my main language I do not know what you mean by "aero levers". Is it the ones normally used on road bikes or is it more complicated than that? I am sure I`we seen them- and that I`we got them, just do not know the name.

I ride with my dog alot and the beast is pulling, so I seriously need better brakes

I`we got alloy rims and want to change pads, cables, housing and also brakelevers if needed. Just need to find out if I want to use "north road" or "road bike" bars.

I ride with my dog alot, and the beast is pulling. Seriously need better brakes!

All good advice above, but -- the biggest improvement in braking of all will be found when you go from steel rims to alloy.

Brake reach required is vertical distance between the mounting bolt for brakes and the centerline of the rim. Brake reach range provided by a caliper is vertical distance between mounting bolt, and the high and low extents of adjustment of the pads (again, pad centerline). I know that Sheldon Brown said to measure on the diagonal from brake bolt to centerline of pad or rim; but Sutherland's disagrees, and so does my own measurement of several calipers.

And, yes, reach range is sometimes stamped on the backside of one of the brake arms -- not Campagnolo, but Shimano and Suntour at least. Some Weinmann brake model numbers correspond to the max. reach (for example, 610 and 750 centerpulls have max. reach of 61 and 75 mm respectively).

"aero levers" are the ones that came out in the late 80's where the cables route under the handlebar tape. There is no cable coming out of the top of the brake lever to catch the wind. Hence they are considered more aerodynamic. They weren't in general use that long because Shimano STI and Campagnolo Ergo integrated brake/shifter levers came out in the early 90's but they do still make them and they can be a very nice upgrade.

This is an aero lever:

Back in the days when these were being phased out on production bikes that is was a good thing because CPs were sometimes more touchy to adjust, and just looked clunkier. Now however I acquired an old Schwinn LeTour with CP brakes and realized how much better they are than most old single pivot side pulls.

My question is are the bridge cables still somewhat readily available and are there any advantages to using some type of pully/roller type attachment to the bridge cable vs. the standard hook type attachments? I guess if I ever replace my levers which have the old flip out quick release tabs, I could take advantage of the hangers that have a QR lever on them, but I'm more interested in any kind of efficiency reason.
Thanks,

Yeah, in many cases center-pulls give better braking. IMHO they are way easier to set up, too.

I don't know about where you live, but I could go down to the bike shops here and literally bring home 50 pounds worth of Dia Compe and Weinmann calipers that they have on shelves. There must be hundreds of bridge cables. Also, Dia Compe still makes their center-pulls and thus all of the equipment is still available new, as well.

The idea behind the pulleys is that it's supposed to auto-center on the cable. The braking efficiency remains unchanged.

Personally my favorite center-pulls are MAFACs which give you better adjustability than Dia Compe, Weinmann, Universal, etc without the use of a crescent wrench bending the arm to set toe.

In any case to help the original poster... center-pulls, properly adjusted and with the right pads, and even on steel wheels, give excellent braking. They are, IMHO very easy to adjust compared to sidepulls, and they look cool

Karl

The Kool Stops did the trick! Also cleaned the rim walls with windex. The braking power is now extremely adequate! Thanks all!

Having just replaced brakes on my '81 Davidson, I can say that modern dual pivots significantly outperform the old Modolo Speedy single pivots. It could be the pads, but the Tektro pads are not known to be any good, but they were still a lot better than the old ones. I guess just having new pads could make the difference, but I didn't want to spend the money to find out and just bought the brakes instead. For $25 for the set I probably couldn't find replacement pads.

After doing one ride with just the new calipers I replaced everything else yesterday and the whole setup is better. New cables, new levers (Tektro R200) and the new calipers (Tektro R730 medium reach) I also have Koolstop Salmon pads, but the Tektro calipers didn't come with replaceable pad shoes. The long reach was probably not necessary since I have them at the top. The levers feel just like my Chorus levers on my other bike.

Agree... but how do you adjust toe on a MAFAC without bending the arms with a crescent wrench?