Pivots for Centerpull Brakes

We now have braze-on pivots for centerpull brakes in stock. Small parts like these are easily overlooked. They aren’t exciting, and there is little profit in them. But when you need them, you appreciate them.
Centerpull brakes have seen a resurgence in popularity in recent years. With brazed-on pivots, they are powerful, elegant and light, while offering superior modulation. However, the pivots have been hard to find. They are different from cantilever pivots.
Most builders have resorted to machining them one by one. Mafac used to offer pivots for brazing onto the frame, and later, Dia-Compe offered copies of the Mafac pivots. Mafac is long-gone, but we managed to get Dia-Compe to make us another production run of these pivots.

The pivots are pre-mitered to fit the fork blades and seatstay. On the left is a rear pivot, which is slightly offset from the seatstays. On the right is a front pivot, which fits in the centerline of the fork blades. (Depending on your configuration, they may need additional mitering.)

The pivots have a machined flat on the part where the spring sits. An aluminum plate with a hole for the spring fits onto the pivot and is located by the flat. Some builder prefer to braze a small tube for the end of the spring onto the pivot. For them, we sell the pivots without the backing plate and spring.

The pivots also include new brake return springs. These are needed if you use Weinmann or Dia-Compe brakes. Mafac brakes already have springs that work with brazed-on pivots. Click here for more information on these pivots and our other framebuilding supplies.
Note: These do not work for Paul centerpull brakes, which use standard cantilever pivots.