A bit of trivia on a rainy Tuesday - did you know that Raleigh offered a bike where rod brakes were used to operate cable-style calipers? They did exactly that on the Raleigh "Safety First" line of roadsters. Let's look at the 1939 catalog example.
This bike shows a typical light rod brake roadster frame: it's similar to the common Sports cable brake light roadster frame, and it even has 26 x 1 3/8 inch endrick rims. The rim brakes are calipers, but they are a center-pull caliper actuated by a rod yoke type assembly.
While the common wisdom is often that "rod brakes go with Westwood or Westrick rims" and "endrick rims only go with cable brakes", that is not always the case. These Safety First models are certainly rare to find today, but their unique brake system makes them all the more special if you are lucky enough to find one.
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