V Brakes posts for a Klunker

[vintage '53]

Hello group - First off, I realize this topic has likely been discussed at length many times on here. I just spent a frustrating hour searching old posts in vain. Too many "view topic" links are dead! Anyway, i am in the midst of a Klunker ('47 Packard badged DX) build.



I have a nice set of Avid Single Digit 7 V brakes that I'd like to use on the rear but need a way to adapt them to this old frame. Would rather keep the frame original, so welding on posts would be a last resort. I am envisioning some kind of clamp-on mount, or a plate bracket of some sort. I've found Mr Tick's Lock Jaws on the web http://mrtick.us/more_products_to_buy.html but wondering if there are any other available solutions you guys are aware of, or clever home made fab jobs you have devised. Thanks, and love all the Klunks displayed on this site. Great inspiration!

 

[Bicycle808]

There's this but the seatstay bridge would need to be drilled or otherwise modified:
http://www.danscomp.com/products-PARTS/489051/V-Brake_Plate.html


Personally, I'd drop the extra $50 and spring for the Mr. Tick Lock Jaws. Or, be a real boss and go drum brakes.

hth
-rob

PS- someones had posted a plan for DIY clamp-ons; I'll see if I can find it. I bet you'll still spend $25 and a buncha hours doing it, though...

 

[Bicycle808]

http://www.ratrodbikes.com/forum/index.php?threads/modern-v-brakes-on-a-vintage-frame.33168/
page 2 has a cool schematic.

 

[deorman]

Hack the fork bridge off a discarded kid's mtb. Drilled 90 degree bent tab bolted to fender hole. The bridge arms will be supported by the stays during braking against forward motion.

 

[mikeeebikey]

I always wondrred what kept clamp ons from turning away from the rim???
Do the brake bridge, they work good!

 

[vintage '53]

Ah, thanks guys. You got me looking in all the right places now. If my brain weren't such a sieve I'd have recalled that thread about the split collar clamps. Everything one needs to know is in there! Right now I'm leaning towards the clamp-on solution, for a cleaner look. BTW, I have another Klunker
I built two years ago with Sturmey Archer drum brake hubs.
Somewhat disappointed in their stopping power so did not want to go that route again.

 

[alecw35]

Those bolt on brake plates also use er jubilee clips to hold them onto the stays of the frame.
I had one. It was like 4mm thick steel plate. very heavy.

I would suggest, If you try the hack up an old steel suspension fork. Maybe cut the legs off the brake brace piece, a bit further down the tube, so you have the tubular part that holds the plastic bush part. Could maybe mod that bit to hold round the stays.

 

[fat tire trader]

I did lots of Klunker conversions for people in the 70s and 80s. I would braze cantilever studs on the frame, with a little heat, they are easy to remove. You have already modified the frame by spreading the stays to put in the rear wheel. If you do not do this properly, the dropouts will not be parallel which can lead to problems. The way that I do it is I remove the seat and chain stay bridges, I then spread the stays and install new longer bridges. I then align the drop outs so that they are parallel.

 

[wheelbender6]

It depends on how klunkeristic you want to be. I don't think cantilever brakes were available during the classic impressionist klunker period. You ran BMX caliper brakes brakes or drums, sometimes with motorcycle levers.
A klunker built from a light modern frame and modern components is definitely more fun to ride.

 

[deorman]

Already modernized with the thread-less tele-fork and alloy rims. On the other hand, an old school side-pull is plenty for a rear brake if you have a good front brake, and all you need is a small piece of angle iron drilled for a brake and the fender bridge.

 

[fat tire trader]

It depends on how klunkeristic you want to be. I don't think cantilever brakes were available during the classic impressionist klunker period. You ran BMX caliper brakes brakes or drums, sometimes with motorcycle levers.
A klunker built from a light modern frame and modern components is definitely more fun to ride.

