Retro Brake question

Jim Wilson <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

I got a pair of Shimano BR-1050 brake calipers as a Father's day gift. I like'm and already use'm.
No problems. These calipers are anodized a metallic blue color which I've never seen before. I
have Shaimano catalogs from the late 80's when these were made but can't find any mention of this
color option. Anyone know the background of these parts? Sheldon?

The blue-grey anodized Shimano 105 components were available for a couple years- 1986 to 1989 or
thereabouts. It was an option- the same parts were available in silver. Pretty run-of-the-mill for
the time: 6 or 7 speed SIS, cassette hubs, single-pivot brakes. I unloaded crates of them back when
I worked at Euro-Asia Imports.

They're good parts. Keep 'em.

Jeff

I don't think it was an "option", I think it was the color of the gruppo for that year (or years?).
It was a indexed 7 speed gruppo and I've seen shifters, brake levers, hubs and the derailleur to
match. I don't know, although I presume, the crank matched as well.

Jim Wilson <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

I got a pair of Shimano BR-1050 brake calipers as a Father's day gift. I like'm and already use'm.
No problems. These calipers are anodized a metallic blue color which I've never seen before. I
have Shaimano catalogs from the late 80's when these were made but can't find any mention of this
color option. Anyone know the background of these parts? Sheldon?

Jim Wilson

o \o __o /\ / `\ <> `\ `> `\ > (*)/ (*) (*)/ (*) (*)/ (*)

I ride my bicycle to ride my bicycle.

Jim Wilson asked:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I got a pair of Shimano BR-1050 brake calipers as a Father's day gift. I like'm and already use'm.
No problems. These calipers are anodized a metallic blue color which I've never seen before. I
have Shaimano catalogs from the late 80's when these were made but can't find any mention of this
color option. Anyone know the background of these parts? Sheldon?

Jeff Wills said:

The blue-grey anodized Shimano 105 components were available for a couple years- 1986 to 1989 or
thereabouts. It was an option- the same parts were available in silver. Pretty run-of-the-mill for
the time: 6 or 7 speed SIS, cassette hubs, single-pivot brakes.

I wouldn't agree that they were "run-of-the-mill for the time." That group was a quantum jump in its
price range, especially the brakes which blew away every previous caliper brake in existence.

Indeed, for a couple of years, Shimano's main racing honcho was riding his Dura-Ace bike with the
105 SLR brakes, 'cause they were so much better than the contemporary Dura-Ace models!

Those are definitely the finest single-pivot calipers ever, thanks to the ball-bearing action; also
the finest drop-bar brake levers (the levers are essentially unchanged to this day.) I run these
brakes on my fixed gear tandem (with Mathauser pads) and find them thoroughly satisfactory.

(Thanks to newly-empty nest, I got to go out with my wife for a ride on that bike over the weekend,
forgot how nice it was!)

Sheldon "SLR" Brown +---------------------------------------------+
| People who like this sort of thing will | find this the sort of thing they like | --Abraham
| Lincoln |
+---------------------------------------------+ Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts Phone
617-244-9772 FAX 617-244-1041 harriscyclery.comharriscyclery.comOpen ↗ Hard-to-find parts shipped Worldwide
captainbike.comcaptainbike.comOpen ↗ sheldonbrown.comsheldonbrown.comOpen ↗

"Jim Wilson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I got a pair of Shimano BR-1050 brake calipers as a Father's day gift. I like'm and already use'm.
No problems. These calipers are anodized a metallic blue color which I've never seen before. I
have Shaimano catalogs from the late 80's when these were made but can't find any mention of this
color option. Anyone know the background of these parts? Sheldon?

I couldn't find it, although I seem to remember a blue 105, too.

Page BR-9.7 shows the BR-1050 with no mention of finish (That's odd in itself - other products
clearly show polish, anodize or paint) . The next page, BR-9.8, shows the BR-A450 Exage Sport "light
alloy- blue anodized finish".

