To drill or not to drill...

Hi Folks,

After some advice here. I'm trying to ascertain whether or not I should drill my fork and if I'd be able to find short reach calipers to fit.

My original plan was to replace it with a drilled chrome fork, however I'm having difficulty finding a nice enough fork with at least 20cm steer. These generic tange forks etc spoil the look of the bike...found a few race forks (colnago/ benotto) but not with long enough steer... so, back to the drilling..

Is the reach distance calculated from the middle of the caliper pin to the top of the brake pad or middle of the brake pad? Measured distance from (would be) hole to wheel below. 29mm. Does such a caliper exist?

how about a clamp on dia compe front brake? they accomodate short clearances, they work very well, and you don't have to drill...

how about a clamp on dia compe front brake? they accomodate short clearances, they work very well, and you don't have to drill...

Yes that did cross my mind, however, I'd rather have a permanent solution as I can't envisage a time I'd want to ride without a brake..

that would be sacrilege, have some spare hand built condor blue 250mm threaded steerer forks that would do the job! you in london?

Yeah I'm in London. Sounds great, got a pic or shall I pop round this week?

Yes that did cross my mind, however, I'd rather have a permanent solution as I can't envisage a time I'd want to ride without a brake..

they're quite nice, i wouldn't think of it as a temporary solution really...

yeah go for it. drill it. while you're at it, why not stick on some disk brakes. or maybe cut the
forks and weld them onto some suspension forks.

ride it brakeless.

Anyone know what size drill-bit to use to drill out the rear of the fork? I'm looking to get rid of my weinmann 500 front brake on my fixie and replace it with a newer model.

Thanks

drilled mine to 8mm to accomodate a recessed nut.

dont drill, use the dia compe brake, it is a good solution. Would be a shame to ruin the character of the frame by attacking it with a drill. Also, one day, you might change your mind!

or for the price of a clamp on brake, buy a 105 and head to BLB and buy one of their hundreds of forks, pre drilled.