My tektros feel spongy. I currently just have the stock pads on them and they're being pulled with Campy Record 10 levers. The levers might be some of the issue. I have the tektro on the front but haven't gotten around to changing the single pivot 1st gen dura ace out on the back. The rear brake feels much more firm in my hand and from what I remember, the DA brake on the front felt more firm than its replacement.

Hi all, thanks everyone for their help.

I think I'm going to pick up a set of those Tektro 800A's. They're a really good price and look fairly nice, not out of place on a vintage bike at all.

My experience with dual pivots has been generally very good. On my other bike (that was designed to take 700c wheels) I switched out a pair of old single-pivot shimano 105 side-pulls for a pair of tektros and the difference is night and day. I have heard the complaint about DP's being "spongy" feeling, although I must say I rather like it, it feels more graceful almost when feathering the brakes. I will consider upgrading to koolstops on the new sidepulls in the future though, incase I feel I still need extra stopping power.

I'll try... The following is my opinion and others have valid reasons for differing... I just hate seeing someone or something getting a bad rap unfairly.

In my opinion, modern, dual pivot brakes are miles better than vintage single pivot SIDE PULL brakes with a few exceptions in the late 80s. Try an old Campy or Shimano, etc. single pivot side pull compared to modern dual pivot brakes and you will see a big difference. As a result, in recent memory, dual pivot was a big improvement in stopping compared anything made earlier. The key is recent memory.

But, vintage center pull brakes are also dual pivot! A quality, forged center pull like Winemann, Dia Compe, Universal, or Mafac with modern brake pads are awesome and easily outperform all but the best single pivot brakes. Even with old pads they aren't too shabby. Yes, really good modern dual pivots are a tiny bit stiffer, but pure stopping power, either can lock up your wheels if you are average or moderately weighted. Power past the ability to lock up the wheel is surplus.

In my opinion, the myth of side pull being better than center pull started in the '70s when Campagnolo brought out their Record side pull. It was a few grams lighter, had less hardware and was totally cool looking. So, with the trendiness typical of the race crowd, it became very uncool to use center pulls. Not may people would admit the side pulls were a big drop in stopping power... but they were!
Also, cheap department store bikes came with really thin, flexible, crappy center pulls that gave cps a bad rep.

Oh.. and center pulls are cool on quality '70 and older bikes.... no disgrace and much street cred in the C&V crowd. My favorites are Dia Compe Gran Compe https://www.velobase.com/ViewComponen...=117&AbsPos=27
The Gran Compes have a nicer finish than any other vintage cp I've seen, but I don't think they are any better stopping than the others I listed above.

loose spoke. that's Kool-Aid that I can stomach! I agree, vintage sidepulls look great, but theory and first hand experience tell me that centerpulls work better.

Just about any brake has surplus stopping power, if you set it up right. Just yesterday, I explained this in some other thread.

david newton, those tektro 800a's are an incredible deal. no quick release, but they look right. i assume that's an old extra-long reach model. so now if i could figure out tektro's complimentary model number (in appearance to the 800a) for merely a long-reach (up to 57mm), the front of my bike would look right as well.

Make sure than the reach of the 800a Tektros is not too long for your bike before you order. They are extremely long. You'll need levers with quick releases to go with them.

+1

Even the old steel Raleigh calipers can be set up to work very well. With these the limitations are not with the calipers themselves but the limitations with any chromed-steel rim.

Stopping power can always be found even in the wet -although sufficient modulation might need to be sacrificed for power on some brakes. Getting great power AND modulation is tougher but can often be possible even on older designs. Changing pads can often help too -but then we get into the realm of other compromises like reduced pad and/or rim life (and $$$COST$$$)

Yeah me too,I put 700c on my motobecane and had to switch from the stock dia-compe 610s to 750s worked out great

Speaking of unfair bad raps: The advantage of the early Record brakes compared to contemporary sidepulls was lack of flex. Maybe the braking power was not up with the centerpulls, but in those days I had Weinmann CPs and Weinmann 500 sidepulls, and neither of them were very powerful. What I thought were good stoppers were Mafac Racers.

