Brakes, or lack thereof...

[DCBassman]

One of the reasons I upgraded the brakes on the Revell mixte was that the brakes were a) barely adequate at the front, and b) almost non-existent at the back. It didn't matter what I tried. they were borderline dangerous, what with all the steep bits around these parts.
Cue fit some Tektro R559 long drops, as this was a 27.5 to 700c conversion.
Result? Great front brake. Much improved rear brake, but not nearly as good as the 105s on the Scott, or the older Tektros that were on the Scott previously. The rear brake on the Scott is not far shy of the front in terms of retardation.
So why might the rear of this mixte be generally worse? The cable run isn't so straightforward. The original Weinmann was bottom-fed, but the replacements cannot be, so there's a tighter than usual bend for the cable to get through before it reaches the caliper.
This is the only reason I can think of, though. Rims cleaned with isopropanol. Blocks look good. The fact of the longer drop hasn't done much to affect the front, so don't see why the back should be so weak, comparatively. Any ideas, folks?

 

[Ajax Bay]

I offer a tentative 'idea'. Calipers on front and back operate in opposite ways (direction of rim compared with their anchor point) and I suspect the extra leverage which those long drop calipers have makes the differential worse.

 

[Smokin Joe]

So why might the rear of this mixte be generally worse? The cable run isn't so straightforward. The original Weinmann was bottom-fed, but the replacements cannot be, so there's a tighter than usual bend for the cable to get through before it reaches the caliper.
This is the only reason I can think of, though.

That sounds a likely cause. It isn't something that would bother me, there is no stopping power in a rear brake and as long as you can feel some retardation it should do it's job.

 

[bikingdad90]

What type of brake blocks? A metal caliper with replaceable rubber inserts might add to the stopping power. I use the calipers on my Wiggins Rouen and they stop fine.

 

[si_c]

Sounds like the cable routing may be at least partly to blame. You could try compressionless brake housing, this would reduce the flex in the system and hopefully improve the brake feel.

 

[figbat]

Weaker left hand?

Are the wheels steel or alloy? The biggest brake upgrade I made to my small-wheelers was to replace the rims with alloy. A further upgrade was a dual-pivot front caliper and the whole lot topped off with some modern brake levers.

 

[T4tomo]

Blocks look good.

but some new swiss stops or kool stops would probably be better.

 

[Nibor]

Have you tried a compressionless outer on the back?

 

[DCBassman]

but some new swiss stops or kool stops would probably be better.

Definitely on the cards.

Have you tried a compressionless outer on the back?

Now, there's something I'd not thought about...

 

[Ajax Bay]

The key question here is: without getting cramp in your fingers, can you ride down Green Lane into town? Can you lock up the rear wheel if you want to? If that's a double 'yes' then the "much improved rear brake" is good enough.

 

[DCBassman]

The key question here is: without getting cramp in your fingers, can you ride down Green Lane into town? Can you lock up the rear wheel if you want to? If that's a double 'yes' then the "much improved rear brake" is good enough.

I wouldn't cycle down Green Lane at all, on anything! And yes, I'm certain I could lock the rear. It's just so different to the Scott.
I'll get some Salmons when I have the readies...