Vintage Shimano 105 Brake Pad Replacement

[rsteff01]

Good afternoon. I recently restored a vintage (late 80s) Schwinn Tempo road bike with the original Shimano 105 group. The brake pads, however, require replacement. I talked to the local bike store but they did not have what I need. I also searched several forums and the internet for additional information without success. Of the two I've tried that appear the same size and shape...one had screws too large and the other had too much pad depth. Does anyone know of a brake pad that is compatible with a late 1980s version of the Shimano 105 brake calipers? Thanks for your assistance.

v/r,
Ryan

 

[alfeng]

I am NOT exactly sure what you mean by a brake pad having too much depth ...

• I believe that if you simply ADJUST the brake cables, then the caliper arms will be spread wider & thereby accommodate the deeper (?) pads ... I recently installed some contemporary cartridge brake shoes/pads on one of my similarly vintage (i.e., similarly old & cosmetically out-of-date) Campagnolo Monoplaner brakesets.

 

[oldbobcat]

Originally Posted by alfeng
I am NOT exactly sure what you mean by a brake pad having too much depth ...

• I believe that if you simply ADJUST the brake cables, then the caliper arms will be spread wider & thereby accommodate the deeper (?) pads ... I recently installed some contemporary cartridge brake shoes/pads on one of my similarly vintage (i.e., similarly old & cosmetically out-of-date) Campagnolo Monoplaner brakesets.

Yup. Within brand and application there isn't a lot of difference in brake shoe depth. My guess is somebody was just tightening down the brake cables as the old pads wore down. Newer Dura-Ace-style shoes (rubber pad with metal holder) should work fine with your old calipers and rims.

 

[rsteff01]

Thank you for the recommendations...I'll take a look at the campy recommendation.

Depth/width...meaning the distance from the surface of the pad that contacts the rim to the arm of the caliper to which it is attached. Cable and caliper adjustment will not solve this problem. If you widen the caliper arms all you do is misalign the flat surface of the brake pad against the rim which will negatively affect your overall braking and put undue stress on your caliper arms. So, I need a pad that has a similar width/depth as the original Shimano 105 pads and that is also compatible with the vintage caliper mounting brackets (where the screw goes through the arm).

 

[alfeng]

FYI. Regardless of what I believe is your your misplaced concern over the contact surface which the brake pad makes when it touches the rim, if you buy almost any CONTEMPORARY cartridge brake pads then you will see that they have orbital adjusters which allow for some tweaking ... BTW. UNLESS you are cutting your own brake pads from old automobile tires, the rubber in the pads will compress as you attempt to modulate the brakes ...

And consequently, the contact surface WILL increase to some extent ... IF you are not satisfied with THAT as a what may-or-may-not transpire, then simply mount the pads on a tool/stick and re-grind the contact surface down on a new set of pads to where you want them to be.​

OR, you could buy some new Shimano-or-Tektro calipers for your bike ... BTW. POSTing a picture of your current brake calipers may-or-may-not help clarify what YOU are looking at which I (and, possibly others) am not seeing as worthy of fretting over.