Zas

Hi all,

I recently bought some new Dia Compe 988 brakes for my do-it-all bike. Itīs a german sport touring frame "WKC Patria" made sometime in the late 1980s I believe. I also bought a fork mounted Dia Compe cable stop to make it all look pretty and to minimize judder. Everything is really nice, the function and finish of the brakes seem to be top quality but I have slight issues.

First of all; has anyone successfully installed these cable stops on a frame with a threaded 1 inch headset without putting a ~3-4mm spacer between the frame and the cable stop?? There is just no chance it will clear the lower bearing cup without it. With this needed spacer the straddle cable then makes a slight curve as the cable mounting place is further forward compared to the calipers. Does not seem to effect braking much but it looks a bit out of place if you look at it from the side.

Secondly; I believe the brake is designed for the carrier to be a bit higher. Now the straddle cable makes a another slightly awkward curve as it exits the caliper mounting points on both sides. So when you use the brake it has to straighten the straddle cable first which slows down braking a bit as it requires unnecessary lever movement. The mounting points on the straddle cable are fixed on the caliper meaning they do not swivel in any way. The problem is I can not get the carrier any higher because the cable stop does not have any more space! Am I dealing with a slightly weird combination of mounting spots on the frame vs caliper type? Has anyone else encountered this on their setup? I can not find any fork mounted cable stops that are higher than this Dia Compe one. I have a Tektro stop too somewhere in the parts bin but I believe that one is not any higher.

I hope you can see everything on the photo below. Theyīre really not huge issues, the brake works decently well but I would like to have more adjustment and to get the brake to work exactly the way itīs designed to. I may have to get a headset mounted hanger to solve this.

mechanicmatt

Readjust the cable hanger down slightly to where it is just over the center bolt on the fork. Then choke up the brake hanger cable a bit on the brake and you should have it.

Zas

Well I had it like that at first but I think it was even worse! But yeah, now that I look at the photo above maybe I could give it another try.

mechanicmatt

It can be finicky. If that doesn't work you'll have to mount a cable housing holder above on the headset/stem area.

In general I try to put the cable hanger right at that bolt mount and then adjust the brakes. I try to think about it as low enough to just be above a fender. From my eye it looks like you have the pads and brake arms all at the right point and width too.

Zas

Yeah exactly, that is how I usually do it too and I like to keep the hanger reasonably low. With these brakes though, too low hanger results in a nasty curve on the straddle cable in the caliper end since the mounting point has a fixed angle. I have already tried to pre-bend the straddle cable with my fingers which helps a bit with braking but does not seem ideal.

Nevertheless, I'll have another go at adjusting it!

Dylansbob 

Semi-OT rant.

I hate those crown mounted brake stops. I've rarely had a shudder that wasn't cured by headset or brake adjustments. They interfere with fendering/racking. I have a sneaking suspicion that they were created so that racers could slam their stem, but most existing headset spacer ones were designed for *outdated* straight steeres/external cup headsets and won't clear a modern integrated headset without a stack of spacers under it.

Ahh, I really needed that this morning.

cbrstar

I could be wrong but I feel like you have the wrong hanger. The one you have looks like the style they used to use on BMX bikes.

You need the 1" headset style that replaces the lock ring.

mechanicmatt

Yeah, If your cable housing was mounted from the stem, I'd say it probably would have worked okay. But your fork mounted setup is a tighter window to work in. It may not look perfect in the hanger but it will work and create some sort of shape over time.

mechanicmatt

In with the good air, out with the good takes!

niliraga 

You might try an extra wide hanger/yoke in place of the stock item. with a wider yoke, the cable action from the "point of view" of the calipers behaves as if the yoke were acting from higher up. this might give you the behaviour you're looking for while keeping the yoke well underneath this crown-mounted cable stop.