A Question For The Old Timers- Or Those With Old Frames
 

I recently picked up a used frame (a custom cyclocross frame, not a mountain bike I know, but I think I'll get the answers I need here) which has the canti studs spaced at about 63mm apart, not the 80mm of frames from the early 1990s and beyond.

I'm having trouble finding a modern brake which works on this frame as there is not enough vertical pad adjustment and the pads hit the tire. I'm currently using an old set of LX cantis which are a PITA to adjust and find decent pads for.

My question is this; What was the canti stud spacing on early to mid 1980s mountain bikes? Was it 63mm, or do I just have an oddball frame? Thanks.

'Cross brake bosses are generally are going to closer together than on a mtb frame. It is the distance from the axle that matters though, not the width. Are you using the wheel size the frame was designed for?

As best as I, and the mechanic from the Latvian national team can figure, yes. I'm using 700c wheels. As it was a custom job from Belgium it's very unlikely that the wheels would be 27".

On my cyclocross frame from 1995 the bosses are a standard 80mm apart.