Bianchigirll 

So there I was, the night before the big race and……the Dura Ace brakes don’t fit. I don’t see a size stamped on them, but the pads, especially the right/drive side just don’t seem to be high enough. The left looks marginal but the right is definitely not going high enough especially if I want to change to a box section tubular.

so any ideas? There are two “star” washers between the brake and crown but I can’t see that causing this, can it? I prefer the KS Cross pads to the OEM so you could see where that would sit even lower.






I’m finding it hard to get a good pic, but as you can see the pad is at the top of the slot but only about 50% engaged in the braking surface.


With the KS the left side looks OK but still a bit low.

jamesdak 

Looks like the first gen Dura Ace brakes with a reach of 47-57mm. Wouldn't we consider that a mid to long reach brake now? The 7400 series are like 39-49mmm. You need a short reach caliper.

Bianchigirll 

Yeah, these don’t really seem/look long but I guess while 5mm doesn’t seem that long it can be a mile at times.

So now I’m back to the DP brakes and the search goes on for black singles.

jamesdak 

I just checked the Speedys I took off the Trofeo and unfortunately they are the 46-58 midreach version also. Sorry.

repechage

wont be easy but they do exist Aero Gran Compe came in black ( those might be too small) and Gran Compe also made a Campag copy in black.

Bianchigirll 

Yes I gues it’s all in what you want to spend to get the style I want. A set of those granite finish Athena brakes would be awesome but cost what the rest of the bike did.

jdawginsc 

I will check my stash, BG.

trainman999

Hi Bianchigirll, you could get a set of thease offset pads. I have a bike with them they work well . https://bdopcycling.com/product/bdop...rs-pair-black/
They are on the front of this one

T-Mar

+1, those are 1st generation Dura-Ace sidepull, which had a reach of 47-57mm. Introduced in 1973, this was pretty much the standard racing caliper reach at the time. It duplicated the reach of the Campagnolo Record calipers that had been introduced in 1969 and were designed with a 52 mm reach (to centre of pad adjustment slot). Most race frames of the early 1970s were designed around this reach range.

Back then, very few amateur racers could afford the luxury of owning more than one bicycle. Training was typically done on your race bicycle, with a less expensive set of wheels and tyres. When it rained, which was often in Europe, you threw on a set of mudguards and trained anyways. You had to get used to riding in the rain because so many of the early and late races would be held in wet conditions. Consequently, most of the Eurpoean high grade frames of the era were designed to accommodate mudguards. This why you see so many boom era bicyles like the Peugeot PX10 and Raleigh Pro with large tyre clearance and dropout eyelets.

However, within a year of the Dura-Ace release, Campagnolo would release a short arm version of their Record caliper, designed around a 47mm nominal reach. This was in response to pro bicycle manufacturers, whose sponsored riders wanted to stiffen the fork and stays by lowering the crown and brake bridge. Large tyre clearance and dropout eyelets gradually started to disappear from high end race bicycles through the late 1970s and would trickle down to the mid-range sport models.

When Shimano introduced their 2nd generation Dura-Ace EX brakes in 1978 you had the option of 39-49mm reach or 47-57mm reach versions. By the 1985 model year, Campagnolo's top new groups (C-Record and Victory) were only available with short reach brakes, while Shimano introduced their New-Dura side-pull in only a short reach version.

jdawginsc 

@Bianchigirll

These are graphite but not the time period...levers need hoods and you might want to paint them as you are pretty crafty.

repechage

Sometimes strategic part(s) come at a dear price.

Headpost

I'm sure we all know the trick of making the slot a little longer with the side of a correctly sized drill bit. Not suggesting that with such nice brakes.

Bianchigirll 

Just a quick update on the case of the Baffling Binders. [cue dramatic music ]

The Dura Ace brakes are now ‘must go bin’, “spoiler alert” sales post coming soon!

Thanks to CV-6 for a great deal these great Modolo binders. Although I’m still waiting for the Amazon driver to deliver new Modolo Kool Stop pads I decided to go ahead and mount them. The fit is perfect.

I still really don’t like these wheels but the were an low cost expedient way to get black wheels. Would tan wall Pasela tires look out of place on this “black bike”

non-fixie 

Nice to see that Batavus back on page one, BG.

jdawginsc 

Are you running a 7 speed with the Veloce RD?

mstateglfr 

Race?

Bianchigirll 

Yes. It’s friction though, this fabulous bicycle is handicapped by those pesky shipmano shifter bosses so I’m using some Golden Arrow levers.

Bianchigirll 

A little poetic license to set the mood.

jdawginsc 

Ahhh. So much for those Gipiemme shifters I have for you. I think they are standard boss fare.

Edit. They are Ofmega Mistral

Bianchigirll 

I ordered these from Amazon but they cam directly from the Mothership.

Bianchigirll 

Time to install the pumpkin spice brake pads!! Albeit with a big cup of hazelnut covfefe



This might be the most expensive semi useless tool I ever bought. I removed the original plastic adjustable section of the piston early on because it kept riding over the holders.

The rounded nose of the Modolo holders make using the press tricky for installing the new blocks but my fancy pants gunsmith hammer did the job with aplomb.


and now there is specialty washer on the loose on the floor!!

Bianchigirll 

I somehow dropped a bolt and fancy special washer on the floor. I found the bolt easily enough but the washer…..

After an interminable amount of time crawling in the tile floor with my knee screaming at me I gave up. After a short rest I decided to use a washer from the front at stop at Do it Best tomorrow and look for something that might work.

Then as I reached for a wrench…….. do you see it?



So things are slowly progressing

Bianchigirll 

The pumpkin spice blocks look great and they perform very well, at least in the stand. Whilst I had it in the stand I decided to take care of one other thing.





These Mavic CXP 22 wheels were and inexpensive purchase from Bike Island as an easy way to get black wheels for my “black” bike but I never really liked them.


I built these wheels around 2003 from some almost new GP-4s and some takeoff/warranty Campanutella hubs I scrounged at shop I worked at around 1995. The wheels were warranty not necessarily the hubs. I didn’t really use them until around 2014 when I sold my C-Rec Sheriff hubs, but they just didn’t look right on my Proto.


I think I finally found a home for these wheels and the perfect wheels to complete and compliment this bike. They are dark but the tan wall tubulars give off a great classic vibe.

stardognine

Ha, I thought that black cat was your real pet, for a minute. 😁😉

Don't feel bad, about that washer. One time I "lost" a particular screw, and spent about an hour looking for it. I finally found it, when I was getting ready to hit the shower, in one of those funny side pockets, on a pair of painter pants I was wearing. 🙄 It must have taken a funny bounce, to end up there. 😁😉

Bianchigirll 

“Flat Cat” can be very realistic at first glance.

I looked for a nut once that was lodged in the cuff of my slacks!