Removing brake-mount from seat stays?

[Jon George]

I've finally got my hands on a BSO steel Rayleigh frame that has suitable dropouts for a fixe conversion. (For clarity the bike will be fixed, with no back brake.) As I'm going for an aesthetic look, I've removed all unnecessary protrusions. However, there is flat plate connecting the two seat stays which serves as a brake mount, and the question I have is: does it serve a dual purpose and provide required strength to the frame, or can it safely be removed?

 

[midlife]

Usually accepted to have a structural element like a chainstay bridge. Even steel pure track frames have them, unless are a rear monostay / wishbone.

 

[Sharky]

Keep it on. At least until you've mastered a fixed. You might find that a single freewheel is better, particularly for the descents. And if a SS, you need a rear brake.

Good luck

 

[Jon George]

And if a SS, you need a rear brake.

Good luck

Cheers, but given I've removed the cable guides I'll have to ruin the look with cable-ties.

 

[Ian H]

Even track bikes generally have a seat-stay bridge.

 

[Jon George]

Thanks for taking the time to answer folks. I was tempted not to play safe and cut it away, but I'm taking on board your advice.

 

[Sharky]

+1

In my avatar picture, I'm riding a mercian track frame with no brazed on fittings. I drilled out the chain stay Bridge to take a rear brake and used insulation tape to hold the cables in place and ran with gears!

All my Pb's were done on that hybrid set up, a long tome ago.

 

[rogerzilla]

The rear seatstay bridges on my two track frames couldn't be drilled for a brake anyway: one is very small diameter and the other is a bit of framebuilder (Jim Bundy, used to build Olympic track bikes for the Autralian team) showing-off:

 

[raleighnut]

You can get really nice cable guides,

 

[Jon George]

An update: After spraying on some primer, I've mothballed the Rayleigh frame. I realised that my late 80's Pug was hardly being used and also had suitable dropouts. (They are also slightly closer together.) Since the rear brake bar doesn't look obtrusive, this provided me an opportunity to upgrade the aesthetic look of the bike I have in mind. I'll begin a build post in the near future to let you all see the progress - I'm currently stripping paint from the frame.