single speed conversion questions

[Dan]

The bike is a (1979?) Schwinn X-Tra Lite. Lower end model with AISI 1020
pipe. If anybody is interested in such things, the stripped frame
weighs 6.37 lbs and the fork another 1.97.

Brakes-
I want to know if I can use a dual pivot brake on the front. The rear
center pull is a long reach but the front one is shorter. It measures
about 2.5 inches from the stud to the middle of the pads. I am
considering the Tectro brakes listed at Chuck's Bikes for $40. Does
anybody know if they will reach? Will they be okay with alloy 27 inch rims?

Cranks-
The big ring cannot be removed and the bottom bracket weighs a ton. Will
a modern British BB work?

Thanks,
Dan Merrick

 

[Qui si parla Campagnolo]

Dan wrote:
> The bike is a (1979?) Schwinn X-Tra Lite. Lower end model with AISI 1020
> pipe. If anybody is interested in such things, the stripped frame
> weighs 6.37 lbs and the fork another 1.97.
>
> Brakes-
> I want to know if I can use a dual pivot brake on the front. The rear
> center pull is a long reach but the front one is shorter. It measures
> about 2.5 inches from the stud to the middle of the pads.

63mm or so...see if they reach that far.

I am
> considering the Tectro brakes listed at Chuck's Bikes for $40. Does
> anybody know if they will reach? Will they be okay with alloy 27 inch rims?
>
> Cranks-
> The big ring cannot be removed and the bottom bracket weighs a ton. Will
> a modern British BB work?

Should be fine.
>
> Thanks,
> Dan Merrick

 

[dvt]

Dan wrote:

> The bike is a (1979?) Schwinn X-Tra Lite. Lower end model with AISI 1020
> pipe. If anybody is interested in such things, the stripped frame
> weighs 6.37 lbs and the fork another 1.97.
>
> Brakes-
> I want to know if I can use a dual pivot brake on the front. The rear
> center pull is a long reach but the front one is shorter. It measures
> about 2.5 inches from the stud to the middle of the pads. I am
> considering the Tectro brakes listed at Chuck's Bikes for $40. Does
> anybody know if they will reach? Will they be okay with alloy 27 inch rims?

Probably not. 2.5 inches is about 63 mm. The long reach tektro brakes
[1] reach to 57 mm. I couldn't find mention of X40 brakes at Tektro.com.
Comparing the photo at chucksbikes.com to [1], I suspect the X40 is a
short reach (<49 mm) brake.

> Cranks-
> The big ring cannot be removed and the bottom bracket weighs a ton. Will
> a modern British BB work?

I don't know.

[1] http://www.tektro.com/02products/08r730.php

--
Dave

 

[Dan]

Qui si parla Campagnolo wrote:
> Dan wrote:
>> The bike is a (1979?) Schwinn X-Tra Lite. Lower end model with AISI 1020
>> pipe. If anybody is interested in such things, the stripped frame
>> weighs 6.37 lbs and the fork another 1.97.
>>
>> Brakes-
>> I want to know if I can use a dual pivot brake on the front. The rear
>> center pull is a long reach but the front one is shorter. It measures
>> about 2.5 inches from the stud to the middle of the pads.
>
> 63mm or so...see if they reach that far.
>
> I am
>> considering the Tectro brakes listed at Chuck's Bikes for $40. Does
>> anybody know if they will reach? Will they be okay with alloy 27 inch rims?
>>
>> Cranks-
>> The big ring cannot be removed and the bottom bracket weighs a ton. Will
>> a modern British BB work?
>
> Should be fine.
>> Thanks,
>> Dan Merrick
>
Thanks, I don't even know for sure how reach is measured but assume it
is the dimension from the center of the stud to the center of the pads.
I suppose one could fudge a few mm by lengthening the slots a bit.

 

[Dan]

dvt wrote:
> Dan wrote:
>
>> The bike is a (1979?) Schwinn X-Tra Lite. Lower end model with AISI
>> 1020 pipe. If anybody is interested in such things, the stripped
>> frame weighs 6.37 lbs and the fork another 1.97.
>>
>> Brakes-
>> I want to know if I can use a dual pivot brake on the front. The rear
>> center pull is a long reach but the front one is shorter. It measures
>> about 2.5 inches from the stud to the middle of the pads. I am
>> considering the Tectro brakes listed at Chuck's Bikes for $40. Does
>> anybody know if they will reach? Will they be okay with alloy 27 inch
>> rims?
>
> Probably not. 2.5 inches is about 63 mm. The long reach tektro brakes
> [1] reach to 57 mm. I couldn't find mention of X40 brakes at Tektro.com.
> Comparing the photo at chucksbikes.com to [1], I suspect the X40 is a
> short reach (<49 mm) brake.
>
>> Cranks-
>> The big ring cannot be removed and the bottom bracket weighs a ton.
>> Will a modern British BB work?
>
> I don't know.
>
> [1] http://www.tektro.com/02products/08r730.php
>
Yeah, I couldn't find anything on the X40 either but was attracted by
the price. They do look like the short reach ones. I may have to stick
with the old Dia-Comp center pulls.

 

[Dan]

There are the really long reach Tektro single pivots
http://tinyurl.com/k59mn
Don't cost much but the old center pulls might work better. I would like
to get away from the center pull cable stops mounted to the headset and
seat clamp. They never look neat and always seem flexy.

 

[dvt]

Dan wrote:
> Thanks, I don't even know for sure how reach is measured but assume it
> is the dimension from the center of the stud to the center of the pads.

Sheldon has the answer on his web site.

http://sheldonbrown.com/gloss_ra-e.html#reach

> I suppose one could fudge a few mm by lengthening the slots a bit.

I think Sheldon might mention that somewhere on his site, too. A few mm
might be a bit more than makes me comfortable.

On the other hand, you could try a drop bolt. Again, Sheldon's site:

http://sheldonbrown.com/gloss_dr-z.html#dropbolt

--
Dave
dvt at psu dot edu