short reach brake

is there a shorter reach front brake for my 1960's fixed? it currently has a Weinmann 500 side pull but with the brake blocks at their uppermost in the caliper adjuster slots they still only reach halfway up the braking surface on the rim, the bike has always had sprints (700c) so its not as if the wheels are the wrong size......any pointers gratefully received!

Have you tried the early shimano 105's think they're around 37 -39 possibly the latter

Measure the drop of the caliper and the required drop.

As far as I know all 500 are standard drop, but it's possible you found a long drop variant.

If the bike is from the Sixties, it may well have had centre-pull MAFAC calipers and some of those had quite a lot of adjustment.

thanks folks when I ordered the bike in '64 I had specified a short reach Universal 51 which somehow has been lost and nowadays are very hard to come by......I think the drop is close to 45mm

Most Campagnolo brake callipers are short reach and should work within your tolerance I think.

Dia Compe 300 aero’s are mentally short (37-43)

I had specified a short reach Universal 51... ...I think the drop is close to 45mm

The Mod. 51 are indeed 45-56mm and Weinmann 500 are 43-56mm, so it's curious you're having a problem. I'd measure up to confirm (perhaps the forks have shrunk after all these years).

If you do need something shorter and want a period caliper, Weinmann 400 are 40-54mm but for all I know are just as hard to come by as Mod. 51.

Modern calipers are typically 39-49mm, but you'd need to drill the back of the fork out to 8mm to accept a recessed tube nut.