The rise & fall of U-Brakes (?)

[raidan73]

I love u-brakes and rollercams. My first Raleigh had one under the chainstays. I loved the look but yeah it really clogged up with mud. The chainsuck tore the plastic coating off the Exage u-brake, taking it down to the metal underneath. I love the aesthetics of them and most of my old mtb's have them. Paul Brodie was still using them on the seat stays in 1992.
Here's a few of pics of some of mine that I had to hand....

 

[Woz]

Some nice stuff in this thread. For ages I rode one of these and could never complain about the braking power.




The canti-bosses on the chainstay had to be repair welded twice and to avoid a third time I made my own brake booster. I think the power had as much to do with the hand full brake levers and the oversized brake cables. Can't remember if it was Deerhead or DX, but I do remember wrestling with it when it had to be serviced - there was like a magic and only small amount of space for the straddle cable.

 

[pw_pw_la]

I love u-brakes and rollercams. My first Raleigh had one under the chainstays. I loved the look but yeah it really clogged up with mud. The chainsuck tore the plastic coating off the Exage u-brake, taking it down to the metal underneath. I love the aesthetics of them and most of my old mtb's have them. Paul Brodie was still using them on the seat stays in 1992.
Here's a few of pics of some of mine that I had to hand....

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Sooooo many drool worthy little numbers!

 

[raidan73]

Sooooo many drool worthy little numbers!

They’re definitely my weakness. Need a lotto win to get me some WTB’s though!

 

[Retro_Roy]

Big fan of u-brakes and rollercams here too. They are like that hot sauce commercial.
I put that sh*t on everything.

 

[raidan73]

Big fan of u-brakes and rollercams here too. They are like that hot sauce commercial.
I put that sh*t on everything.

Exactly that Roy. I’ll see a bike that doesn’t really interest me and then I’ll spot the brake posts…….ooooh u-brake

 

[K_50]

I've just picked up a non vintage BMX for the Lil Thundrrr which came equipped with u brakes of some sort. It amazes me how little braking force they generate. I need to learn how to optimize the setup before I let the kid take it to the track.View attachment 618982

My first BMX had the same type of rear brake (and a gyro), and all it was good for was gently slowing down/controlling speed. I was a scrawny kid, but I still managed to break the main cable in an effort to actually stop the bike. Fortunately that was 20+ years ago when even the cool kids had brakes on both wheels, so I got a summer's worth of practice in how to work the front only.
Looking at your setup I would suggest shortening the straddle cable. That should provide some more leverage at the brake arms.

 

[The History Man]

Stays on Alves seem almost too wide….

 

[pw_pw_la]

Okay, so U-fans:

Who's got a McMahon Powerlink in their collection?



Any set-up and maintenance advice? I'm asking for a friend who somehow just ended up with two and is patiently trying to get one dialed in...

 

[MSYT]

I’ve got a couple of bikes with U brakes on the rear. This one being my daily/commuter. I’ve always found them easy to setup and nice strong brakes. Granted it’s not in the best position right near all the crud but it’s worked well so far!