Hi All, Re. the brake question. There were actually quite a few of this type of "freestanding" center pulls in the 30's and 40's in England, the most famous being the Monitor Super Cam, Phillips and Resilion also made similar brakes, and of course the Resilion Cantilever that lasted into the fifties was also a center pull. The GB/Altenburger Syncron dual pivot of the sixties was a side pull that acted like a center pull, if you want a modernish brake this might be the one. Phil Easton, in finally sunny Cambria, California