But a racer in a 200-person peleton might value responsiveness and instant control a little more highly than ultimate braking power. And I'm not sure that performance metric isn't also critical to a civilian cyclist. I rarely encounter the need for a panic stop. I often encounter the need to adjust my speed quickly.

Now on several bikes I have Campy dual-pivot, Campy Record single pivot, DuraAce 1st gen sidepulls, and Mafac Racers. All but the Campys have KoolStops. In braking power I'd rate the Campy DP, Mafac, and then evenly the original Campy Record and DuraAce SPs. In control I'd rate them all excellent, but the DPs and Mafacs will do more braking with a light pull than will the SP designs, even the best SPs like I have.

I've had panic stops in the past year on the Campy DP and the DuraAce SP. Both allowed me to put my feet down after avoiding a crash and to ride away. I think it's really hard to have objective data, enabling one to make any kind of generalizations. Yes, we can theorize about calculating mechanical advantage, but fact is, even a low-leverage brake like an SP can generate life-saving stopping power, at least the best ones can when set up well.

And what do you mean by "trendiness of the race crowd," and do you have direct experience? Do you mean the wannabees and poseurs? or are you talking about "fads" among the top TdF riders, framebuilders, and their sponsors? Doesn't sound like a crowd I'd expect to be faddish! Conservative and hidebound, yes, especially when reliability is involved. One does not win a Grand Tour if one cannot finish a Grand Tour. You just lose your investment, making sponsors not happy. I don't see room for faddishness here. Among civilian riders, yes of course, we all find fads to follow. Even us.

Back to the OP's need to finish his conversion: I'd double check that the existing brakes can reach the new braking surfaces. It's only 4 mm more reach than with the 27s.

And there's a lot you can do with centerpulls to optimize their responsiveness and power: new outer cables of the correct length, with Teflon liners, squared -off ends and ferrules (I just like ferrules), new inner cables drawn for low friction, stiffer front cable hanger like a Velo-Orange, cleaned and lubed caliper mechanisms, cleaned springs with grease on the contact points, and the Salmon pads. New straddle wires with some time spent in finding the optimum straddle length /yoke height will get as much mechanical advantage out of your installation as can be had.

Old thread, but a similar problem, I need to convert a 26" pivot side pull mb to 700s
plenty of frame clearance. Am open to anything that would work, ideas?

There's a no-brainer, cheap option. Find a bike shop that will sell you used parts. Find a pair of Mafac Racers with pivots with no slop. Combine with hangers that are stiff. Use with levers with good throw. I've done a bunch of 27" to 700c and used them. CUrrently I have two bikes sharing a set, both as front brakes. Mafacs are my preferred brakes for slippery roads, esp snow and ice, because there modulation is so good.

My "new" gravel grinder/winter/snow/ice bike now has the combo, Cane Creek levers and Tektro (?) in-line levers. Wow! And completely confidence inspiring anywhere. Oh, and 32c Paselas with 60 psi. You do not want to be behind me when I hit those stoppers.

Ben

Compass Bicycles sells replacement pivot parts in their rebuild kit for Mafac Racers. It's a bargain. If you are a cheap-ass you can buy just the brass bushings alone.

A $125 rebuild kit for $50 brakes is not my idea of a bargain.

This tread has good timing for me. I will be starting assembling my Dia Compe center pull 510 set. Can you folks direct me to the "right" cable lengths and pad / holder parts and sources for the parts? Thanks to all.

Also would add the early Trek 700 conversions I used Tektro 539's. 57 mm reach. And had adjustment to spare. Tektro makes parts to convert to nutted. 559's were much to long. Ymmv.

Search "Tektro R539 10mm nut" on eBay. Seller is bikedomeworks. $45.50 free shipping. They are already converted. The hardware for my conversions was mor than $20.

You could always just spend $325 for a set of his modern versions newly-minted and house-branded. These don't even come with a back center-bolt arch and you have to braze special studs directly onto the frame...

Jan is a special sort of crazy. But you have to love him!

I went from cheap Tektros to Weinmann 630's on my Jeunet. I thought that the Tektros looked out of place and I wanted to see how well I could make the Weimanns work with good Mathauser pads and careful adjustment. I'm using Aero levers with quick releases and I'm pleased with the performance.

Very nice!