105 1055 brake calipers - drop?

So, my 1996 Cannondale had Shimano RSX (A410) calipers, as the rest of the groupset was 105 (1055) I decided to fit some 1055 calipers.
The rear caliper went on OK, albeit with the pads at their maximum adjustment.
The front however is nowhere near, only half the pad contacts the rim.

I assume the drop on the 1055 calipers is too great for my frame, I'm not sure how, or why? I thought the 105 1055 calipers would be a straight swap? I believe the RSX calipers are 39-49mm drop.

Are there different drop versions of these 105 calipers? So I know which model to look for, and don't end up getting ones with too much drop again!

39-49mm

Re:

I know there were 2 versions of tricolour single pivot calipers. I have both a race drop and a winter bike drop. 105 might have been the same

Yes, there were two versions of 1055, short and long drop

foz":ngypxar5 said:

Yes, there were two versions of 1055, short and long drop

Click to expand...

Cheers. I've stuck the RSX caliper back on the front for now.
I'll have a look for another 105 caliper(s), I guess other than using the Mk1 eyeball, or getting measurements from a seller there's no way to distinguish between the different drop calipers? Mine are marked 1055, I guess they all are.

the version is usually stamped on the back of one of the arms so with a pic of that you should be able to tell, for modern shimano road calipers there are only two versions, "short" drop which is 39-49mm, and "long" drop which is 47-57mm. sounds like you need the 39-49mm version

foz":hs3crmcf said:

the version is usually stamped on the back of one of the arms so with a pic of that you should be able to tell, for modern shimano road calipers there are only two versions, "short" drop which is 39-49mm, and "long" drop which is 47-57mm. sounds like you need the 39-49mm version

Click to expand...

They are stamped on the back, though bizarrely in the opposite way to that which you mentioned!

They say, for example "Max 49 - 39 Min", though why they start with the larger number and then reverse the order of number and word, is anyone's guess!

I have just sold two sets of 1055 calipers - one 49-39 and one 57-47, so they are the two alternatives.

FiveAlpha":nw0kkflc said:

They say, for example "Max 49 - 39 Min", though why they start with the larger number and then reverse the order of number and word, is anyone's guess!

I have just sold two sets of 1055 calipers - one 49-39 and one 57-47, so they are the two alternatives.

Click to expand...

Yep, I don't know how I didn't see this before, but I checked today, and the calipers do indeed say 57-47 on them :facepalm:

But in a turn of luck I found I have some Cannondale Coda calipers which should suit the bike perfectly, and I'll just sell the 105 calipers on.

Lesson learned, always ask/check the drop before buying brakes!