Top mounted brake calipers?

[Uriel]

I recently got hold of a shabby old Starnord road/touring frame and decided to strip it and build it up as a single speed townie/shopper. All is going well apart from the rear brake is top mounted. The guy I got the frame from said I may have difficultly getting a rear brake for it, but I can't even find a single reference to the existance of such a thing. The setup looks conventional enough, a horizontal bridge between the seat stays, just above the rear tyre, but instead of the hole being drilled horizontally like a regular bike, the hole through the tube is vertically drilled.

The tube of the bridge isn't large enough in diameter to just drill another hole through it and I'm not equipped to replace the tube or fill/weld it up to be re-drilled.

Does anyone have any idea what kind of brake came on this thing or how I can find something to fit? I have thought about trying to bodge up a bracket or adaptor somehow to use a regular caliper with the existing hole, but I'm not sure how well I could do that or how strong it would be.

[slomax]

from what i understand can you not bend a bit of metal and make yourself a bracket that bolts down the vertical hole and drill a hole horizontally through the adaptor plate to fit a normal brake caliper?
If you are worried about strength you will be able to get one machined although i'm not too sure how much this would cost

Edited by slomax on Thursday 6th May 19:25

[rhinochopig]

Go fixed wheel then you don't need a rear brake.

[Uriel]

I think I may have to see whether I can get something machined locally and cheaply to do the job. My concern was that depending on the design of the bracket/adaptor, there may be an increase in the leverage from the brakes and the bracket or frame wouldn't take it.

I did briefly consider going fixed, but part of the whole reason for this bike is to be as user friendly and relaxing as possible (albeit without gears) and that means coasting and no foot retention. I'm also trying to do it as cheaply as possible so I don't want to have to pay for coaster brakes, new hubs or wheels rebuilding.