rossiny

I need brakes for a keep sake . My parents actually bought it in Italy for me when they went back to visit. It been sitting for years and the old brakes just were bad ..
Any suggestions where I can find brakes reasonable ,campy , that work well?

3alarmer 

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...were it me, I wouldn't bother to look for Campagnolo (although you can). Modern dual pivot sidepull brakes are readily available in whatever reach you might require. The majority of them, however, are not nutted brakes, but the sort with recessed mounting nuts. I can't see what you have from your one photo, but suspect you require nutted brakes. I think, but am not certain without measuring reach and resolving the nutted/recessed issue, that this is what you need. The Tektro logo is screened on there, and comes off easily with acetone.

Tektro R559 Silver Nutted

dddd

For starters, I would measure the reach down from the bolt center to the rim side center, before choosing calipers.

Then, as 3alarmer said, determine if the mounting holes use recessed nuts or hex nuts.

People on this forum have parts stashes so look in the classified section or on Ebay for correct vintage calipers. Tretubi bikes usually had Gipiemme or other 2nd-tier Italian calipers, but Campag calipers would always look proper.
Newer and better calipers might be best for a larger rider. I would use stock brakes but I usually relax the return springs a bit, which improves braking power.

T-Mar

Based on the description and the apparent era, the original brakes were probably Universal 77, Modolo Speedy or equivalent. The performance of these brakes can often be significantly improved by the installation of good, modern, brake pads and modern, Teflon lined cable housing. However, as previously noted, optimum braking performance will be obtained by installing modern, dual pivot calipers, taking the advice about brake reach and mounting style into account before purchase. Also, when switching calipers, it is advisable to purchase matching levers, as mismatches in mechanical advantage can sometimes lead to decreased stopping power or even be too much, making the braking like an on-off like light switch, with next to no modulation.

cocoabeachcrab 

universal CX sidepulls come in a nutted version and look campy. Vintage Universal (late 70's) Universal CX F & R brakes VGC | eBay

dddd

Universal CX are my faves!

rossiny

Yup, they are nutted, it has a lower line campy group, but had a campy super record bottom bracket installed, and a super record seat post back in the 80s😎. Was just trying to keep it consistant. I like dual pivot , maybe will try to drill out ?
thanks

3alarmer 

...the dual pivots I linked on Amazon are nutted, and long reach as well. I would buy those rather than drilling for recessed. There are a number of ways you can **** up, doing the drilling.

rossiny

yeah I was thinking that. Would rather keep frame original ..

mgopack42 

I have a pair of Galli nutted brakes that I pulled from a round of Box O' Crap, but never got around to using. Should fit right in with the build. Free for shipping. If interested, PM me.


Pads are, as they say, "hard like rock"

John E

My Tre Tubi Bianchi (see signature) came with Modolo Speedys, which I replaced with period-correct Campagnolos only because I scored a pair at a bargain basement price.

To improve braking from dangerous to decent, I installed KoolStop salmon pads (my flirtation with Shimano pads, because they looked so good, was downright scary) and switched to Shimano aero brake levers, which not only fit my hands much better than many of the longer-reach European levers, but also provide about 10-15% more leverage than non-aero levers. So ... my "all Italian" Bianchi has Japanese brake levers and freewheel (SunTour, since I had a stash of cogs for customization) and German tires (Continental) ... .

rossiny

yeah I know I'm being silly on the Italian parts only. 😀. I guess just because my parents actually bought it from from there. ..

mgopack42 

rossiny Dia Comp areo levers if interested... definitely NOT Italian! hoods are good, not torn, but a little gummy. Let me know!

robertorolfo

No, no, vai avanti cosi! Nothing silly about keeping it all Italian. Pre-skeleton Campagnolo dual pivot brakes are fairly cheap (used, online) and won't look too anachronistic on your bike. If they fit, go for it.

noglider 

If you do end up with Universal brake calipers, I recommend against their levers. They don't have sufficient leverage, and you'll have to squeeze too hard to brake.

rossiny

Boy , how you guys have all this knowledge on what will work etc. Yeah I had a chance to pick up campy Daytona fairly cheap, but the Bianchi takes the nutted kind not recessed. I been checking Craigslist and such no luck. I may have to check e- bay also but typically havd not bought from there.

robertorolfo

In a pinch you might be able to use a front caliper on the rear (switching the direction of the pads, of course), which could give you enough extra threading to secure it with a nut.

bikingshearer 

Experience. Collectively, tons of experience. Sometimes painfully acquired.

My $.02: Get some Tektro dual pivots. Best bang for the buck in terms of performance. (In terms of appearance, they are fine, but there are prettier options, usually more expensive.) Get 559s if your frame requires a long reach, 539s if it requires a medium reach. Both are available in nutted, although you may have to look around. Rivendell sometimes has one or both of these in nutted, sometimes they don't. You can probably find them on eBay. I bet Tektro makes a good short reach option as well, but I don't know what the model number is and I don't know if it is available in a nutted version.

These Tektro models work well out of the box. They work even better if you replace the pads with Kool Stop salmon-colored pads (true of any brake).

Get aero levers as well, ones that fit your hands. Tektro/TRP makes good ones that are pretty comfortable at a reasonable price. (TRP is to Tektro as Lexus is to Toyota or as Infinti is to Nissan.) Shimano aero non-brifter levers are good, too - Rivendell usually has these. (I personally prefer the Tektro ergonomics to Shimano but not by a ton - YMMV.) Brifters will work just fine with these brakes, too, if you want to go that direction.

And get good cables/housing. Jagwire is a good cost-effective option. If you want color, check out Velo Orange's options.

Good luck. Glad to see that an old steed may be getting back on the road.

tricky 

@rossiny What was wrong with the old brakes? Were they ugly or just didn't stop well? Old brake pads will make an otherwise well performing brake perform poorly. If you are want modern braking performance, another thing to consider is that single pivots will not perform as well as modern dual pivots and all dual pivots are recessed bolt except for the tektros mentioned above. Some single pivots are great and can be tuned to work well with new pads, cable and a good setup, but they still won't be dual pivots.

rossiny

The old brakes were just a real low line modolo , don't know what happen to them ?? At some point I had a pair of S​​​​himano Exgage put on, some 30 years ago.. Time fly's , its been sitting in the basement since .