That same used bike shop is likely to have plenty of old Weinmann or Dia-Compe centerpulls in the used parts bin, or even Universal if you're lucky. "Schwinn Approved" centerpulls are either Weinmann or Dia-Compe. All of these will work quite well. Stay away from Mafacs, they work fine but are overly complicated to set up.
You just need to make sure to get all the correct associated hardware: Straddle cable, cable stops, etc.. Modern brake pads are a good idea. The one thing to remember is that older European bikes often came with different wheel clearances for front and rear, and different brakes were often fitted to accommodate that. A typical Raleigh will often use a Weinmann 610 in front and a Weinmann 750 in back. Take a close look at your Bianchi and try and figure out what you need. Bianchis usually used Universal brakes in the old days. I'm not sure if you can get "new" centerpull brakes anymore, they've fallen so far out of fashion. Since you mention "V-brakes", it's possible you may be talking about a bike that has braze-ons for cantilever brakes, in which case the above conversation is purely academic... :) On Nov 6, 10:59 pm, Philcajean <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Hello, > > Please pardon my mechanical ignorance ahead of time. This is my first > foray into building up a bike at home. > > I'm building up an old Bianchi Mixte frame found at a used bike shop. > I want to buy new center pull caliper brakes for it and really don't > know what might be a good fit. I suppose I could retro-fit it with V- > style calipers, but that doesn't seem "right" on this bike. This will > be primarily used by my wife as an around town bike, but set-up like a > "mountain bike" or "hybrid" (wide tires, flat handle bar w/grip > shifters - she used to do a lot of trail riding). We are using some > old components and buying some new. We want reasonably priced decent > components w/no delusions about racing (I'm cannibalizing the old > Specialized Ground Control - a relic of a past delusion). > > I primarily ride a Trek 4300 modified with an Xtracycle FreeRadical > kit and a Surly 1x1 rigid fork (long wheelbase and front suspension = > soggy mess). My wife is currently riding a Trek Singletrack 930 we > recently bought used. We now ride around town whenever possible all > year round. We know enough about bikes to know we don't know enough > about bikes. > > Thanks in advance, > Phil > --http://bikewhenyoucan.blogspot.com/ --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Bicycle Lifestyle" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/bicyclelifestyle?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
