The MAFAC carrier is the one Dia-Compe cloned.The DC one is wiser, and has a slightly shallower angle; but I think th reason MAFAC uses a smaller diameter cable is because the gap between front and back of the carrier is narrower, so a wider brake cable doesn't get all the way down into the bottom of the curve. MAFAC just used narrower cable all around, presumably because smaller not-North American he-manly riders weren't honking down on brake levers, so there was less risk of snapping a straddle cable (FWIW, although I have seen snapped straddle cables, I have never witnessed one snapping, nor have I ever heard a story from anyone claiming to have witnessed/experienced same).
Those of us who have been (and are about to be again) habitual users of MAFAC Racer/RAID centerpulls and barcons should already know this One Neat Trick: The recess on the straddle cable bobbin (well, it LOOKS like a bobbin) that these brake models use* is the same size as a Campagnolo shift cable nipple. If you buy the superlong Jagwire tandem cables to get from your barcon to your rear derailleur, that cable comes with both Shimano/Suntour and Campagnolo nipples at the opposite ends. Cut off the Campagnolo end, run your shifter cable, and save the cut-off cable end to replace your MAFAC straddle cables with ones that aren't 50+ years old. I don't know about other locales, but the SF Bay Area is where old French bikes have come to retire and rust away for over 50 years. Around here, every shop that hasn't emptied out its trash recently and every community bike shop is overflowing with MAFAC bits. My guess is that this area is not unique; a lot of Bike Boom bikes from France/Belgium/Switzerland/UK came with MAFACs. About ten years ago, before Missing Link in downtown Berkeley closed its separate repair shop and consolidated in one storefront, they had a heap of discarded bike parts at the back of the shop taken off customers' bikes and not yet trashed. For liability reasons, none of the parts were for sale, but several of the repairmen indulgently permitted me to root around and look for interesting old bits. At one point, I went through and separated all the MAFAC centerpulls and associated accessories out of the pile; as I remember, I came away with 12-15 sets, and hauled them all away. On at least one other occasion, I've done the same thing at a local bike kitchen, as the youngs operating the place thought that centerpulls were grandpa brakes. So I have a stash, or at least I used to have one; I've given a lot of MAFAC bits away over the years, and built up MAFAC-equipped bikes for other people. If someone's desperate for MAFAC straddle cable hangers, drop me a line. Until I get tired of it or feel like I'm running low, I'll root through my stash and send a pair for...hell, I don't know; how about $5+a buck or two for shipping? * as do some other MAFAC centerpull models; the notable exception is the short-reach Competition, which uses a cable unlike all other MAFACs Peter "Recycling Cheapskate" Adler frantically trying to build up a 1969 Raleigh Competition beater out of his parts stash (including MAFACs with Spence Wolfe-style brake boosters), to replace the 1984 Trek 720 he left on a BART train two weeks ago (probably never to be seen again) as his pack mule in Berkeley, California/USA On Saturday, March 15, 2025 at 1:27:54 PM UTC-7 John Hawrylak, Woodstown NJ wrote: Scott stated: " Try the real MAFAC straddle carrier,..." Scott, sounds good, a few questions: Isn't the Mafac carrier just a sliding one, like the standard Dai Compe?? Does the Mafac carrier "bend" more than Dia Compe and the larger angle allow use the 1.2mm cable?? Is there a source for these, or just from old Mafac's??? -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/d69a6e82-0104-42ac-84bf-318d725a721dn%40googlegroups.com.
