Brake upgrade question

emeryjim

I'm using an old Peugeot to get me through my first winter on road bikes. Having managed to get full 18 speed compact gearing and non-matching wheels via skips, generous friends and a summer of ebay watching the bike is now complete at a total cost of £50!!

After my first very wet ride yesterday I have realised that using cheap single pivot brakes from 1981 will almost certainly get me killed.. I'm after some advice about budget replacements.

I know the drop according to Sheldon is approx 49mm so I'll need long drop callipers, should I also upgrade the levers? If so, how do I know the levers will pull the correct amount of cable for the callipers? I'm using bar end shifters so lever upgrade shouldn't be too pricey.

Lastly, it seems logical to replace inner and outer cables at the same time but how do I replace a cable outer that runs internally through the frame?

All advice welcome as I know bugger all about road bikes

ugo.santalucia

You probably do need long drop calipers... Tektro are cheap and cheerful, Shimano are better but pricier.
Then there is the recession bolt problem... chances are your fork and bridge are drilled for a normal bolt and not wide enough to take the more modern recession bolt... if this is not the case, the swap is straightforward, if this is the case, then you need to widen the holes... it is relatively easy to drill the frok and a bit trickier to drill the rear bridge, but both can be done at zero cost with the correct drill bit.
Levers will be fine

drays

re: cables -

1. remove old inner cable with outer still in frame
2. insert new inner cable
3. pull off outer while ensuring inner stays threaded through frame
4. slide on new outer

emeryjim

Thanks for the both pieces of advice.
I've gone for the Tektro long drop callipers on offer from Planet X and will replace both inner and outer cables, the Shimano callipers look lovely but they cost more than the my entire build! I guess time will tell whether this is enough to stop me on long wet descents..

keef66

I did up an old Peugeot on a budget. The original Campag single pivots had been neglected / mangled by a previous owner, and wouldn't stay centred. Got some long drop Alhonga dual pivots from Spa Cycles which were cheap and work pretty well with the original levers

declan1

You should have just got new pads. My dad's Peugeot has old brakes that didn't stop it, but we got some new pads for them and they're better than my bike now.

A car pulled out in front of me the other day while I was riding the Peugeot, and I pulled on both brakes - it stopped me almost immediately; I was very impressed.

keef66

The pads weren't the problem; the central bolt and the springs were badly corroded and the plastic washer thing that ensured the spring stayed central was pretty well mashed so the things just wouldn't stay where they were put.

centimani

Dont assume the pads that come with your Tektro calipers will be great, they're not.
I run a mix of tektro and Alhonga long drop calipers on my Raleigh with Sora STIs, i cant say ive been that impressed with their performance.
Better blocks did help, Dura Ace IIRC.