Brakes - advice for newbie

secretsam
secretsam Posts: 5,120
edited October 2007 in Workshop
It's winter and getting wet

Bike 1 is a Spesh Sirrus and has canti-style brakes, powerful but a bit 'sudden' - either on or off, modulation difficult

Bike 2 is about 20 years old and has weinmann centre pulls, with decent blocks (Aztec/Kool Stop). But the brakes are f'kin hopeless in the wet compared to the Spesh.

Any suggestions on how I can improve the braking? Would a pair of dual-pivot help? If so, I'd need quite long reach ones...

Thanks for any advice
It's just a hill. Get over it.

Comments

  • maddog 2
    maddog 2 Posts: 8,114
    bike 2 we're talking about, right?

    you can get dual pivots with a long drop - up to 57mm

    measure from the bolt hole to the centre of the rim.

    For the cantis, try other pads. I use Avid cartridge.
    Facts are meaningless, you can use facts to prove anything that's remotely true! - Homer
  • OnTow
    OnTow Posts: 130
    Beware the fact you'll have to play around with the moutning bolt of a modern dual pivot caliper brake too. I discovered this on a thread yesterday....
    Check out Sheldon Brown on this subject too.
    The old bikes assume the bolt goes right through the fork/stay and has a nut outside of the frame on the back of it.
    Modern dual pivot brakes assume you have a sort of sleeve/allen bolt that sits flush with the frame.
    Some careful drilling may be required, though I gather from the other post I can't find now, that it's all quite possible and spares are available.

    Try Argos Cycles/SJS Cycles/Condor/LBS for advice.

    I'm running Swissstop pads - though they're probably no better than Koolstops - which I have yet to try.

    You could also try a set of wheels with machined braking surfaces, and replacing the cables/outers for less stretchy/old ones, though at the end of the day replacing with dual pivots will probably be a better option.

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