1983 Trek 520 Caliper Upgrade
04-03-19, 01:44 PM
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1983 Trek 520 Caliper Upgrade
I found a very clean CL 520 owner claims is 1983 for $250 . im looking to build up a backup/ loaner touring bike and will upgrade to a 36H DT 700 c wheelset shimano 11 speed XTR drivetrain etc. My question is Brakes... it has side pull caliper style brakes... does anybody know brake reach on this bike with 27" rims... im hoping the BR 600 "long reach" calipers would work with this conversion. Problem is its a 2 hr each way drive and current owner isn't able or willing to measure existing calipers... i know its a 4 mm reach adder from 27 to 700 rims just don't know my starting point
04-03-19, 03:45 PM
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My wife has a 1983 Trek 520, 19" frame, with the original 27" Super Champ rims. Using the measuring technique described in the 4th post of this thread (https://www.bikeforums.net/bicycle-m...g-27-700c.html), I get 55mm rear and 58mm front. Caveat: The bike has a Tange chromoly fork in place of the original.
I have the original caliper brakes, too, if any measurements from those would help.
You don't want to keep the Helicomatic hub?
It's one of a kind!
I have the original caliper brakes, too, if any measurements from those would help.
You don't want to keep the Helicomatic hub?
It's one of a kind!
04-03-19, 03:52 PM
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Do you have some closeup photos of the bike and brakes that you could upload to your Gallery/Album page?
https://www.bikeforums.net/g/user/401195
Tektro also makes some long reach brakes.
https://www.bikeforums.net/g/user/401195
Tektro also makes some long reach brakes.
04-03-19, 04:56 PM
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My guess is that the Tektro 559s would have all the necessary reach and provide better braking performance than most “vintage” alternatives. And they’re not particularly offensive looking either.
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04-03-19, 05:39 PM
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Have him send you pics of the front and rear brakes from the side. If he won't go to that trouble, offer him $100 less, for your trouble. If he still doesn't bite, walk.
04-03-19, 05:51 PM
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Here's an '83 620 with a 700c conversion using tektro 539's
https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...ly-mine-3.html
https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...ly-mine-3.html
04-03-19, 05:56 PM
#8
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If it is really an 83 it should have Dia Compe 500 sidepulls. Those are medium/standard reach (nominally 47-57), but IIRC are a bit on the shorter side of that range, maybe 45-55? You might be able to adjust to 700c as is.
For touring, I'll +1 the idea of Tektro 559. probably more than enough range. Sometimes you need to take a chance. Also consider Dia Compe 610 centerpulls. It's a great touring brake.
https://www.vintage-trek.com/images/t...83/83Trek7.jpg
For touring, I'll +1 the idea of Tektro 559. probably more than enough range. Sometimes you need to take a chance. Also consider Dia Compe 610 centerpulls. It's a great touring brake.
https://www.vintage-trek.com/images/t...83/83Trek7.jpg
04-03-19, 06:04 PM
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I have these brakes on my 85 Trek 520. Tremendous improvement over the stock setup.
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04-03-19, 06:29 PM
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I also vote for the dia compe 610. They have long reach as well as great stopping power, especially with kool stop pads. They would look good too.
04-03-19, 07:10 PM
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So the original poster said his bike has side pull brakes......
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04-04-19, 12:28 AM
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...and were saying Tektro 559’s will give him the reach for 700c wheels...
04-04-19, 01:39 PM
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As requested in post #3 , here are some photos of my 1983 Trek 520 19" with the stock brakes/pads and with both 27" and 700c wheels. The brakes are DiaCompe sidepulls and listed as “DiaCompe 500QS” in the 1983 Trek brochure, and there is a “500” stamp on the back of the calipers. I don’t have the brakes hooked up at the moment, so I clamped on a 3rd hand to give some idea where the pads meet the rims. In all photos, the pads are at the bottom of the adjustment range.
I hope the photos are useful, but I had a hard time getting the phone camera to focus on the brake and not my garage door. I’d be glad to measure the reach on these brakes if that would be helpful, but I’ll need to study exactly how to measure this accurately.
