Alhonga Deep Drop Brakes

[cooper_coleraine]

I have a Raleigh Classic,1984. It is fitted with Weinmann 610 cantilever brakes which operate on 27 inch rims. I am happy with the wheels which have Maillard Normandy hubs but in spite of regular cable greasing the brakes are quite stiff to operate. They have always been stiff to operate but are effective for touring and I should ideally like to keep them as I have all the original components on the bike. I shall probably move to 700 rims sometime in future. Is there anything I can do to make the Weinmanns a little easier to use? Can I fit Alhonga dual pivot or other cantilver brakes that will operate on both 700 and 27 inch rims ?.Advice will be appreciated.

[Brucey]

Nothing lasts forever, so maybe there is something to be said for new brakes. But having said that the weinmann CP brakes are pretty reliable; if they are inspected carefully I would certainly use brakes like these (and indeed do so).

You mention greasing the cables but not replacing them.

Modern brake cables can have low friction liners, polished stainless inner cables, etc. If you are not already using such, I would get some new cables asap; they can mean that the friction losses in the cable are halved, so more braking effort is possible.

To get the best out of your weinmanns you should

- use decent cables
- use the original levers, or other levers meant originally for conventional side-pull brakes (rather than DP ones).
- use decent quality brake blocks (I'm quite liking clark's gold at the moment) and set the toe carefully
- set the brake up (by spacing the brake blocks out on their studs if necessary) so that the straddle cable is low when the brake comes on

If you fit inexpensive DP brakes you will have to make sure that you have brake levers to match. You may find that the cables and brake blocks that come with new brakes are not ideal in some way and will need to be replaced sooner rather than later; for example cheap cables can corrode and cheap brake blocks will wreck your rims.

If you buy Ahlonga calipers they will work OK (with decent brake blocks, the right levers etc) but I can guarantee that within a year or so of all weather use all the bolts will go rusty and not long after that the pivots will start to give trouble, either seizing up or getting too loose. There is a reason why they are so much cheaper than (say) shimano's better quality calipers, and they are certainly not made as well as the weinmanns you have at present.

cheers

[robgul]

snip

If you buy Ahlonga calipers they will work OK (with decent brake blocks, the right levers etc) but I can guarantee that within a year or so of all weather use all the bolts will go rusty and not long after that the pivots will start to give trouble, either seizing up or getting too loose. There is a reason why they are so much cheaper than (say) shimano's better quality calipers, and they are certainly not made as well as the weinmanns you have at present.

cheers

Have to say I think that's a bit harsh on the Alhonga deep drops - I changed the brakes on my 1975 Galaxy from the Weinmans (which just about worked with 700c rims) after some hair-raising incidents when fully loaded to Alhongas with Shimano blocks... that was back in late 2005 and after about 6,000 touring miles (I have other bikes too ) in all weathers they are still working well - some very minor cosmetic pitting and surface rust that cleaned off very easily (I did spray the metal parts with Halfords clear lacquer before I fitted them)

Two other less-used machines in my fleet also have Alhongas - again, no issues of note.

Rob

[RJC]

The chromed bits on some, maybe all, Tektro brakes seem to rust quickly. I haven't noticed any rust on the Alhonga brakes on my Brompton.

[AM7]

I have had Alhonga deep drop brakes on three bikes for few years, one of which is a 1984 Raleigh Classic 15 with 700c wheels. All work fine, with no seizing or rust or anything

[Barrenfluffit]

I too have switched from CP weinmans to DP deep drop alongha's. The improvement in braking performance was a worthwhile on its own. Only had them for 3 years or so so can't comment on longevity but haven't noticed rust so far. Also much simpler to set up.