Indecision . Do I buy it.

[Mike-p]

Don't throw me out but this is going to be a really practical mode of transport bike not a period reconstruction, I do want it to not look a mess though!

Seems to me maguras look no worse than V brakes?

If I respray I might get braze ons for discs! I know, I know, but I really want to ride this forever and I want it to function REALLY well. How are modern cantis in comparison? I'd consider the sram red 22 rim hydraulics but I don't want integrated levers.

Can you post a picture of your drag brake setup please half cog?

 

[Mike-p]

Dropouts are also only 120mm which is a pain, I thought by late 70s they'd be 126. Leaning towards a refurb now. Would it be better if I started my own thread or best to just carry on?

 

[pigman]

Don't fit disk brakes. For safety reasons. The fork leg needs to be beefed up to handle the forces and a through axle is a must. The rotational force acting on the front dropouts can pull the wheel downwards and therefore out of the dropout. And if you have junior onboard, it don't bear thinking about

 

[Mike-p]

Yeah, I'd read about those possible issues. Ive emailed trevor and will take his advice on where to go with it. Maybe I should just stick some cr720s on it and ride away...

 

[half cog]

O.k
Attached photo shows our tandem back brake set up.We are around 20 stone all up and the bike weighs around 44 pounds plus tools clothing and spares.I reckon we can hold the bike to a steady speed down to around 1 in 10 by just using the drag brake alone. I only use it when the ground gets to about 1 in 7 then I apply the drag and use the cantis to feather the speed.Whilst you will slightly increase rim wear you may find you only use it for a few seconds in a ride so nothing to worry about. Its not advised for long alpine type decents as you would overheat the tyres but it sounds like you are not doing that anyway.Much below 1 in 7 and the bike becomes in danger of running away without the drag. Modern tandems use a disc as a drag but ours is around the 127mm mark and hes been cold set before we got it so discs are out. If you go this way then make sure whoever does the braze on brake stops on the top tube realises what you are doing.Turning the brake around swaps the cable feedin side so stops need to be on the other side of the tube.Ours runs a dual pivot diacomp and they feed in from the other side anyway. If you do it then before commiting to some near vertical decent run some smaller ones first to get a feel of what happens. Looking at the front fork I think you can forget v brakes.You wont have enough clearance for them to work. I did try them on the tandem but it was a non starter

 

[Mike-p]

Neat! If I stick with the cable cantis what's the best option. Current bike is running golden arrow with modern pads. Err, they're not that great

 

[Jonny69]

Modern cantis aren't much better than old cantis tbh. If you don't need the clearance (or road bars) then V brakes will outperform them all day.

I have TRP Eurox (modern, lol, I guess even they are getting on a bit now!). They feel pretty solid and positive. Bit of a faff to set up (as all cantis are) but I haven't had to touch them since I did them over a year ago. The anodised alloy finish might look a bit out of place on your frame though.

 

[Mike-p]

Thanks Jonny. Ive just switched to nitto moustache on my current bike (beat up 80s stratton branded roberts, 531pro mostly 105 golden arrow) And i really like them. I'd like to use them on the gate with bar ends. Thinking a could use MTB levers with these

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I really want hydro brakes and i dont think the magura would look THAT bad?!?

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I'm waiting for trevor to get back to me re modding for discs but id rather not really, I have good front wheel and a 9 speed 105 hub to use for 10 speed on the rear.

 

[Apple Tree]

Definately buy it. Sounds a steal at that price.