Originally Posted by
atlantis .
I am planning to install these brakes on my bike and a little confused with the barrel positions on the brake
This link is of the front brake.
http://www.jensonusa.com/BMX-Sidepull-Brakes/Tektro-BMX-Sidepull-AFS-Black
I am confused with the barrel adjuster being the other way around and it specifically says that its the front brake.
This link is of the rear brake
http://www.jensonusa.com/BMX-Sidepull-Brakes/Tektro-BMX-Sidepull-Black
This is pretty normal.
I needed some guidance as how to fit the front brake ie, the cable orientation.
First, because the cable adjuster & the pinch bolt are interchangeable in position on the two calipers, the only
real difference between the two calipers is actually in the length of the BRAKE BOLT which is supplied with the individual brake caliper ... neither brake caliper have a recessed nut, BTW.
FYI. The reason that one caliper has the adjuster on the lower arm is to allow for a cable which is approaching the brake from BELOW the caliper ... as on a "girls" bike where the top tube is considerably lower than the brake bride as on a "boy's" bike & the only way to route the brake cable's housing on a frame of that type would be along the obviously lower "top" tube ...
Regardless, I presume that you are looking at the particular BMX brake calipers because you would like to use them on your
DC PK RIPPER Single Speed bike ...
Is that right?!?
If it is, then
you can forget about the two particular brake calipers and keep looking BECAUSE there is a 99.99% probability that the brake's REACH is too long by about 30mm!!
By my reckoning, the typical BMX brake caliper's
reach BEGINS at
[SIZE= 14px]95mm[/SIZE] ... with the additional 20mm, that would mean the reach is effectively
95mm-115mm.
[COLOR= rgb(24, 24, 24)]You need a METRIC ruler-or-tape measure ...[/COLOR] [COLOR= rgb(24, 24, 24)]And then, you need to measure the distance BETWEEN the brake bolt mounting hole in both the fork & frame's rear brake bridge & the middle of the brake surface on the rim where the brake pad would make contact ... the measurement for the front & rear will probably be different, but there is usually enough latitude in the reach of a caliper that calipers from the same set can be used for any specific bike ... [/COLOR]
- [COLOR= rgb(24, 24, 24)]the distance for the reach which YOU will probably measure will be about 45mm +/- [/COLOR]
[COLOR= rgb(24, 24, 24)]So, you would want a brake caliper whose
reach is 39mm-to-49mm/(or, 50mm) ... THAT is the "normal" length of a typical Road caliper which you would find.[/COLOR]
Howerver, it is very possible that the distance you measure for the
reach will be closer to 54mm +/- ... in which case you would want brake calipers whose
reach is
49mm-to-59mm which are currently referred to as
"long" reach calipers.
- Tektro sells a variety of brake calipers with for frames with different length reach in a pretty broad range of prices ...
- some of the Tektro Road calipers look like copies of Shimano's brake calipers ... that's a good thing ... the difference will be in the Shimano calipers typically being a little more robust-and-stiffer (a good thing) due to MORE material being present which also means that the Shimano caliper will probably be a few grams heavier ...
- IMO, Shimano makes the best best Road calipers (stick with Ultegra or 105) ...
- and, their brake pad compound can be considered the benchmark against which other brake pads are measured
- Tektro calipers probably deliver 95% of the "performance" of a Shimano caliper for about half the price ... so, Tektro calipers are generally a pretty good choice, IMO ...
- depending on the reach which your frame-and-fork need + your aesthetic sensibilities, Campagnolo calipers may-or-may-not look better BUT Campagnolo calipers do not have a quick release on the caliper the way that most Shimano & Tektro Road brake calipers have