--
Andrew Muzi yellowjersey.orgyellowjersey.orgOpen ↗ Open every day since 1 April 1971

Sheldon Brown said:

Quoted message said:

The blue-grey anodized Shimano 105 components were available for a couple years- 1986 to 1989 or
thereabouts. It was an option- the same parts were available in silver. Pretty run-of-the-mill
for the time: 6 or 7 speed SIS, cassette hubs, single-pivot brakes.

I wouldn't agree that they were "run-of-the-mill for the time." That group was a quantum jump in
its price range, especially the brakes which blew away every previous caliper brake in existence.
............... Those are definitely the finest single-pivot calipers ever, thanks to the
ball-bearing action; also the finest drop-bar brake levers (the

Interesting, I've always thought that the Superbe Pro calipers with ball bearings and internal
springs were the ultimate single pivot brakes. Has anyone been able to do a back-to-back comparison
with the Shimanos? -- Doug Milliken

I don't remember who said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

The blue-grey anodized Shimano 105 components were available for a couple years- 1986 to 1989 or
thereabouts. It was an option- the same parts were available in silver. Pretty run-of-the-mill
for the time: 6 or 7 speed SIS, cassette hubs, single-pivot brakes.

I replied:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I wouldn't agree that they were "run-of-the-mill for the time." That group was a quantum jump in
its price range, especially the brakes which blew away every previous caliper brake in existence.
............... Those are definitely the finest single-pivot calipers ever, thanks to the
ball-bearing action; also the finest drop-bar brake levers (the

Doug Milliken said:

Interesting, I've always thought that the Superbe Pro calipers with ball bearings and internal
springs were the ultimate single pivot brakes. Has anyone been able to do a back-to-back
comparison with the Shimanos?

Hmmm... those are very pretty indeed, but somewhat overengineered. We've seen some defective ones
that had excessive play in the arms, and there's evidently no practical way to adjust this.

The calipers may have given the Shimanos a run for their money, but the Shimano levers are
considerably better, so as a system, Shimano wins. Also the Shimano setup was very much less
expensive.

The DiaCompe aero levers require strange and funky ferrules, while the Shimano levers have perfectly
aimed and sized housing sockets that don't require any ferrules. This results in a noticeable
reduction in cable friction.

Also, it is possible to replace the inner cables with the Shimano levers without re-taping the
handlebars, since the end of the housing lines up so nicely with the hole in the lever body.

Sheldon "Function Over Form" Brown +-------------------------------------------------+
| I will be appearing in the Midsummer Revels | Boston Children’s Museum, June 20 | (I’ll be the
| front of the Dragon) | This is a FREE show! revels.orgrevels.orgOpen ↗ |
+-------------------------------------------------+ Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts Phone
617-244-9772 FAX 617-244-1041 harriscyclery.comharriscyclery.comOpen ↗ Hard-to-find parts shipped Worldwide
captainbike.comcaptainbike.comOpen ↗ sheldonbrown.comsheldonbrown.comOpen ↗

Sheldon Brown said:

I don't remember who said:

Quoted message said:

>The blue-grey anodized Shimano 105 components were available for a

I replied:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I wouldn't agree that they were "run-of-the-mill for the time." That group was a quantum jump in
its price range, especially the brakes which blew away every previous caliper brake in
existence. ............... Those are definitely the finest single-pivot calipers ever, thanks to
the ball-bearing action; also the finest drop-bar brake levers (the

Quoted message said:

Doug Milliken said:

Interesting, I've always thought that the Superbe Pro calipers with ball bearings and internal
springs were the ultimate single pivot brakes. Has anyone been able to do a back-to-back
comparison with the Shimanos?

Quoted message said:

Hmmm... those are very pretty indeed, but somewhat overengineered. We've seen some defective ones
that had excessive play in the arms, and there's evidently no practical way to adjust this.

