New brakes on 27" fixie?

On Fri, 01 Jul 2005 21:56:53 GMT, Ron Abramson wrote:

Seeing as you only need a front brake, it might be easier to swap in
a 700c fork and use a standard brake caliper (such as a Sora). A
shorter fork will alter the front-end geometry - when I did it, the
change was, if anything, for the better.

Well, I don't have any extra forks lying around.... Reach seems to be
about 55 mm, so that means long reach is what I need. I also need
"nutted" mount for these things, so that means my options are far more
limited: looks like the Shimano A-550 (RX-100) from Harris is one of
my few options.

-alan

--
Alan Hoyle - - http://www.alanhoyle.com/
"I don't want the world, I just want your half." -TMBG
Get Horizontal, Play Ultimate.

Alan Hoyle wrote:

I've got an '80s Nishiki road bike (27" wheels) converted to a fixed
gear/singlespeed. I find the braking to be ineffective with the old
single-pivot brakes and saw that Nashbar has both regular and
long-reach dual-pivot calipers on sale for $20. Which ones should I
get? I'm going to buy some of their aero levers as well.

A well-meaning poster suggested:

Seeing as you only need a front brake, it might be easier to swap in a
700c fork and use a standard brake caliper (such as a Sora). A
shorter fork will alter the front-end geometry - when I did it, the change
was, if anything, for the better.

This is a fixed gear, and the change is liable to be very much for the
worse.

Lowering the front end will reduce pedal clearance, which can be a
significant safety issue on a fixed gear bike...especially on a bike
that already is going for smaller wheels than it was made for.

Also, most older frames had more relaxed geometry. A new "road" type
700c fork would likely have rather less rake than the original. This
will result in changes in handling that the rider may not enjoy, and
will also reduce toe/front wheel clearance.

Generally, replacing a fork on an older bike is going to be a change for
the worse, because it's quite unlikely to get a good match in geometry.

I only recommend fork replacement if the original fork has been wrecked.

When that is the case, the best option is a touring/hybrid/cyclocross
fork. These typically have lots of clearance, similar blade length to
classic forks, and provide cantilever brake mounts to boot.

Sheldon "If It Ain't Broke" Brown
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