Are all side-pull road bicycle brakes compatible? I'm new to road bikes, but have been building mountain bikes for many years. I purchased a cheap road bike (at BSO price level) which I am upgrading for fun.

I'd like to upgrade the brakes to something quality, as the brakes it came with barely slow me down. It has some side pull, single pivot generic brakes on it, and I'm wondering if I can upgrade to side pull dual pivot name brand brakes (Shimano 105/Ultegra or similar) without any other changes.



Basically; are there things to check for that would make some side-pull cantilever road brakes non-compatible with any others?
One thing to look out for is the size of the drop from the bolt securing the brake to the frame, and the brake blocks, to ensure the new brakes will fit in such a way that the blocks line up with the rims.

Probably if you have a newish bike, then any new brakes you buy will be of the same dimension as new brakes. But it's worth making sure they'll fit - more here:

http://sheldonbrown.com/calipers.html#reach

I recently bought an old steel frame and had to get some long-reach calipers as my spares were all short-reach and the blocks would have clamped on the tyre, not the rims.