Improving brakes on a very, very old Clubman

B

barry2017

Old School Grand Master
My Clubman's original brakes were Raleigh's bizarre sidepulls that had a cable which had a nipple at both ends, with the barrel adjuster permanently attached (totally impossible to get nowadays).

I've been using it every day with these rubbish cheap sidepulls that came with a bike I bought a while ago, and while the bike sort of stopped, it was a bit scary if you had to stop in a hurry. Nearly faceplanted on my Saracen with its 80s U brakes after a couple of days riding the Clubman.

So I fitted a Tektro BMX caliper. My god, what a difference. It stops on a penny now, and doesn't look as bad as you'd think it would.
 
Fitted Weinmann 730 to my Clubman. Also added a small ally flat plate to rear brake mount to prevent rotation around the small crossmember. Big improvement over original '48 Raleigh steel calipers.
 
Second the 730s. I put them on my Coventry Eagle, they look fairly period and work very well into the bargain.

However I have to say block material makes more difference than caliper design with feeble calipers, especially on crappy rims. Sometimes it's the really cheap generic blocks that work really well, even if they don't last long. Could it be that BMX caliper came with blocks that suited the rims?
 
Ive got loads of 730s Ive stripped from old bikes.

as well as other sizes such as 810, 890, 1000, 500, 605s.

I have 500s on my Raleigh Flyer. Its a 80s racer, has the smoother looking calipers. But the weimman pads are terrible. I ride with the brakes adjusted up. But not much happens when the levers pulled. Got 700c alloys on the bike.

Thinking of fitting some pads I got from a crummy kids bike. Is bound to stop ok then
 
alecw35":1n3cnuzi said:
I have 500s on my Raleigh Flyer. Its a 80s racer, has the smoother looking calipers. But the weimman pads are terrible. I ride with the brakes adjusted up. But not much happens when the levers pulled. Got 700c alloys on the bike.

Thinking of fitting some pads I got from a crummy kids bike. Is bound to stop ok then
Click to expand...

It largely depends on the rims, but the horrible cheap un-machined shiny rims common on budget racers from the eighties don't brake well with any pad material. When wet they don't brake at all.

The best pads I ever had on my Raleigh Criterium 12 were some very cheap Raleigh branded blocks from ebay. I've also found some grey fibrax ones that worked well on these rims.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

S
JMC M2 S-Works, A 5 year project Part 1
Replies
5
Views
240
BCNBiker
BCNBiker
C
1994 Cannondale M300 18" restoration - heavily upgraded with period parts
Replies
5
Views
399
Cloverleaf
C
E
Too many choices.. Dia compe brake levers ss6
2
Replies
11
Views
2K
Thame Game
Thame Game
C
I gone done a thing...2002 Intense M1
Replies
6
Views
370
Cloverleaf
C
C
2011 Intense M9 FRO - owned from new and rebuilt
Replies
4
Views
502
Cloverleaf
C

Latest posts

Back
Top