I've been a little surprised to hear recent mention of Balilla brakes on th e list. My first and only recollection of seeing them was as a common spec o n lower-end gaspipe Italian bikes in the early '70s. The calipers I remember looked a lot like Universal Mod. 61s, but were a bit cruder in finish. The levers were very Universalish too, but had kind of funky-cool hoods and no adjuster barrels integrated, which was a feature I always like d on Universals even if the execution was a bit inelegant. I've seen Weinmanns I think with a little wheel adjuster near the top of the lever too, but it was harder to adjust while riding I thought.
I've often wondered why more brakes of the CR period weren't fitted with proper cable adjusters on the levers.
Kurt Sperry Bellingham WA
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