Weinmann, or at least the brand name, is still very much alive. As to the nationality, most of the classic Weinmann rims were indeed made in Belgium, although I believe the brakes were made in Switzerlnd. I cannot, however, agree with your opinion of the brakes. I have a number of bikes, notably Raleighs, with Weinmann centerpulls as well and several with Campy SP's and a few with various Weinmann SP's. The Campys are prettier than any Weinmann brake, and easier to center on installation, except for the Weinmann Carreras, which are pretty easy. But once set up correctly and with comparable pads, there is really little difference in performance. In fact, it a panic stop, I find that Weinmann 999's, or CP's in general, will lock up the tires easier than Campys or than SP's in general.
I think maybe your dislike of Weinmann's is really a dislike of CP's. CP's are harder to install and adjust, and feel spongey to some people due to the extra cable. But I, and lots of others, like them just fine.
Regards,
Jerry Moos Big Spring, Texas
James G Allen <jgallen@lexairinc.com> wrote: It has been graciously brought to my attention that Weinmann was a Swiss company. I humbly apologize to the great nation of Belgium for my ignorant slur. To think all these years I was cursing the wrong nation. BTW, perhaps I was installing/adjusting them improperly because I always had problems with centering them.
George Allen Lexington, Ky USA
BeGeorge Allen wrote:
> I agree with all of this. I'll also add that the Weinmann 999
> centerpulls standard on mid-1970's Raleigh Competitions and
> Internationals were the biggest piece of crap to ever come out of
> Belgium. I believe none other than Sheldon Brown referred to them as
> "evil". (God bless him, may he rest in peace) Hard to work on, hard to
> center and impossible to keep centered. It seemed every time the lever
> was squeezed the calipers were pulled out of center. I could reach the
> front caliper while riding to readjust but the rear was a bit
> difficult. The Universal centerpulls of the same era were much better.
> The Mavic Racers were better still. The only worse brakes than the
> 999's, IMHO, were the Weinmann sidepulls found on the Competition GS.
> And don't even get me started on the old Universal sidepulls although
> they provided an incredible amount of reach. The Campy brakes were a
> revelation to me. I didn't think brakes could work that well.
>
> George Allen
> Lexington, Ky
> USA
>
>
> Tom Dalton wrote:
>
>> Kurt Sperry wrote:
>> The eccentric cam QR, the flats in the center bolt to center with a
>> cone wrench and the tire guides were all useful and unique innovations
>> at the time Campy SPs were introduced if I remember correctly.
>> I'll add:
>> The above features were really of benefit more from a mechanic's
>> perspective than a braking performance perspective. Quick wheel
>> changes, easy to compensate for a slightly tweeked wheel, easy to
>> center the brakes... Many of the other Campy features were along the
>> same lines. I'm not really up on stuff from before the 70's, so
>> please forgive me if I'm crediting Campy for anything that came
>> earlier, but I will add this:
>> The cable clamp was pretty slick. I didn't mangle the wire like
>> some earlier designs, and if you did have a mangled wire it was still
>> usable because you didn't need to thread it through a tiny hole.
>> Don't forget the Rondella Denta that came out a little after the
>> intro of the brakes. That thing is pure genius... though probably
>> just a borrowed idea like everything else. At the lever, the
>> cable carrier was easy to orient using your fingers on the outside of
>> the lever... it was even knurled. This made for quick cable
>> hook-up. It also pivoted smoothly because of the large bearing
>> surface (though not like modern brakes with the slick plastic
>> inserts). Having a clamp that loaded the body and not the pivot
>> pin was a plus, though I suspect Campy was not the first to do this.
>> Winneman's clamp loaded the pivot, and I recall bending and breaking
>> a few pivots in overzealous fits of lever tightening... possibly
>> mechanic's error on my part, but should it really be an issue?
>> The Campy adjuster was slick too. Very fast to use because the
>> adjuster slid through the D-shaped opening, rather than being a
>> threaded shaft, so you only needed to spin the nut to the chosen
>> position. The bump on the nut held it in place. The ruber o-ring
>> was a nice touch. Newer versions of this setup are really nice,
>> because with the lighter brake springs you can easily ajust the brake
>> on the fly. The bumper on the short reach was a nice touch, even
>> if it often fell off. See the brand S 7700 caliper for a slick
>> solution to that problem.
>>
>> Was the open ended pad holder a new thing with the Record brake?
>> Probably over-reaching here, but whoever came up with that was really
>> thinking. Change rubber without setting up the pad orientation all
>> over again. Tom Dalton
>> Bethlehem PA USA
>>
>> ---------------------------------
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