Why did bicycle brakes go back to the side-pull type?

I had an old Raleigh with center pull. It was a wonderful bike. It didn’t use brake cables either; it used mechanical (straight) steel bars instead. Sadly, it was stolen…

I think they went to center pull from side pull has to do with the distance from the caliper to the rim. On a side pull the distance is ½ inch or so – the cable went to side of the caliper and the caliper itself was pretty small, so more pressure could be applied to the brake because the distances are shorter,

On a center pull, the cable stops up at the top of the calendar, and there are/were 4–5 inches of metal to get to the brake pad and then the rim. So the rider is expending a fair amount of energy moving the caliper before it ever gets to the brake and the rim.

Too much energy was being expended and too little braking was being done.

I am speaking of fast road bikes here. Mountain, commuter, and touring bikes with cantilever brakes are a whole ‘nother subject.

I could go on all day about this stuff, I love bikes. I actually shortened the following text for brevity.

Side-pulls starting taking over when Campagnolo came out with the1968 Record side-pull, which was a better brake than than the competition, and finally a side-pull that was relatively easy to adjust and keep centered. The industry followed Campy’s lead.

I think the geometry gives more power with the same hand effort compared to center-pulls, and as @elbanditoroso mentions, the movements are shorter, too.

Side-pulls used to be a bit finicky to keep centered. When the dual-pivot design came out, game over. They are easy to adjust and stay centered. You can see single- vs dual-pivot here at the late great Sheldon Brown’s site.

Center-pulls still have their fans. Center-pulls typically provide more clearance and lots of people are using fatter tires and fenders. Center pulls will mount on a frame with a single bolt, you don’t need the twin mounts as cantilever brakes do.

Here’s a new bike built for center-pulls, the Soma Pescadero. Note the 42mm tires, compared to the 23mm typical on fast road bikes.