And now, as previewed above, the Mafacs.

Ahh, the Mafacs.

So elegant. So functional.

So confusingly, weirdly, confoundingly French.

First, the elegance of the things:


Some things just look right. These things are an example of those things. (I would have said, "these things are one of those things," which scans better, but it steps on the weirdo brake / brakes, handlebar / handlebars, why-the-hell-do-we-call-them-a-pair-of-pants thing... so I didn't.)

Got 'em working on the stand. After about 4.7 attempts per caliper... bolt lengths, mounting washer stacks, pad-holder-onner-things, their totally-different-but-equally-weird washer stacks, straddle cable length, hanger height, springs, etc, etc, 17 ways for everything to adjust, all of which affect everything else.

And, with great uncertainty, not to say fear, off we rode.

First stop, at the end of my street... silent slowing of the cycle.

And so it went for about 5 of the 8 miles of the test ride... at which point the front started wailing like an '80s guitar solo. (By the time I got home, the rear was starting to squeak, too.) Anything less than a good squeeze makes the mythical Mafac moan.

Knowing from reading that this is often a result of vibration in the system, I went ahead and tightened any fasteners that might have come slightly loose as everything bedded in. And, lo, one of the front pads had gone askew. The re-torquing helped, especially out back, but the front still makes noise. So tomorrow, back in the stand she goes, and we'll see what we see. If I can get them to a point that I can live with until next month, I can avoid spending $$ I don't have right now.

I'm not sure if it matters, but if you look closely at the front brake pads, you can see that they're not quite fully stuffed into their holders... they seem like they're maybe a bit far back. Also, are these curved-front holders the right ones?

I am going to make these work, though... they're way too pretty, and they were far too much of a pain in the scranus to install, to take them off the bike now. (Not to mention, the rear Weinmann 610 was ever-so-slightly rubbing on the 700x35 tire, and the Mafac doesn't do that.)

--Shannon