I’ve got this 90s Marin Palisades Trail MTB and I want to upgrade the rear brakes for more tire clearance (the Billy Bonkers fit, but it’s real snug). I got some Shimano Deores, but the brake pad is above the mount, and these rear brakes have the pad below the mount. Any ideas on what new brake I could use for this set up to get more clearance and a cleaner ride?
by Umbellularia812
12 Comments
U brake mounts are in a different position then cantilever mounts and can’t be easily interchanged.
BMX bikes still use U brakes, some should have good clearance, look them up. Odyssey makes some, and also many smaller brands.
I have the 1989 Shimano XT and they clear my 2.3 Rat Trap Pass tires just fine. Maybe you can find some on eBay.
These are called U-Brakes. The only other brakes i know of which use those type of mounts are the very exotic RollerCams and maybe centerpull brakes from like Paul Components. The latter won’t be cheap i guess. For clearances you had to google them. But – you could just remove the so-called ‘Booster’ from your brake. That’s the plate that is facing the rear. It is there to stiffen and reduce flex of the seat stays when braking, but it is not really necessary. Remove it, then put the 2 screws back in and see how much clearance you have won…
You can’t change U-brakes as their mounting points are at the wrong position, and won’t work with standard linear pull or cantilevers. If you need more clearance, try an upgraded modern BMX u-brake that can give you more space (bc those tires will flex and rub)
The [Odyssey 2.5](https://shop.odysseybmx.com/products/odyssey-evo-2-5-brake-black) is a u brake designed for more tire clearance.
Edit: u brakes are usually found on BMX bikes nowadays.
Some late 80s MTBs and touring bikes came with them. The mounting posts look like you can put cantilever brakes or v brakes on them but they are in the wrong spot.
Canti/v brake posts are closer to the hub than the rim, u brake posts are farther away from the hub than the rim.
Odyssey evo 2.5 U brake
I used Odyssey Springfields a lot on my BMX bikes, mostly because they are easy to take in and off, they don’t need adjusted, and have a lot of tire clearance.
They feel like shit though. You can change out the springs to try and make them feel better, but they will still feel like shit.
I’ve also used Kink Desist and Eclat brakes. They are both pretty good.
I wasn’t a fan of Evos. They were ok, but Springfields were less expensive and easier to make work, and the Kinks had a smoother pull and less flex.
[Empire BMX](https://www.empirebmx.com/collections/brake-stuff?page=2&sort_by=title-ascending) has all of these brakes in stock.
Thanks y’all!
Tektro still makes them and has them in long reach for conversions to 650b or when you need more distance to the brake track. Personally I would just clean those up and run them with new pads and compressionless housing. Still works great in the age of discs.
I just spent the day working on my 89 GT backwoods and the rear brake is a U Brake mounted under the chain stays. I replaced the old crust one with an Odyssey Black Ops. Bmx bikes still use U brakes so there’s a huge resource you can tap into. Setting them up is a little weird but you can learn it all on YouTube… just look for the bmx channels.
Last bit of advice, get a new cable hangar. I just got one by Odyssey for 10 bucks and it’s solid. The old one I had was hard to adjust and would pop off with too much slack.
Learn to love ‘em. You got what you got. And they’re not bad. Forget about an even bigger tire.
https://preview.redd.it/taeyb1dde2ke1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1f02018e18a297758c9c8acfb007ac231d517247
BMX brakes did not work for me because the cable hanger/angle is not right. Which resulted in the brake arms coming in too close to the tires.
The best break for these chainstay u-break deals is a DIA COMPE 990 or if you cant find one like me the 996 is a good alternative. These work much better on the chainstays than modern bmx brakes. Also Kool-Stop thin-line pads help.
Im running Cross Kings in 2.2 on the back with some space.
Breaking power is great with the 996 but the dirt collecting there is not.