Moisture

I got some basic low end Dia-Compe side pulls on my vintage road bike. I've heard mixed opinions on these type of brakes. What do you guys think?

- Taking apart the assembly to wipe down the pivot points as well as spring seemed to really help with stopping power. But I forgot to grease the pivot points. As a result I have to quickly spray some oil onto the mounting point before every ride to get the brakes to centre correctly. I've been diligent in regularly scrubbing that area to avoid grit build up.

- replacing lines and housing has improvement braking feel through the levers tremendously.

- Stopping power could be stronger, but I suspect this is due to the pads being used. Should I try using some.newer design wide pads?

- I make sure to regularly wipe down the rim braking surface with a microfiber and use my handy wire brush to resurface the pads.

- Keeping the brakes centered for optimal performance can be a bit of a nuisance. Should I just keep using oil on the pivot points? Grease? Or both?

- I see that new road bikes still use this design brakes. Why? And how do they vintage side pulls stack up to cantilever brakes?
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Gresp15C

A couple of my bikes have these old side pulls, either Dia Compe or maybe Schwinn branded Dia Compe.

The shorter reach ones seem to work OK on decent aluminum rims with pads that are not too old. The longer ones seem like they flex a lot under braking force. That unnerves me even if it isn't dangerous. A decent rule of thumb is that you should be able to lock up the wheels before the levers touch the handlebar, even if that's not how you usually use the brakes.

Life is too short for bad brakes. Or maybe a better way of putting it: Life will be shortened by bad brakes. If an old brake doesn't basically work like new, it goes in the bin. I'm really happy with Tektro dual pivots on a couple of my builds. I've never used anything but oil, however, the experts might have a better opinion.

skidder

I've got a pair on an old Schwinn, too. Took them apart and cleaned them/lubed them when I took the bicycle apart for a rebuild, and they work with no. They do what they're supposed to do; stop the bicycle.

Reflector Guy

If there is any possibility the pads are as old as the bike, I'd pop for a new set of pads on there. They might be dry-rotted (just like an old tire) and nearly petrified!

zandoval 

ABSOLUTELY!!! It's amazing what a new set of pads will do. Also be careful of new vintage pads you get off the shelf. They may look brand new and never used but are dried out and hard. "Dry Rot" is a very good term for these.

The Dia-Comp breaks can give your bike an original vintage look and are well worth the money. Do be careful with the "Double Brake Lever" type. I have only seen the double brake lever fail twice but it was not pretty.

Moisture

I dont think that these pads are original, but they certainly are old. The front ones are brand new. They are still soft so doesn't look like they sat around for too long. Braking power became better, but not a huge difference. Luckily I haven't ran into a situation riding this bike where I needed more. But the levers will hit the bars pretty easily when braking hard.

The previous owner of my bike was nice enough to source some cool dia compe brake levers when converting her to flat bars.

Should I take apart the calipers again and grease the pivot points? Or would that just attract too much grit and dirt? I plan to use regular lube spray and occasional greasing to get the brakes to centre properly.

veganbikes

As you said basic and low end. I wouldn't use them unless I absolutely had to. If they are super short arms they are going to be a bit better but flexy brakes are not what I want. You want good stiffness in your braking and sadly those brakes don't have it. A dual pivot brake is going to be a better solution especially one with good non-flexing arms and you can find some cheaper ones out there and upgrade with better pads and shoes and good cables and housing.

New fresh pads will help any brake but again with loads of flex in the system those new pads can only improve so much. If you want your bike to work well use quality parts.

Gresp15C

I have been quite happy with Jagwire Basics pads on my bikes. Kool Stop Salmon pads are recommended by a lot of folks here, and aren't prohibitively expensive. I've noticed no difference on my bikes.

I'd just put a drop of regular lubricating oil on the pivots and ride the bike. If you don't want to buy anything, any kind of oil is probably fine. I've been known to steal a drop of oil from my car by just pulling out the dipstick. I'm trying to deplete the different kinds of interesting lubes and fluids in my house, hence my recommendation of "whatever works and is handy."

First thing I do when salvaging an old bike is ditch the old rubber unless it's really in good shape.

SurferRosa

Need pics of the front at least. I mean,

Moisture

On the plus side, the small amount of flex will probably contribute to better braking feel, lol.

I actually like these brakes a lot, mainly for that reason. My old GT mountain bike had some good AVID rim brakes with Koolstop pads with ridiculously strong stopping power, but not much feel through the levers.

