Doland Cheung asked:
>Does anybody know how to make Weinmann 999 centerpulls brake better? No
>amount of adjustment seems to help. Is it just the pads or does the design
>inherently suck compared to sidepulls?
There's nothing wrong with Weinmann centerpulls, they work about as well as any rim brakes.
I get asked about this a lot, so I have a boilerplate response: ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- A caliper brake system consists of 4 parts:
*The levers *The cables *The calipers *The brake shoes
All of these parts are upgradable. Many people think first of replacing the calipers, but, in fact, this is the least likely part to make any real difference. A caliper is a simple leverage unit, and there's not all that much to one.
In the case of older bikes, it can be difficult to find a new caliper that will even fit.
The other 3 parts are much more likely to yield real improvement.
*The levers
Older designs had the cables exit up from the front of the brake levers, arching over the handlebars. The newer style, where the cable exits out the back of the lever and runs under the handlebar tape is referred to as "aero" because it eliminates the wind drag of the exposed cables.
Aero levers are generally a major improvement over the older type. The pivots are located differently, making it possible to get fairly serious braking from the position where the rider's hand is on top of the lever hood. Traditional levers would permit the use of this position for gentle deceleration only.
Additionally, the better aero levers have better internal cable
routing, so there's less cable friction. I particularly recommend
the Shimano Tiagra units we sell for $39.95, including cables. See:
http://sheldonbrown.com/
*The cables
Older cables used metal-to-metal contact as the inner cable slid through the spiral-wound steel housing. Lubricant was by grease, if the mechanic was conscientious.
Modern cable housings have a Teflon or similar lining. The better inner cables are stainless steel, and are "die drawn" to make them smoother. The result is greatly reduced cable friction, so more of your finger strength is transmitted to the caliper, rather than wasted overcoming cable friction.
*The brake shoes
Modern high-performance brake shoes also make a considerable
difference. The very best is the ugly salmon-colored material
originated by Scott-Mathauser, and now sold under the Kool Stop name.
See: http://sheldonbrown.com/
All the best,
Sheldon
Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts
Phone 617-244-9772, 617-244-1040, FAX 617-244-1041
http://harriscyclery.com
Hard-to-find parts shipped Worldwide
http://captainbike.com
Useful articles about bicycles and cycling
http://sheldonbrown.com