Paul Racer M vs Mid Reach brakes

[xnetter]

I have the brazed-on Racer-Ms on one of my bikes and the braking is crazy good. Powerful and very progressive. Miles better than any mid-reach DP brake I've experienced.

If I was building a 700x35 frameset from scratch, I would seriously consider spec'ing these brakes.

KJ

[slowpoke]

Assuming properly spec'd braze-on mounts, what's the widest tire you can fit under a Paul Racer M?

n/m.. donevwil answered this thoroughly:

Originally Posted by donevwil

If properly positioned (and taking the frameset out of the equation since I am not familiar with the casseroll) the Racer M's have a lot of room. I have post mount M's on my Potts and a 38 Barlow Pass (37 actual) clears with ease. Even a 44 Snoqualmie Pass (40 actual for the brand new tire I had) cleared the brakes, but not the fork or rear end. Granted my braze-on posts are positioned to place the pads to be at the bottom of the slots.

[donevwil]

Originally Posted by slowpoke

Assuming properly spec'd braze-on mounts, what's the widest tire you can fit under a Paul Racer M?

n/m.. donevwil answered this thoroughly:

Wow, don't even remember writing that. In subsequent years, however, the Barlow Pass tires grew from 37mm to 39.5mm, so the abundance of clearance is/was certainly welcome. I miss my Potts!

[David Benson]

Racer M with pads at full drop, over a Ritchey JB Alpine 700 x 35.
On this bike the fork has less clearance than the brake.



I fitted shorter road brake pads to allow the caliper to open further when the straddle is released.

[classtimesailer]

Skip those Dia Compes. I thought they looked cool and wanted more room for fenders so I put them on my fat tire road bike. I put my Shimano BR650s back on and sold the Dia Compes. The 650s aren't made any more but I bet these are nice: https://trpcycling.com/product/rg957/

[merckx]

Originally Posted by classtimesailer

Skip those Dia Compes. I thought they looked cool and wanted more room for fenders so I put them on my fat tire road bike. I put my Shimano BR650s back on and sold the Dia Compes. The 650s aren't made any more but I bet these are nice: https://trpcycling.com/product/rg957/

What didn't you like about the Dia Compes? Was it functional, or did they not offer any additional room for fenders than the Shimano 650s?

[merckx]

I currently use Shimano 650 brakes and a 40mm fender with 28mm tires. They work really well. I also have used TRP RG957 brakes, but in my opinion, they don't have the same stopping power. They do offer more clearance around the tire compared to the Shimano 650s. I can fit a 45mm fender and a 32mm tire with the TRP brakes, but have decided to prioritize stopping power in lieu of using slightly larger tires. Btw, the TRP brakes seem to be out of stock on the TRP website.

[choke]

I'm another fan of the Racer M. They have great feel and modulation IMO. These tires measured right at 32mm IIRC.

[classtimesailer]

Originally Posted by merckx

What didn't you like about the Dia Compes? Was it functional, or did they not offer any additional room for fenders than the Shimano 650s?

There was additional room but they needed old school strength to operate. I expect that on my '82 Medici with SR but not on a modern bike with modern components. They were less adequate than the Mafac Racers with Koolstops on my PX-10. I only used the stock pads with the Dia Compes and didn't bother trying Koolstops. I would like to see and try the TRPs.

[merckx]

Originally Posted by classtimesailer

There was additional room but they needed old school strength to operate. I expect that on my '82 Medici with SR but not on a modern bike with modern components. They were less adequate than the Mafac Racers with Koolstops on my PX-10. I only used the stock pads with the Dia Compes and didn't bother trying Koolstops. I would like to see and try the TRPs.

Thank you for taking the time to write. It was helpful.

[David Benson]

The Velo Orange Grand Cru sidepull deserves some love too.
Pictured below with 700x35 Conti Cyclocross Speed tyres that were more like 33mm wide, which required opening both the brake caliper QR and the QR buttons on my Ergopower.
Beyond that slight quibble they are excellent.

[merckx]

The Paul Racer M brakes are armpit ugly as el chaba suggests, and I cannot disagree, but they do provide the most clearance of all the brakes mentioned. I could likely get a 5mm wider and taller tire shoehorned into my frame if I use them. They are not available at the moment, but I am on the wait list.

[Xrslug]

As a comparison of relative tire clearance between the Shimano BR-R650 and the Racer Medium, I’m building up a bike designed for the Racer M and did a quick comparison. This is with a 35c GravelKing and it just clears the caliper but has tons of room on the centerpull. This is largely due to the location of the mounting hole on the fork. The pads in the caliper are nowhere near the bottom of their track, and another frame I have with the same calipers clears a 38c tire. So it’s the frame, not the calipers in this case.

[merckx]

Those are good pics ^^^^

[merckx]

One of the pinch-points on the BR650 brakes is the plastic insert that the return spring slips into on the brake arm. It protrudes into the side of the tire. You can see it in the above picture on the left just above the protective black tape on the brake arm.