I've been using Jig a loo and well.. I won't ever again. It barely lubricates for more than a day even if its perfectly dry outside.

LOL... this is hilarious.

I'll have to do some research and find some sort of thicker oil which lasts longer for my chain and whatnot.

Honestly, before I put my front brake back on, I will just lube the pivots with some dollar store Vaseline quick. Apparently it works fine..

Moisture

Any ideas identifying what sort of model it is?

Kabuki12

I have not used that model , but I have used the “G” model and they worked fine. I had a bike that I used for many years with them and stopped just fine. The top end Dia Comp brakes are as good as anything else out there (of the same time period) imho

bikemig 

It would be helpful to see a pic of the brakes on the bike. These may have a longer reach than the dia compe 500g brakes which were once very common. They showed up on a ton of old Treks for example. You can make pretty much any old brake work reasonably well with a few tweaks. New cables and housing are a big help. So are quality brake pads. Kool stops are very good; dia compe grey matter are good as well.

I'd get the kool stop continentals:

https://www.biketiresdirect.com/prod...xoCxLIQAvD_BwE

dedhed

Progression of side pull brake service on vintage bikes.
I just want to stop-
Replace rock hard old pads and cables.

I want to stop better-
Above plus using Kool Stop pads, aero levers, clean rim braking surface with Alcohol etc.

I really want to stop.
Above plus replace calipers with modern dual pivot brakes whether factory or aftermarket like Tektro.

Centering Side pulls
Dave Moulton's Blog - Dave Moulton's Bike Blog - Centering side-pull brakes

Gresp15C

I believe the Dia Compe brakes that had no additional markings were just their basic model. Some of mine are "Schwinn Approved" which are unmarked and of unknown age. I have one on my single speed bike, it works just fine. I also have a "G" in my bin, doesn't seem to be materially different, but the aluminum seems to be more brightly polished. I did notice that there's a washer between the brake arms on both brakes, but mine are so old that I can't vouch for them having the original or correct parts any more. Some mixing and matching of parts may have occurred! On one brake the washer is thin metal, on another, nylon. I can see daylight between the brake arms on all of the sidepulls in my fleet.

Retro Grouch 

" Life is too short to put up with maintaining and using crappy brakes."

Once I got my first set of dual pivot brakes I've never been tempted to look back.

shelbyfv

Yep, any current Shimano or Tektro dual pivot will provide a better experience.

veganbikes

I guess some people love mediocrity. You might have had the wrong levers on your old GT. But flexy brakes when you need to stop are not good. That feeling you could be getting from those brakes is not ideal. There are much better brakes that will still give you a good feel.

Reflector Guy

As we say in the automotive world, those brakes are spongy. And that's not good. Not a confidence builder.

Moisture

Excuse the filth. What do u think?

Stamped 1080 on inside of caliper.

Washers are supposed to be there. I saw ones on the inside/outside of each arm, as well as two more between the outer nut.

I went out for another ride today, this time with just the rear brake installed.

They work pretty bad. Its especially apparent now that thre is quite a lot of flex.

Some newer sidepulls could be a good upgrade, But not necessary as long as I don't over speed.

shelbyfv

I'd describe those as brake shaped objects and whomever you are paying to maintain your bike is beyond useless.

Moisture

What makes you say that?

Luckily, I haven't had to spend anything for maintenance and practically nothing for parts either. I use either my friends shop or the local bikehub. I've done majority of work myself.

veganbikes

Wow...No if you want crap then enjoy your crap but you don't get to always control when you really need your brakes to work well and your bike to work well. I don't fully understand why someone would want to try and clone a Wally-mart special but if that is your goal kudos you are nailing it.

You wanted to upgrade to a White Industries crank but a really bad brake caliper that you even recognize is bad from the get go and since riding is OK because you magically will never "overspeed"

cbrstar

My guess they are 810's. Flip them over and on the back will be the model and the year they were made.

I find the old Japanese Dia Compe brakes flex a lot less then the new ones made in Taiwan. You get 100x more breaking power when they are "Toe-In" properly I'm sure there are places you can google that show you how.

bikemig 

Yeah I think these are 810s. Post 14 pretty much nailed it in terms of what you can do to get a better braking experience. Also clean them up. There is a certain amount of hate here for old gear. Take it with a grain of salt. Some things have gotten better but that doesn't mean you can't have a well functioning bike with old parts including these brakes.