Out of curiosity, which C&V sidepull brakes do you guys recommend? Which are the gems that you absolutely have to pull the trigger on when they surface on fleabay?

i'd pull my trigger on Universal CX or Mod.125

Record - the prettiest evvvvver

Actually late 80's Athena and Chorus are really cute too

Wouldn't it depend on what bike they're for? I mean, for some bikes you really couldn't beat a blue anodized GB Coureur Plus set:

but on the wrong bike it would look cheesy.

The last version of the Mafac/Spidel LS sidepull.

Works great, stiff with more than adequate braking power, easy to adjust, always stays centered and beautifully finished.
I have them on my two 80's French bikes presently and have an NOS full set in my stash ready to use on whatever next French 80's C&V bike I might get in the future. Only thing bad about them is the difficulty in finding OEM replacement brake hoods. Last NOS pair I saw for sale at ebay was something like 4 years ago and I have not seen any since....Unobtainium....
Also loved the smooth, light but positive action of Suntour Superbe sidepulls. I still remember back in the 80's when I could not resist always squeezing the brake levers on bikes in bike shops that had them.They just felt top notch quality!

I like the Shimano 600's. The first time I saw a Campy brake with the cam QR mechanism, I loved it. Then when I bought my '85 Centurion, it had Shimano 600 brakes with the same cam-type QR. I have loved them ever since. They have a great finish, work smooth, and always look cool (and even stop the bike)!

+1 Well designed and beautifully made. Just put a new in box set on my latest build.

There is nothing I don't like about those. I put them on my wife's mixte.

I like the Shimano Sante brakes. They are white but I have seen them with paint stripped and polished aluminum. They are light and work well. There is no release so if you are running large tires that would be a problem. I have a brakeset and crankset on my Specialized bike.
https://www.classicrendezvous.com/Jap...mano/Sante.htm

if you searched you could probably find this exact thread repeated every few years. The answer is always that it depends.

Best performance and reliability?

classic record, dia-compe gran compe or royal gran compe, superbe (all of these are very very similar) and of course the best, really the best is dura-ace 7400.

Now, just like the brakes of today these are not all the lightest brakes, so if you bring weight into it, it totally changes.

Record was produced from about 1968 to 1984 and then till 1987 in a slightly updated aesthetic but more or less unchanged. These spanned the golden era and probably were the winningest brakes in the 1970s. To me they will always be the best vintage single pivot sidepull, I even use them on my bike with 10 speed chorus and fenders with old mathauser pads.

Easy

Campagnolo Super Record or cobalto as the best looking

My vote is for CLB's. Crazy light with excellent stopping power, an unusual and gratifying combination:

Best looking or best working? My comments will target function over form.

For my money, the best seventies side pulls would have to be the Shimano Dura-Ace stoppers. And, timely though this might be, I just got a set of Dura Ace side pulls in the black anodized finish. The brakes match the Dura Ace high flange black anodized hubs and go nicely with the black anodized Suntour Cyclone Barcon actuated transmission. Campy seat post, Stronglight 93 triple cranks - sorry starting to ramble cause I am excited about my new, but way too big, Holdsworth.

The best in the eighties, Campy's (don't even know what they are called but the pull is easy and the stopping power is above average)...



As far as looks go, those Campy stoppers are it!

Monoplanars. I like them too but think dura-ace 7400 outperforms them and looks a little more sleek.

I don't know how anyone could question their superiority. I prefer them to the '85-'87 script logo for sure... all that chrome and polished alloy, just beautiful.

I have a soft spot for mid/late 1980s bikes; one of my main stand-bys is always 1050 series Shimano 105 single-pivot calipers + matched levers.

Dura Ace and 600 are great, too, but these 105 calipers are affordable, relatively plentiful, cleanly styled, well-finished, effective and a joy to use.

Certainly one of my first choices for a single-pivot caliper for an '80s road project (which is pretty much all my projects). Maybe I'm just cheap?

Often tend to switch up calipers for modern dual-pivots (5500, 5600, 6500), though, even when the rest of a build is more period-correct.

I've no idea how well they work, but I'd love to try these 1941 Schwinn side-pulls. 1941 MSRP for the front brake "complete with cable and hand lever" was $2.00. The rear brake complete with cable and hand lever was also $2.00.

Seen this thread before, same answer, DiaCompe NGC 400's

I like those too. There appear to have been a number of versions over the course of their production. Very light due to the dug out back side. I have even seen a very late pair that were drilled. The springs are well concealed too, the Japanese learned this from the French. Notice the tire guides formed into the underside of the brake blocks, lots of good design thinking in them.
These fetch quite a bit when they come up. I have considered a pair for a French bike I have, but alas, my valuation is always exceeded by someone else at auction.

I have a bike that needs one, good luck if I find one.

Me Too! I think I have most versions from the original Chorus to the Mirage and maybe lower. Definitely the best looking and IMHO best performing brake ever!

BG, not sure if I ever mentioned it before, but your thread with photos of various monoplaners was informative and helped me narrow down the version I would later buy (shown above).

+ 1 to DA7400 being superior re performance.

Modolo Professionals....'nuf said.

But no matter what I did to brakes then or now, I always pop on some Scott Mathauser pads.