fenton

I'm pretty new to this forum, so I hope this is in the right place:

I've just purchased a beautiful (to me, it's actually pretty beat up) Motobecane Mirage of unknown year. It's been converted to fixed gear but I'd like to add brakes and maybe take it to single speed. The problem I'm having is that the brakes would fit, but for the cap that screws into the bolt for behind the fork is too large. It's at 8mm but the hole is only 6mm. Is there a place to buy the proper size, or am I just using the wrong brakes?

The ones I'm trying to use are Shimanos pulled off my Masi Partenza. They came with Tiagra shifters, but say 510 on the back of the brakes.

Any help is much appreciated.

leicanthrope

Sounds like you're trying to put recessed mount brakes onto a bike that has holes drilled for nutted brake calipers.

https://sheldonbrown.com/calipers.html

fenton

Thank you so much.

Grand Bois

It can be made to work, but it's better to use the correct brake type.

fenton

Neither of my LBSs have the correct brake. Any suggestions on where to order one?

thunderworks

If you want period correct, check ebay for Weinmann 610 center pull brakes. If you don't care about period correctness, your LBS should be able to order a "standard reach" brake that does not use a "recessed" bolt on the back. I'm pretty sure Shimano makes a current, inexpensive model of some kind that is the right reach and has a conventional pivot bolt.

leicanthrope

Just a caveat on this... AFAIK, if it's a standard Mirage (and not a Super Mirage), it came stock with 27" wheels. If OP has 700c wheels on there now, the standard Weinmanns might not reach. I ran into that problem converting mine to 700c - you can't quite get the pads down far enough to make it work with that brakeset.

michael k

I like the looks of Tektro's side pulls. A possible option and eliminates the need for cable stops for center pulls.To get the size range measure from center of mount hole to rim brake surface.



I screwd up and ordered two rear calipers.reason for the funky reach on the pads

fenton

I'm actually not sure if it's a Mirage or Super Mirage, the guy I bought it from put 700c Surlys on it. Is there another way to determine the model (and maybe the year) like a registry?

fenton

Thanks for the input, they do look great. And beautiful bike by the way.

leicanthrope

It should actually say on the bike if you've still got enough of the original markings visible. Mirages should say just "Mirage" on the top tube, and Super Mirages say "Super Mirage". Apparently serial numbers are pretty well useless for Motobecanes, from what I've been able to find out. Really the best bet is to go through the catalogs and see if you can match up the color scheme, markings, and any of the surviving original bits to narrow it down. There are some catalogs listed here:

bulgier.net - /pics/bike/Catalogs/Motobecane/

It's not 100% though. Mine appears to be a 77, but has cranks that they started using in 78. It's not unheard of for catalogs to be a bit off, or for changes to be made mid way through a production year.

Grand Bois

I'd determine the reach needed and go shopping on eBay.

I'm not sure what using two rear brakes has to do with too much reach on the front one in the picture above. A front and rear set would have the same reach. The only difference is the length of the mounting bolt and associated hardware.