I'm not confident in my ability to upload photos, so I'm not sure if these will be inline or in my gallery. Edit: the photos are in my gallery, at the very bottom of the single album (https://www.bikeforums.net/g/user/238851).
I hope the photos are useful, but I had a hard time getting the phone camera to focus on the brake and not my garage door. I’d be glad to measure the reach on these brakes if that would be helpful, but I’ll need to study exactly how to measure this accurately.
I'm not confident in my ability to upload photos, so I'm not sure if these will be inline or in my gallery. Edit: the photos are in my gallery, at the very bottom of the single album (https://www.bikeforums.net/g/user/238851).
Last edited by martwa; 04-04-19 at 01:51 PM. Reason: Added link to gallery
04-07-19, 07:09 PM
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Brought it home today
Thanks Much for all of the input I did get the seller to shoot me a pic of the backside of the calipers Definitely Dia Compe 500s they are pretty decent condition but im strongly considering the 600s as im just not confident of the 500 descending Big Sur on a fully loaded bike with my 185lb carcas on it
BTW it came with a very cool stronglight triple and suntour FD. With a little rust mort on the paint scratches , some new decals some rubbing compond and a few coats of some paste wax its gonna be a beautiful tourer
P.O. also threw in a brand new Brooks to boot
Ill post up some pics once i get it all cleaned and detailed up Most definitely a bargain at $250
Thanks for all of the help.
T
BTW it came with a very cool stronglight triple and suntour FD. With a little rust mort on the paint scratches , some new decals some rubbing compond and a few coats of some paste wax its gonna be a beautiful tourer
P.O. also threw in a brand new Brooks to boot
Ill post up some pics once i get it all cleaned and detailed up Most definitely a bargain at $250
Thanks for all of the help.
T
04-08-19, 02:10 AM
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Thanks Much for all of the input I did get the seller to shoot me a pic of the backside of the calipers Definitely Dia Compe 500s they are pretty decent condition but im strongly considering the 600s as im just not confident of the 500 descending Big Sur on a fully loaded bike with my 185lb carcas on it
BTW it came with a very cool stronglight triple and suntour FD. With a little rust mort on the paint scratches , some new decals some rubbing compond and a few coats of some paste wax its gonna be a beautiful tourer
P.O. also threw in a brand new Brooks to boot
Ill post up some pics once i get it all cleaned and detailed up Most definitely a bargain at $250
Thanks for all of the help.
T
BTW it came with a very cool stronglight triple and suntour FD. With a little rust mort on the paint scratches , some new decals some rubbing compond and a few coats of some paste wax its gonna be a beautiful tourer
P.O. also threw in a brand new Brooks to boot
Ill post up some pics once i get it all cleaned and detailed up Most definitely a bargain at $250
Thanks for all of the help.
T
Looking forward to pix!
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Commence to jigglin’ huh?!?!
"But hey, always love to hear from opinionated amateurs." -says some guy to Mr. Marshall.
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04-08-19, 10:12 AM
#16
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I have an 83 520, I’ll check the calipers when I get home. I’m running 700 wheels, original calipers with kool stop Continental pads. Everything works nicely together.
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04-08-19, 10:14 AM
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^^^^^^ +1 Kool-Stop FTW; will definitely wake up those 500s.
04-08-19, 11:50 AM
#18
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Thanks Much for all of the input I did get the seller to shoot me a pic of the backside of the calipers Definitely Dia Compe 500s they are pretty decent condition but im strongly considering the 600s as im just not confident of the 500 descending Big Sur on a fully loaded bike with my 185lb carcas on it
No problems at all for me. I was a little reticent. My last touring bike had cantis, but I figured if 610s were good for Singer touring bikes, they must be OK. They were. Turns out that they knew what they were doing in the past. CP make very good touring brakes.
Plus they don't poke out.FWIW there's no really steep hills around Big Sur, at least if you stick to the normal roads. I grew up in the area. Wind is the biggest PITA. (and these days - traffic)
04-10-19, 10:20 AM
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Here's a handy reference chart for brake reach of the various Dia Compe centre-pull brakes.
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