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Front facing brakes

Old 07-16-19, 01:48 PM
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Front facing brakes

I just read the most recent edition of 'The Retrogrouch'. He was speaking of Smolenski bikes having the rear brakes mounted in front of, rather than behind the brake bridge. Seems to me any bike could be done that way, dependent upon the style of the bridge. Is there any functionality issue that requires it be one way versus the other?
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Old 07-16-19, 02:49 PM
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There is no structural reason it won't work assuming the caliper reach allows the brake pads to align with the rim properly. However, one problem with modern rim brake frames is most are made for recessed brake bolts. That means front of the brake bridge is drilled for an 8 mm OD elongated flanged nut and the rear of the bridge has a 6 mm hole for the brake bolt. Reversing the brake orientation would require drilling out the rear of the bridge to 8 mm and making an 8mm/6mm reducer bushing for the front.
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Old 07-16-19, 03:08 PM
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Is there any advantage to this other than a possible aesthetic one?
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Old 07-16-19, 07:48 PM
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Originally Posted by Chesterton
Is there any advantage to this other than a possible aesthetic one?
My old bike has cable stops on the right side of the frame. I mounted my rear brake so I wouldn't need to wrap the cable around the frame.

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Old 07-16-19, 07:59 PM
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I've done this on a couple of older sidepull bikes then had my first Ticycles frame built that way with the recessed. I like that I work on both derailleurs and brakes fomr the same side of the bike. Also that the bike looks cleaner from behind. I wanted to to do the same with my road fix gear but realized that i needed the rear caliper as far back as I could get it to get it closer to the high point of the rim; the only place where moving the wheel forward and back doesn't change rim height with respect to the brake pads.

A work-a-round for recessed bikes - have some rod the width of the recess drilled for the brake bolt diameter. Use older, pre-recess brakes.

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Old 07-16-19, 07:59 PM
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Originally Posted by Chesterton
Is there any advantage to this other than a possible aesthetic one?
The Rene Herse book shows a touring bike that put the brakes in front of the seatstays to provide more clearance for panniers.
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Old 07-16-19, 08:02 PM
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Originally Posted by seedsbelize
... Is there any functionality issue that requires it be one way versus the other?
The issue with functionality is 100 years of tradition. Breaking that could disrupt the rotation of the earth.

(Edit: Until now, I have kept quiet about mine and the earth has rotated undisturbed. If everyone starts ding it we could have issues.)

Last edited by 79pmooney; 07-16-19 at 08:05 PM.
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Old 07-16-19, 08:09 PM
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I just attended a memorial ride for Randy Smolenski and I can assure you that he definitely liked this rear brake setup.


Smolenski Memorial Ride by cb400bill, on Flickr


Smolenski Memorial Ride by cb400bill, on Flickr


Smolenski Memorial Ride by cb400bill, on Flickr


Smolenski Memorial Ride by cb400bill, on Flickr


Smolenski Memorial Ride by cb400bill, on Flickr


Smolenski Memorial Ride by cb400bill, on Flickr
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Old 07-16-19, 08:24 PM
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I just went to the Retrogrouch website and I now realize that he was on the same ride. His Mercian is beautiful.

Small world.
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Old 07-17-19, 06:25 AM
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We often get question asking how to fit modern recessed nut brakes to older frames built for external nutted calipers. The difficulty is in drilling out the front of the brake bridge to fit the 8 mm OD flanged recessed nut since you can't get a normal drill between the bridge and the seat tube.

Mounting the brakes "backwards" would solve that problem since you would only have to drill out the rear of the brake bridge, which is accessible. The only remaining problem might be a bit awkward cable routing.
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Old 07-17-19, 06:59 AM
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Originally Posted by seedsbelize
I just read the most recent edition of 'The Retrogrouch'. He was speaking of Smolenski bikes having the rear brakes mounted in front of, rather than behind the brake bridge. Seems to me any bike could be done that way, dependent upon the style of the bridge. Is there any functionality issue that requires it be one way versus the other?
Standard mounting for the rear brakes would make it easier for team mechanics to adjust them on the fly during a race.
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