Questions: Vintage Shimano Brake Calipers

Greetings,

I have a set of old Shimano BR-Z57 single pivot aluminum brake calipers. Is
anyone familar with this model? They came off a Bianchi Bici II with Sugino
GT cranks and Suntour ARX derailleurs - possibly from the late 70s or early
80s. They are in great shape (I even have the original brake pads) and
would appreciate a little history?

Many thanks!

In article ,
"Mike" wrote:

Greetings,

I have a set of old Shimano BR-Z57 single pivot aluminum brake calipers. Is
anyone familar with this model? They came off a Bianchi Bici II with Sugino
GT cranks and Suntour ARX derailleurs - possibly from the late 70s or early
80s. They are in great shape (I even have the original brake pads) and
would appreciate a little history?

Many thanks!

This page seems to think that model is in the Shimano 600 (later known
as Ultegra) line:

http://www.velomech.ch/shimano-parts.html

There's not much to say. They're Shimano single-pivot brakes from about
25 years ago, pretty good ones, and probably have little or no
collectible value.

That's not a knock on these brakes, it's just that I once bought an
entire Bianchi Sport with decent cranks and arx/BL shifting for $10 at a
garage sale.

Had Dia-Compe calipers, though,
--
Ryan Cousineau, http://www.wiredcola.com
Verus de parvis; verus de magnis.

Mike wrote:

I have a set of old Shimano BR-Z57 single pivot aluminum brake
calipers.

Ryan Cousineau replied:

This page seems to think that model is in the Shimano 600 (later
known as Ultegra) line:

The BR-Z57 designation implies they are "normal" reach which is
considered long reach today. They probably use nuts instead of recessed
allen fasteners.

Those two things would make them unsuitable for most modern frames.

Art Harris

Ryan Cousineau wrote:
In article ,
"Mike" wrote:

Greetings,

I have a set of old Shimano BR-Z57 single pivot aluminum brake
calipers. Is
anyone familar with this model? They came off a Bianchi Bici II
with Sugino
GT cranks and Suntour ARX derailleurs - possibly from the late 70s
or early
80s. They are in great shape (I even have the original brake pads)
and
would appreciate a little history?

Many thanks!

This page seems to think that model is in the Shimano 600 (later
known
as Ultegra) line:

http://www.velomech.ch/shimano-parts.html

I would have thought that BR-Z57 would denote a lower line than 600. Am
I off base here? Or perhaps the numbers in europe are (were) different?

There's not much to say. They're Shimano single-pivot brakes from
about
25 years ago, pretty good ones, and probably have little or no
collectible value.

That's not a knock on these brakes, it's just that I once bought an
entire Bianchi Sport with decent cranks and arx/BL shifting for $10
at a
garage sale.

Had Dia-Compe calipers, though,
--
Ryan Cousineau, http://www.wiredcola.com
Verus de parvis; verus de magnis.

wrote:
I would have thought that BR-Z57 would denote a lower line than 600.
Am
I off base here? Or perhaps the numbers in europe are (were)
different?

No, those are "Z-series" calipers. I've got a couple in my collection.
I'm pretty sure they turned into Tourney in later years, which means
they're near Shimano's bottom of the line. They're about the same as
Dia-Compe "G" brakes- not absolute crap, but nothing really fancy,
either. My collection includes QR and non-QR calipers.

Jeff