Dia Compe Brakes & caliper parts
On this page: Royal Compe black calipers | New Gran Compe NGC 400 calipers | Front New Gran Compe NGC 400 caliper | Gran Compe 400 calipers | Gran Compe 400 rear caliper | 5000 calipers | 500G standard-reach caliper set | 982 cantilever calipers | 986 Ti-colored cantilever calipers | 986 cantilever calipers | 987 cantilever calipers | Blue 987 Cantilever Caliper Set | XCM cantilever caliper set | XCM single cantilever arm
Parts: Front incassio (recessed allen-key) centerbolt | Rear incassio (recessed allen-key) centerbolt | Rear drop-bolt incassio (recessed allen-key) centerbolt | Crossbow Straddle Cable Hangers
Dia Compe ATB and road brake levers are posted here
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Dia Compe is the brand name of Japanese component maker KK Yoshigai. The firm was stated in Osaka, Japan, in 1930. The first product off its production line was a brakeset. Though Dia Compe has long since branched out into headsets, suspension forks and stems, brakes and brake parts are what most people rightfully think of when they see the Dia Compe name.
It was Dia Compe who invented the famous "Safety Lever" extension levers that allow a rider to put his hands on the tops of a set of drop handlebars and still stop his bike.
Swiss brake maker Weinmann was was so taken with the invention that the two firms entered a design-sharing agreement. Weinmann could make the safety levers and Dia Compe could make its own version of the highly-regard Weinmann brakes. That is why those highly polished Dia Compe brakes of the bike boom look just like Weinmanns.
Dia Compe Royal Compe black brake calipers. Lightly used, $80.00/set of two calipers
- 39mm - 49mm reach
- Allen-key recessed mounting.
Front view of the calipers
Here's just the front caliper
Side view close-up of the front caliper
Here's the other side of the front caliper.
Here's the back of the front caliper
The rear caliper
Side view of the rear caliper
Here's the other side of the rear caliper.
Back of the rear caliper
Dia Compe New Gran Compe NGC400 brake caliper set. New, $125.00/set
- These calipers are new, they were taken off a new bike.
- These calipers were produced from the mid-1980s to the late-1980s
- Reach: 40mm - 50mm
- Unlike most sets of NGC400 calipers, the quick release is incremental, as on a Campagnolo Nuovo Record side-pull caliper. You can open it just enough to get the clearance you need. The cables are clamped (a far superior method, that forestalls broken and frayed wires), rather than being run through a bolt with a hole in it.
- Upon request, for an extra charge, we can fit these calipers with incassio (allen-key) center-bolt hardware.
Beautifully finished.
Side view
From the other side.
From the top
Dia-Compe front New Gran Compe NGC 400 standard-reach caliper. New, $75.00/each
Part# 81110
- Though this caliper has a bit of shop wear, it is a new.
Front view
From the side.
Here's the other side.
And here's the back of the caliper.
Dia-Compe Gran Compe 400 recessed (incassio/allen key) brake calipers. Used, $45.00/set
Front view
Close-up of the front caliper
The rear caliper
From behind
Gran Compe 400 rear caliper with nutted centerbolt. Used, $25.00/each
Front view
From the side
From the other side
Top view
The back of the caliper
Dia-Compe 5000 Brake Calipers with nutted centerbolts. Used, $65.00/set
- 39mm - 49mm reach
- No longer in production
Nice looking set of stoppers
The brakes flipped over
Side view
And from the other side
Dia-Compe 500 G standard-reach brake caliper set. Used, $40.00/set
This caliper set has been completely re-lubed & serviced.
Serviced, lubed and ready for the road.
The front caliper
Side view of the front caliper
The back of the front caliper.
The rear caliper
Side view of the rear caliper
The back of the rear caliper
Dia-Compe NGC 982 cantilever calipers.
We have sets that are New | Lightly used
New Dia-Compe NGC 982 calipers. New, $100.00/set
This sale is for the two calipers, enough for one wheel.
Nicely finished, black anodized.
Top view
Lightly used Dia-Compe NGC 982 calipers. Used, $75.00/set
This sale is for the two calipers, enough for one wheel.
In lovely condition
Even simple cantilever calipers have lots of parts.
Close-up of one of the brake arms.
The same lever arm in a different state of disassembly
The back of the brake arm, showing it is a 982 caliper.
Dia-Compe 986 Titanium-colored front & rear cantilever caliper set. Used, $100.00/set of four calipers, enough for two wheels.
These aluminum calipers are titanium colored.
The caliper for one wheel.
The backs of the first set.
Here's the second set.
The back of the second set of calipers.
Dia-Compe 986 cantilever calipers. Lightly used, $100.00/set of front & rear calipers (enough to equip a bike)
We have two sets of front and rear calipers in stock (enough for two bikes).
Lightly used
Here's another shot of the calipers
Here's a close-up of a set.
Here's the pair turned over.
Here's a caliper partly disassembled
Dia-Compe 987 cantilever calipers.
We have Dia-Compe 987 cantilever calipers available both New | Lightly used
Dia-Compe 987 cantilever calipers. New, $240.00/set of front & rear calipers (enough to equip a bike)
Part# 81116
We have two sets of front and rear calipers in stock (enough for two bikes).
New, with all of their hardware
Just the calipers
Here they are from a different angle
New, in the box.
Dia-Compe 987 cantilever calipers. Lightly used, $140.00/set of front & rear calipers (enough to equip a bike)
We have two sets of front and rear calipers in stock (enough for two bikes).
For a good close-up, we just photographed the pieces you see here, which are representative of our lightly-used stock
As the pads show, they have had some mild use.
A different view.
Dia-Compe Blue 987 Cantilever Caliper Set for two wheels. New, $240.00/set with hardware.
Part# 81121
New, in the box.
Here's the info on the box.
Dia-Compe XCM cantilever caliper set. Used, $25.00/set
Produced 1989 - 1990
The set of caliper arms.
The backs of the calper arms
Dia-Compe XCM single cantilever caliper arm. Used, $15.00/each
Front view
The back of the caliper arm.
Dia-Compe front incassio (recessed allen-key) centerbolt. New, $20.00/each
Part# 82154
We have three in stock
Complete with its rubber nose cone.
From the back
Dia-Compe varied its production slightly over the years, which is reflected in our inventory.
Here's another picture of the second design.
Dia-Compe rear incassio (recessed allen-key) centerbolt. New, $20.00/each
Part# 82155
We have two in stock
Rear recessed brake bolts are rather short.
Here's just the centerbolt
Here's the same rear centerbolt turned around
Dia-Compe varied its production over time. Here's a slightly different version of the same bolt.
Here it is turned around.
Dia-Compe Drop rear incassio (recessed allen-key) centerbolt. New, $50.00/each
Part# 82151
These are rare. If you have a frame that you can't quite get the pads of your rear brake low enough, here is your part.
A drop bolt can be a pearl beyond price.
Here's just the drop bolt.
From another angle
And here it is turned around.
Crossbow Straddle Cable Hangers. Used, $30 pair
The website Velobase.com explains: Crossbow brakes were manufactured by KK Yoshigai, aka Dia-Compe. They are a deliberate copy of the MAFAC "Driver" model of cantilever brake, and debuted in 1968. There appear to be versions of the calipers with a red plastic washer installed and versions without it.
Here's the set
And here they are flipped over.