Bill, it's happened to me, twice....but as a result of a crash where the bars have swung around [possibly putting a dent in the top tube as well!] and the brake arm has bashed against the down tube.
Both times I was able to straighten them by gently tapping the bent section whilst holding the straight bit in a vice [with fibre jaws to prevent damage to the threads]
cheers
Kevin Sayles
Bridgwater Somerset UK
Settling into winter, I am cleaning and rebuilding components on recent eBay rescues, while watching bad TV shows. I disassembled a Nuovo Record front brake from a 1973 original equipment Bottecchia. When I got down to the center bolt (Part No. 2012) I found the thing to be bent. The long end of the bolt, that goes through the crown, is pretty badly bent, with the worst part of the bend at the front end. If you look at the bolt from the front of the bike, the bolt is bent up and to the right side of the bike, kind of toward the 10 o'clock position. I ask myself: How does this happen? I am confident this is original equipment on this low mileage bike, which shows no damage to the bike or to the brake assembly, other than this bend to the bolt.
This is the second one like this I have encountered. The other is in my parts bucket since a couple years ago. Same problem, but not so severe a bend. I will probably use a hammer and anvil on this bolt to see if I can salvage it.
I can't imagine what kind of stresses on the brake could cause this bend. Anyone else ever see this problem?
Bill Kloos
Eugene, OR 97401
Phone: (541) 343-8596
e-mail: billkloos@landuseoregon.com
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