At 12:57 PM -0800 1/19/09, Harry Schwartzman wrote:
>Jan and listers,
>
>Perhaps it is more accurate when you list the weights of centerpull
>and cantilever brakes, to include the weight of the mounting posts
>(without which they could not work)... which is probably way more
>than 100 grams.
The "clamp-on" version includes all the hardware... and still is quite a bit lighter than the Campagnolo sidepull.
For the braze-on posts, too much depends on how the builder files
them and how much braze they use. However, a heavy, machined, raw,
uncut, canti post with lots of extra material weighs only about 15 g,
so for 4 posts, you are looking at somewhere between 40 and 50 grams
once they are filed... which still makes the brazed-on centerpulls
one of the lightest brakes. Imagine that brake with titanium and
aluminum hardware and lighter brake pads...
>I really think it's hard to find any advantages in a centerpull
>design... which is why it's basically extinct. For racing bikes, in
>particular, the sidepull is clearly king.
More brake power, better modulation, lighter weight, more elegant design (when used with brazed-on pivots) are just a few.
I am sure somebody would have written in 1970, when the Altenburger Synchron Dual Pivot brakes were on their way out, that dual pivots were an outdated design with few advantages... until Shimano resurrected the design 20 years later.
Perhaps centerpulls are making a comeback? Paul introduced their "Neo Racers" after I sent them a set of Mafac Racers to try. And now Cyclingnews.com reports on these "ultralight stoppers with no compromises"
http://www.cyclingnews.com/
If Campagnolo's "Delta" centerpull brakes had been lighter, easier to set up and offered better braking, Shimano might have copied that design instead of digging up the Altenburger, and centerpulls would be the standard today.
Jan Heine
Editor
Bicycle Quarterly
140 Lakeside Ave #C
Seattle WA 98122
http://www.vintagebicyclepress.com