I am using the mod. 77,too but I don't like it much. And I believe
Universal did not like it , either. It must have been disgraceful for
Universal to be forced to copy the product of the domestic competitor,
Campagnolo.
As for Chuck's always nice and useful summary, I don't think that the
Universal Super
68 (1968) side-pull was just a renaming of the mod.51 Extra with shorter
reach calipers . Super .68 has differently-shaped calipers from short reach
Extra.
Takao Noda from a country which was notorious for its abundance
of copy-cats
Hachioji Tokyo Japan
> Chuck and others:
>
> Nice summary of the Universal line of brakes. However, the mod. 77
brakeset is
> omitted. I have several sets of Universal 77s that perform just fine and
seem
> at least as capable as Campagnolo Record sidepulls. The sets that I have
don't
> exhibit poor workmanship or quality. Weren't they introduced in 1977 and
still
> used in the peleton of the time? Obviously that isn't always a determinant
of
> component quality given sponsorships. Anyone else fond of the 77s?
>
> Charlie Young
> bought my first set at the New York bike show but the date is a bit
fuzzy...
> Honeybrook, PA
>
> > A little history of Universal (Italy) brakes:
> >
> > The Universal mod.39 (1939) had aluminum side-pull calipers w/o Quick
> > Release mechanism and aluminum levers w/o rubber hoods and with QR in
> > the form of a slot that the adjuster could be pulled out of the lever
> > body to remove the wheel.
> >
> > The Universal mod.50 Extra (1950) had aluminum side-pull calipers with
> > QR mechanism "Extra" and aluminum levers with 1/2 rubber hoods.
> >
> > The Universal mod.51 Extra (1951) had the same aluminum side-pull
> > calipers with QR mechanism "Extra" as the mod. 50 and new aluminum
> > levers with full rubber hoods.
> >
> > The Universal mod.61 (1961) had aluminum center-pull calipers with QR
> > mechanism in the cable stops and the same aluminum levers with full
> > rubber hoods as the mod.51. It was a response to the M.A.F.A.C.
> > center-pull that was extremely popular in the 1960s. There was also a
> > Balilla mod. 61 side-pull too, interestingly.
> >
> > The Universal Super 68 (1968) side-pull was just a renaming of the 1951
> > mod.51 Extra with shorter reach calipers and slightly different brake
> > levers (they lost the uniquely Universal signature triangular points at
> > the end of the levers. The mod.Super 68 was just a defensive response
> > to Campagnolo's introduction of their uncommonly refined Record
> > side-pull brake in 1968.
> >
> > Universal's QR design (the "Extra" in the designation) dated to 1951.
> >
> > The workmanship and quality of Universal brakes was uniformly poor until
> > the CX sidepull of the 1980s but nobody was buying them by then. The
> > Weinmann (Swiss) side-pull from the early 50s for example had much nicer
> > workmanship and quality.
> >
> > Chuck Schmidt
> > SoPas, SoCal