I can second that. I have a Raleigh Gran Sport with these brake which i gave to friend who acompanied me at last years L'Eroica. We did the 75 km ride and he is not an experienced rider on this kind of bike or on longe distances. The bike is all original including the original NOS red Weinmann brake pads. He did very well in braking those longer gravel and asphalt descents. The bikes constitution after the ride was far better than the riders constitution, he needed some time to recover afterwards since his back was not used to riding on a race bike. What more could you expect from a brake than performing well in this conditions?
Regards
Michael Schmid Oberammergau Germany Tel.: +49 8821 798790 Fax.:+49 8821 798791 mail: schmid@zunterer.com http://www.zunterer.com
-----Ursprüngliche Nachricht----- Von: classicrendezvous-bounces@bikelist.org [mailto:classicrendezvous-bounces@bikelist.org] Im Auftrag von David Snyder Gesendet: Mittwoch, 30. April 2008 06:52 An: Classic Rendezvous Betreff: Re: [CR]Weinmann Vainqueur Brakes
Weinmann Vanquers are strong calipers. Setup tips include the usual pad contact concerns (no excessive toe), plus the consequences and remedy of overtightened pivot bolts. It's sometimes necessary to dismantle them and sand down either the bushing flanges or arm mating surfaces to match the effectively-shortened pivot sleeves. The pivot sleeves can flare out and/or dig into the main arch if the pivot bolts are heavily tightened, and the only remedy is disassembly as described.
A home-made booster arch added to the front will further limit flexing if the lever travel is excessive (you'll need longer bolts). I've used these over the last 12 years for nearly all of my XC, CX and crit use, and mine are the 750's using the boost plate in front and aftermarket pads. The XC use really tested them with steep descents in wet conditions. They are not the easiest caliper to reassemble, but not that hard, either. Don't forget to polish them up and maybe lube pivots with Gripshift grease while you have them apart.
The 610's have more leverage but will exacerbate excess lever travel if too much toe-in is used. The stock pads are quite mediocre imo.
David Snyder Auburn, CA usa
Greg Thies asked:
> What's the group wisdom on Weinmann Vainqueur center pull brakes? I am
> building up a 1972 Paramount P-15, and these were the stock brakes. My
> experience is that the brakes are on the soft side. I am considering
using
> MAFAC Dural Forge instead because I believe they'll perform better,
> especially since I weigh 225 lbs. The MAFACs are certainly period
correct.