larinjo

Ok so basically I bought an old vintage "Tigra" bike, it has shimano altus lx derailleurs and shifters if I'm not mistaken and weimann 500 brakes. The problem I'm having is that the brakes are old and in pretty bad condition, they do work but they creak and stuff and don't retract as they should, I tried to clean them a bit with but it didn't help much. Normally I went out and bought newer brakes... shimano 600 tricolor, but unfortunately they do not fit the holes on the bike frame, as well as being too short (can't reach the desirable depth of wheel). So if anyone knows which pair of brakes (inexpensive, I'm a student) would fit my bike I'd be really thankful, of course, better than the ones i currently have.

Also are the derailleurs I currently have compatible with indexed shimano shifters?

Thanks in advance.

dsbrantjr

Perhaps try cleaning them more than "a bit", and lubricating the moving parts. Many of those vintage brakes also have a mounting nut scheme which can be adjusted; too tight will cause the symptoms you are seeing. It is also likely that your cables need lubrication and, even better, replacement; remove the cables and test the brakes (and levers) themselves for free movement. Brakes are basically simple mechanisms and there is not a lot which can go wrong, aside from broken parts, which some lubrication and/or adjustment cannot fix.

Iride01 

If these are from the 70's and 80's you might not be able to find pads that fit properly anymore. Though I've made some work with my old bikes. But yes cleaning and maybe sanding the pad a little might help.

Your 500's are similar to the Weinnman 605's that were on my Raleigh, or at least close. While I grew up on such brakes when they were new years ago, they never were great at stopping the bike to make you feel comfortable. Although they always stopped me in time for any stupidity on my part or others when I needed to stop quick.

So if you ever get around to the point you want to spend a little more on the bike, look for some double-pivot caliper brakes to put on that bike. They'll generally give you much better stopping power than the single pivot brakes of vintage days. And they really aren't very much cost.

As you've already found out with the Shimano 600 brakes, caliper brakes come in different reaches. Simple to say that they are either long reach or short reach. And you have to look for the correct mounting type. Some come new with the stuff to let them mount several ways. Some only mount one way.

Geepig

I grew up with such brakes, and survived even though I went mountain biking and doing bmx before either was a thing. They groaned a bit when wet, but stripping the whole brake system down and rebuilding is never wasted.
I would love a set, the generic pressed steel callipers on my present bikes tend to flex a bit.

veganbikes

You my friend have not heard of Kool Stop. They make the pads still for a lot of vintage stuff including Weimann

dedhed

Clean & lube calipers, replace or lube cables, install Kool Stop Continental pads.

larinjo

I've disassembled the rear brake (the more problematic one) and it seems to be in really rough condition from the last owner, the spring action is really rough, i didn't have any lube then but after cleaning them it wasn't much better, and the "Weimann cover" is crooked (it goes before the nuts for tightening the levers/arms). I am planning on changing the cables, but the brakes (mostly rear) seems to be the problem, as I said it feels like you're pressing some really rusty spring. I've also noticed that if I hold the brakes tight and try to move the bicycle they move a bit front and back — not sure how much is acceptable — unfortunately I can't take any pictures as I'm not at the same place as the bike cause of covid...

If anyone knows which ones would be a correct and good replacement I'd be thankful for the info (In terms of compatibility and stopping power).

dedhed

Look at Tektro dual pivot brakes.
You'll have to research a couple terms - "Brake Reach" and "Nutted" or "Recessed mounting" to get what you need.

Something like Tektro R559 is common replacement for old caliper brakes offering long reach and nutted or recessed mounting.

https://www.tektro.com/products.php?p=45

Iride01 

This might give you some useful knowledge.......... https://www.sheldonbrown.com/calipers.html

Older info though. I don't think they mention direct mount. You definitely don't want those for your vintage bike. But again, I do recommend you get dual-pivot brakes if you are going to purchase another set. Depending on the manufacturer and what tier level prices can go from a few bucks to more than I'd want to pay. You can probably find a decent set front and back for less than $45.00 for the set. Might have to double check if they'll work with your brake levers though.

Hard to say how well any will feel for you stopping wise. That's a relative thing with respect to your experience and expectations. Also, rim material will make a big difference too. Chromed steel rims generally don't stop as well as will an aluminum rim with the same brake. And a 150 pound rider will stop a lot quicker than a 200 pound rider.

Generally with Shimano, as you go up through the tier levels you'll see that the more expensive tiers just look beefier and better. And they are. However any will be better for you than an old vintage brake that isn't working.

larinjo

I'm pretty tall so you could say I'm heavy (~60cm frame), but i know what to expect, I've ridden disc brakes and much better rim brakes before. Anyways I'd like to thank all of you for very useful info.
Have a good one.

Kovkov

There is a place in Avenches, Switzerland where all the Weinmann brakes are:

Gresp15C

Tektro dual pivots have worked great for me, and they are available with nutted mounts.

bikemeister

Kudos for Kool Stop pads!

Geepig

Looks like heaven to me, coupled with a decent set of cables

Kovkov

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...kes-world.html

😉

63rickert

Any Tigra is a special bike. Ferdi Kubler and Othon Ochsner.

Swiss brakes on a Swiss bike is about right. They will stop the bike on Swiss mountains if set up well. A small number of the very late brakes were not up to standard, pretty sure every 500 was. If Weinmann had stopped after making a few thousand these would be major collector items. Instead they made tens of millions with utterly perfect quality control. Never seen a Weinmann with a problem. Except those very late ones.

Geepig

Anyways, slacken the connector on the callipers, unhook the cable nipples on the levers, and test the levers. Reconnect the cables to the levers, and test the cables. Only once they are all OK can we reconnect the callipers and decide how well they work.
If the callipers are very long and hanging on a single point mount there may be a little movement fore and aft, but it is too many years to remember how much.
Replacing the callipers is always an option, and also a cost of course.

larinjo

I'll go get the bike in a few weeks and take off the brakes and take them and try and fix 'em better then.

larinjo

I'll keep you up to date if you are interested.

Geepig

Good, I look forward to it, I always enjoy hearing about older equipment

cbrstar

You can also look for a set of Bmx brakes. Lots of different options there.

You don't actually oil or grease the pivot on old brakes.
I'm also wondering if you have old steel trims and the brakes are actually the old center pull Weinmans?