center-pull brakes

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by scituatejohn
I saw on another web site that Dia Compe is bringing back the center-pull brakes. Do they work better than the Shimano dual-pivot brakes?

No

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by scituatejohn
Do they work better than the Shimano dual-pivot brakes?

They offer better tire clearance for 35c tires, but the braking is suspect. I think a nice set of cyclocross Avid's might outperform a cheaper set of dual pivots though.

My 1995 Bianchi hybrid had a set of them. I switched it over to some Alivio V-brakes when I replaced the commuter tires with trail tires. The braking was much better.

Actually there is a great comparison article in the rivendell reader about the differences between canti's and centerpulls. Personally I have bikes with both. My Holland has Ultegra gruppo w/ dual pivots and they stop great. My RRBcycles Fix Gear (great commuter) has as an old set of Mafac "Racers" on them. As with most centerpulls the pad compounds suck. I switched my out with some old mathauser pads. The bike stops so quickly you will lose your chewing gum. By the way if you are thinking of running fenders and larger tires centerpulls are the way to go.