Converting nut brakes into recessed ones?

Dru

Dirt Disciple
Hi all

Quick question, can you easily change a nut fixing front brake set to a recessed Allen key one if you change forks and the new forks are the recessed type?
 
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Thanks, Can you change that bolt cheaply and easily or are they difficult or expensive?
 
The difficulty is drilling the rear brake bridge as the seat tube is in the way, also a lot of rear brake bridges on older frames were hollow so would be difficult to convert
 
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I haven't done it myself, but from what I've read you have to drill out the holes on both the fork and the rear brake bridge to fit the recessed bolt style brakes. You can't use the old brakes either - you need to buy "modern" recessed bolt versions. Tektro sells modern dual pivot road brakes with the exposed bolts if you want to upgrade your brakes and not drill your frame/fork.
 
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Forks are very easy to do on a vertical mill. Rear brake bridge can be done by using a sphigoted type twist drill with the front ground down to match the bore of the original hole on the rear bridge. I've done this quite easily in the past.
 
FFS, you lot struggle to read don't you.........

Yes, they are easy to convert. Last one I did was just a matter of trimming the bolt, running a die down it and buying a recessed nut. Some brakes have a larger shoulder that may make this impractical.
Not sure about buying a new shaft, unless it's a very expensive brake. Anything under 105 sort of price, it'd probably be cheaper to buy a new brake!
 
You might not need to alter both brakes. The shaft is usually a lot shorter on the back brake, so if you use it at the front you might be able to just get a top-hat nut long enough. Then you'll just have to cut the other one down (or find a much shorter shaft). I think they're all M6 threads, but check first before you cut anything!
 
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