Brakes - Centerpull

Almost 50 years ago the Swiss brake maker Weinmann ruled most of the brake world with its centerpulls. There was a long-reach one and a short reach one, to fit different frames and tires. Then Dia-Compe of Japan coagulated with Weinmann and the two firms reached an agreement wherein Dia-Compe could copy the Weinmanns and sell them under its own brand. Soon the Dia-Compe versions, 100 percent as good as the Swissies, were super popular, too. Long story short, both got creamated in the market when sidepulls took over in the '70s. Weinmann sold itself to a Taiwan or Chinese company and now makes rims, but the Dia-Compe centerpulls remain, and they're as excellent as ever.

Wherever you stand on the sidepull vs centerpull debate, centerpulls work great and are better with fenders. Just slightly, but they are. These cold-forged centerpulls are strong, slender, and when you equip them with good pads, they're great brakes. The crazy bike industry with all of its futuristic infatuations is hardly worthy of them, but here there are, so gobble them up.

(We stock only the ones that work with modern frames and forks with allen fittings (like our bikes and all others). If you want to restore your 1973 Nishiki with the nutted version centerbolts, we respectfully refer you to eBay.)