Cantilever brakes have been available since before WW2. Many people used MAFAK cantilevers on their klunkers, and I installed (brazed) them on many bikes in the late 70s and early 80s. The first Ritchey Mountain bikes came with MAFAKs. The MAFAK was the best brake, in my opinion, until Charlie Cunningham designed his Roller Cam. BMX sidepull brakes flexed too much and were not a good option, drum brakes were better. I also disagree with the statement that "A klunker built from a light modern frame and modern components is definitely more fun to ride.". Check out this video that my friend Paul did of some of us riding down Repack last October


I'm riding my Elgin with the basket.

 

[mikeeebikey]

MAYFAK!!!!
I knew I had seen a tandem in the early 80s that had canti brakes!!! Thanks for jogging that loose.
I wonder if Charles and Richard Cunningham are related???

 

[Bicycle808]

It's spelled "Mafac", for anyone getting the itch to google. Definitely the best period-correct cantis, but maybe not the best all-time cantis.

 

[Bicycle808]

I'm riding my Elgin with the basket.

Always trust a guy riding fast off-road on an Elgin.... with a basket.
(But, it seems like Paul, the cameraman, dusted the rest of you...)

I gotta say, I think drum brakes rock, and I think most ppl who have issues with them either have some minor adjustments to make, or are running the wrong style of levers on them. But I wanna build an old schwinn with cantis or Vs in the near future.

 

[fat tire trader]

MAYFAK!!!!
I knew I had seen a tandem in the early 80s that had canti brakes!!! Thanks for jogging that loose.
I wonder if Charles and Richard Cunningham are related???

They are not related. To see some early cantilever brakes, check out my 1942 Hercules BV Deluxe.

http://www.fattiretrading.com/42herc.html

 

[fat tire trader]

Whoops, my spelling mistake. I used all capitals, because I remembered that the letters stand for something, but I mixed up the C with a K.
MAFAC, or Manufacture Arvernoise de Freins et Accessoires pour Cycles (Arveni Manufacturing Works for Bicycle Brakes and Accessories)

One of the main problems with drum brakes, especially old ones, is finding replacement parts...With a cantilever, the only part that ever needs to be replaced is the pads...

 

[Bendix]

MAFAC, or Manufacture Arvernoise de Freins et Accessoires pour Cycles (Arveni Manufacturing Works for Bicycle Brakes and Accessories)

Now THAT'S a good bit of klunker trivia!

 

[Bicycle808]

Mafac made their name with roadies, but they were popular with touristss, too. The folks running Mafac cantis on klunkers were borrowing from the touring world. Most Mafacs I've seen were centerpull types; the coolest ones (imo) were the Mafac racers which used posts on the stays rather than a bolt on the center brake bridge. These were the ones Paul Price knocked off with his Paul Racers.

 

[deorman]

Mafac made their name with roadies, but they were popular with touristss, too. The folks running Mafac cantis on klunkers were borrowing from the touring world. Most Mafacs I've seen were centerpull types; the coolest ones (imo) were the Mafac racers which used posts on the stays rather than a bolt on the center brake bridge. These were the ones Paul Price knocked off with his Paul Racers.

Ditto.

 

[Bicycle808]

Really?
http://www.paulcomp.com/racer.html
"Based on the classic Mafac centerpull, the Racer brake has been updated with modern materials"
http://www.classiclightweights.co.uk/components/mafac1-comp.html
"Mafac brakes are amongst that select band of components that were used by a wide range of cyclists from Tour de France riders, time trialists to tourists and riders of tandems/trikes."

Apparently, mafac cantis were originally designed for tandems, but went on to be adopted by tourists, then proto-mtb'r folks.

Also, the braze-on version of the Racer was called the Raid.

In closing, a perspective on mafac brakes from the original internet cycling wise man:
"Mafac calipers provide as good braking performance as anything made today, once the rest of the braking system has been brought up to date."
http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/mafac.html
A lot of folks curse mafacs b/c they were paired with weak levers on garbage bikes throughout the 70s, and by the time we find them, the pads are toast. But, the truth is, they were rad brakes and, in all likelihood, the original off-road rim brake-- even if they weren't designed for it.