Are you sure that the difference between old-style single pivot sidepulls, and new-style dual pivot sidepulls, is significantly more than just a difference between :
larger pads and better compounds on those pads better housing better cabling spring-loaded return in the levers ??
If I were designing an old-fashioned caliper with springs, e.g. weinmann 500 sidepulls, I would have to design for the following worst-cases :
- 10' of housing from front to back of a [tandem] bike. - rusty spiral-wound metal brake housing (standard assumption), and - rusty 12-wire cable with lumps - heaviest brake lever in my line with the longest reach and maybe an additional extension lever to move. - [perhaps] A low-quality spring that loses elasticity faster over its life than a modern spring.
It seems that today's brake spring need only be designed for :
- 6' of plastic-lined cable (3' ??) - mandril-smoothed cabling - the brake levers today often have return springs tuned according to the precise lever weight, reducing return-spring tension. - possibly better springs that need less overdesign and wear slower ??
I wonder how well a dual-pivot caliper like Ultegra will work using old-fashioned cabling and campy 36 mm pads ?? That would be an interesting experiment !! Maybe I'll try it tonight !!
Has someone put a 2004 chorus rear caliper on the front wheel and the increase in modulation power needed to operate that brake ??
Here's a project for Sheldon "I can Build It" Brown : build up a bike with both a dual pivot and a single pivot on the front (both sides of the fork) so that one can compare brakes side-by-side ...
- Don "I cant build it now" Gillies San Diego, CA