Interesting discussion about the Mafacs, R559s etc. On my Bleriot, I
started out with Dia Compe 750s from Riv, but we never quite satisfied with
the braking. I too like short throw on the levers, a quick bite, and good
modulation. Couldn't get there with the 750s regardless of pads. I
finally switched to R559s and satisfaction ensued. And about the Mafacs,
just rebuilt a pair also and put them on a 70s British frame that was built
with 27" wheels, so I needed long reach brakes. Interestingly, I first
tried the 750s, which worked fine, but switched to the Mafacs for the
vintage look. I'm using inexpensive Dia Compe pads as a first attempt and
they work quite well for a knock-around bike. I find that centerpulls are
not as firm as side pulls, but feel right for a vintage bike. As always,
YMMV.
Side question re Bleriots: I can't remember seeing many postings about
that model. Are they less popular than others within this group?
On Sunday, March 16, 2025 at 12:37:21 PM UTC-7 Ben Miller wrote:
> I got a pair of vintage Mafac CP that I rebuilt with the RH rebuild kit
> and RH straddle cable yokes for my Roadeo. These replaced my Tektro R559's.
> Getting the cable length into the yoke *is* pretty fiddley, but I find
> that's the case with most (Paul moon unit's, etc), though maybe even more
> so. As someone else pointed out, you do need to tighten them probably more
> than you think (same with Paul MU's!). The Mafac's function pretty much the
> same as the R559's that they replaced, by my feel at least. But it did
> allow me to install a small CP-mounted rack and remove the much larger
> Nitto Mark's rack off the Roadeo. Plus they look cooler than the R559 ;)
> Some day maybe I'll get CP posts brazed on and convert them to direct
> mount, which I think would be really cool, but also entirely unnecessary.
>
> [image: PXL_20250316_191617465.jpg]
>
> On Sunday, March 16, 2025 at 9:45:49 AM UTC-7 Michael Doleman wrote:
>
>> Since I've seen some activity on this thread I thought I'd chime back in
>> with some notes regarding my... ...***ongoing experiences*** with the Rene
>> Herse brakes. But first: a disclaimer that in NO WAY whatsoever am I trying
>> to make this any kind of general disparagement of Rene Herse products. If
>> their brakes didn't work, they wouldn't be able to sell them. So,
>> obviously, other people are perfectly happy with them, and this is just MY
>> personal experience.
>>
>> I wanted a very old-world style randonneuse bike, so settled on a custom
>> frame that would support the RH center-pull brakes. Which, between the
>> frame and the brakes, represented quite an investment. The bike turned out
>> looking absolutely gorgeous...
>>
>> ...but, man, those brakes were an absolute nightmare to set up. I'm not
>> the world's greatest or most astute mechanic, but after something like 30
>> years of wrenching on bikes, and as someone who does technical work for a
>> living, I know what I'm doing. I spent hours and hours and HOURS trying to
>> get those brakes dialed-in, and honestly never got them to where I ideally
>> wanted them to be.
>>
>> And then -- wow -- on my first "serious" ride on the bike, I did a couple
>> fairly long, fast, semi-technical-ish descents... ...and those were a
>> couple of my most terrifying experiences on a bike, ever. If I got up to
>> speeds above ~25mph, I was NOT able to slow myself in time to
>> comfortably/safely make it through some of the tighter turns. I was out
>> into oncoming lanes, and if there'd been more traffic I'd have been in real
>> danger. No matter how hard I strangled the brake levers, it wasn't enough
>> to control speed. The only way to make it down safely was to ride the
>> brakes, hard, the whole time, keeping speed to around 15mph. It was
>> harrowing, and my hands were aching.
>>
>> Don't get me started, regarding the squeal. Hoo boy... That is a whole
>> other story. I've set-up PLENTY of center pull and cantilever brakes, and
>> know all the ins-and-outs of how to prevent squeal. I've never experienced
>> anything quite like the decibel level of the sound produced by these brakes.
>>
>> My set-up, BTW, was using the RH brakes WITHOUT the stock pulley
>> straddle. Per my previous experiences, as described in the original post, I
>> could never get them to work in a way that satisfied me of the set-up being
>> reliably safe. I used a different, more standard style yoke.
>>
>> Again, I don't think that it is *specifically* the brakes, themselves,
>> that represented the issue. I think it was a combination of factors -- IDK
>> -- cable compression, frame flex, etc. Just something about the set-up
>> which didn't work.
>>
>> I should mention that for me, when it comes to brakes, I('ve learned that
>> I) prefer drop-dead simplicity, and a VERY responsive feel. I like to feel
>> the brakes biting the instant I apply lever pressure, and I expect to feel
>> true stopping power with only moderate pressure, on a descent.
>>
>> Ultimately I sent the frame back to the builder for modifications to make
>> it work for standard side-pull calipers. I use the Tekro R559 long-reach
>> brake, now, with compressionless housing. Never been happier. The
>> performance is absolutely flawless. They are an absolute breeze to set-up,
>> and even look pretty nice. All for well under 100 bucks for the set.
>>
>> All this said: for anyone that loves the brakes, or that pulley-style
>> straddle, and you can get it to work -- my hat's off to you.
>>
>> And I am still a fan of Rene Herse -- the tires, cranks, racks, other
>> small parts: I love and will continue to purchase.
>>
>>
>> On Sun, Mar 16, 2025 at 1:17 AM Peter Adler <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>>> 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???
>>>
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>>
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