The calipers may have given the Shimanos a run for their money, but the Shimano levers are
considerably better, so as a system, Shimano wins. Also the Shimano setup was very much less
expensive.

The DiaCompe aero levers require strange and funky ferrules, while the Shimano levers have
perfectly aimed and sized housing sockets that don't require any ferrules. This results in a
noticeable reduction in cable friction.

Actually, I use the Suntour Superbe Pro calipers (hidden springs) with some take-off Dura-Ace aero
levers... so I seem to have lucked into the best of both worlds(?) Haven't experienced any problems
with the calipers, but I agree that adjusting the play in the arms (if possible) is a puzzle, maybe
it needs to be done with shims/washers?

Doug Milliken said:

On Fri, 20 Jun 2003, Sheldon Brown wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Doug Milliken said:

Interesting, I've always thought that the Superbe Pro calipers with ball bearings and internal
springs were the ultimate single pivot brakes. Has anyone been able to do a back-to-back
comparison with the Shimanos?

Quoted message said:

Hmmm... those are very pretty indeed, but somewhat overengineered. We've seen some defective ones
that had excessive play in the arms, and there's evidently no practical way to adjust this.

The calipers may have given the Shimanos a run for their money, but the Shimano levers are
considerably better, so as a system, Shimano wins. Also the Shimano setup was very much less
expensive.

The DiaCompe aero levers require strange and funky ferrules, while the Shimano levers have
perfectly aimed and sized housing sockets that don't require any ferrules. This results in a
noticeable reduction in cable friction.

Actually, I use the Suntour Superbe Pro calipers (hidden springs) with some take-off Dura-Ace aero
levers... so I seem to have lucked into the best of both worlds(?) Haven't experienced any
problems with the calipers, but I agree that adjusting the play in the arms (if possible) is a
puzzle, maybe it needs to be done with shims/washers?

I believe that the Suntour Superbe Pro calipers were made by Dia-Compe, and use the same design
as the Dia-Compe BRS-500 brakes. In which case, there is no adjustment for arm play except by
using shims.

Mark McMaster [email hidden]

"A Muzi" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

I couldn't find it, although I seem to remember a blue 105, too.

Would they be the same era as my dark green anodised single-pivot 105 calipers?

I have no idea when they are from (they were obtained in a convoluted bikebits swapping transaction,
and are probably worth more than the 300EX-equipped budget bike they're on), but they sure are a
pretty colour ;-)

fs

[email hidden] (Fakhina Sohl) wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

"A Muzi" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

I couldn't find it, although I seem to remember a blue 105, too.

Would they be the same era as my dark green anodised single-pivot 105 calipers?

I have no idea when they are from (they were obtained in a convoluted bikebits swapping
transaction, and are probably worth more than the 300EX-equipped budget bike they're on), but they
sure are a pretty colour ;-)

fs

Maybe dark green is just one shade the original "gunmetal" blue color fades to.

Sheldon: the Shimano 105 SLR single pivots are fine brakes indeed. I have 3 sets. But as far as the
best ever, I'd like to put a vote in for the Dura-Ace 7402. These also have the ball bearing
assembly between the pivot arms, also have a light spring, and the finish and hardware is an upgrade
from the 105's. An added bonus is that the caliper arms are longer than those in the 105's or any
other single pivot brake that I've come across. From my rough measurements, the arms on these are
about 20% longer than average, which should mean higher leverage and braking power.

The 7402's are heavier than the 105's due to the longer caliper arms, and also the fact that the
brake arms are thicker. These are solid brakes - not as powerful as dual-pivots, but close.

"Sheldon Brown" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Those are definitely the finest single-pivot calipers ever, thanks to the ball-bearing action;
also the finest drop-bar brake levers (the levers are essentially unchanged to this day.) I run
these brakes on my fixed gear tandem (with Mathauser pads) and find them thoroughly satisfactory.