I had some on one of my bikes before I gave it to a friend, they were OK, about as good as some modern Ultegra rim brakes. Not as good as direct mount brakes though, and nowhere close to discs.
Why the demise of the Centre Pull brake?
- Thread starter GuyBoden
- Start date
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I had some on one of my bikes before I gave it to a friend, they were OK, about as good as some modern Ultegra rim brakes. Not as good as direct mount brakes though, and nowhere close to discs.
avecReynolds531
Veteran
- Location
- Small Island
This currently available & interesting option in the world of centre pull brakes is offered for direct frame braze-on or tradition bolt on. Beautiful but definitely a lottery win. Big claims are made for the direct mount version braking power: https://www.renehersecycles.com/shop/components/brakes/centerpull-brakes/
My last racing bike had Record dual pivot side pulls - the Weinmann centre pulls require more force at the lever but stop about as well as the Campagnolo (which were excellent). This was good news because mudguards & wider tyres were increasingly important considerations for the future.
A point that Jan Heine & Bicycle Quarterly make in favour of centre pulls over discs: for a steel frameset, they allow a more comfortable & flexible fork to be used.
My last racing bike had Record dual pivot side pulls - the Weinmann centre pulls require more force at the lever but stop about as well as the Campagnolo (which were excellent). This was good news because mudguards & wider tyres were increasingly important considerations for the future.
A point that Jan Heine & Bicycle Quarterly make in favour of centre pulls over discs: for a steel frameset, they allow a more comfortable & flexible fork to be used.
OP
OP
GuyBoden
Guru
- Location
- Warrington
Mechanically they can't be exactly synchronised, because one pivot is central and the other pivot at one side. The design is a combination of a single side pull pivot and a centre pull pivot. It's a compromise that works well in practice.
That makes sense. I think direct mount brakes are slightly different as there are two pivots mounted each side of the fork - the mechanism is much much simpler than a centre mounted dual pivot.
ChrisEyles
Guru
- Location
- Devon
Centre pull calipers that I've used perform very well and look really smart too. I like the ability to tune the brake response by varying the length of the straddle cable on my Mafac racers. They do have a discernable amount of flex at times, which I imagine is reduced in a modern dual pivot caliper (not that I've ever used one)?
What gets me is why linear (vee) brakes aren't used on road bikes - the ones I've used on old MTB's have been brilliant in terms of effectiveness and ease to set up and maintain.
Have to say as soon as I owned a disc brake bike, I was a convert. I'm perfectly happy riding the rim brake bikes I own, but wouldn't buy another for preference.
What gets me is why linear (vee) brakes aren't used on road bikes - the ones I've used on old MTB's have been brilliant in terms of effectiveness and ease to set up and maintain.
Have to say as soon as I owned a disc brake bike, I was a convert. I'm perfectly happy riding the rim brake bikes I own, but wouldn't buy another for preference.
Partly stylistic - they don't look good and partly that they don't provide that much more braking force than a properly setup side pull caliper or cantilever brake. They're generally a much stiffer brake than calipers as the braking point is much closer to the pivot points, but that's not really an issue with short arm calipers - the longer drop brakes perhaps.
Secondly they also require more maintenance and setup than a set of caliper brakes - they use independent springs either side of the fork so are a bit more fiddly than a caliper.
Thirdly the clearance they give isn't necessary for a road bike - you're not fitting 2" tyres on a road bike generally.
Lastly they would need a whole new brake lever design - linear pull brakes (v-brakes) use a different pull amount than road brakes so you'd run into compatibility issues with all of the levers previously on the market and the likes of Shimano/Campagnolo would have needed to make two versions of each lever.
fossyant
Ride It Like You Stole It!
- Location
- South Manchester
Psst no they aren't very good. Technology has moved on. They are adequate.
Even XT canti brakes are pants compared to a good set of V brakes or good 'caliper brakes'. Lets not talk about what's fitted to MTB's these days - 4 pot hydraulic brakes with more 'pots' than your average car.
fossyant
Ride It Like You Stole It!
- Location
- South Manchester
Here are some vintage 30 year old brakes that do stop you. And they are so pretty.
Once a Wheeler
…always a wheeler
For me, the brilliance of the twin-pivot sidepull is the interconnection between the two lever arms. This interconnection obliges both arms to act in unison. Single-pivot sidepulls often suffer from one pad hitting the rim first, which then provides the resistance to pull the other pad on to the other side of the rim. On release, the brake blocks of single-pivot sidepulls are seldom equidistant from the rim.
Centrepulls are largely immune to this problem but at the expense of some extra weight including the hangers and straddle cable. Even so, centrepull designs using brazed-on fittings may well be a bit lighter overall than the alternatives.
Aesthetically, I find centrepulls make a bike look cluttered; especially the bigger-is-better versions such as the old Mafac Tiger. Twin-pivot sidepulls can be made neat and compact and, of course, have none of the hangers and additional cable stops of centrepulls.
I have no personal experience of disc brakes but I find Chris Boardman's comments sound sensible. Given the extra hassle for wheel changing, I would not be surprised to see discs gradually retreating to MTBs as time goes by. They must be more aerodynamic but an extra 30" taken in a wheel change can be the difference between getting back in the bunch and ending up in the autobus.
Centrepulls are largely immune to this problem but at the expense of some extra weight including the hangers and straddle cable. Even so, centrepull designs using brazed-on fittings may well be a bit lighter overall than the alternatives.
Aesthetically, I find centrepulls make a bike look cluttered; especially the bigger-is-better versions such as the old Mafac Tiger. Twin-pivot sidepulls can be made neat and compact and, of course, have none of the hangers and additional cable stops of centrepulls.
I have no personal experience of disc brakes but I find Chris Boardman's comments sound sensible. Given the extra hassle for wheel changing, I would not be surprised to see discs gradually retreating to MTBs as time goes by. They must be more aerodynamic but an extra 30" taken in a wheel change can be the difference between getting back in the bunch and ending up in the autobus.
rogerzilla
Legendary Member
The old DX/XT cantis with the equally old DX four-finger levers will rip your face off!Even XT canti brakes are pants compared to a good set of V brakes or good 'caliper brakes'. Lets not talk about what's fitted to MTB's these days - 4 pot hydraulic brakes with more 'pots' than your average car.
Not so much in the wet though. And the modern XT brakes will do it with one finger.
fossyant
Ride It Like You Stole It!
- Location
- South Manchester
No they didn't.
fossyant
Ride It Like You Stole It!
- Location
- South Manchester
PS there is a reason the dinosaurs died. No single finger pulled brakes.
Drago
Legendary Member
- Location
- Suburban Poshshire
Ah, the old centrepull. I loved them. Back in the day if you had centrepulls you were a bit different, worthy of respect as a man to be reckoned with, the cycling equivalent of a car so posh it had a centre armrest in the back seat. You were respected and treated with deference as a man who clearly had his s*** together. More than a mere brake, but an indicator of social status and a revellious nature. Heady stuff.
