I can't figure out why they notched both sides, seems like that requires them to go still deeper on the toed-in side. Just notch one side of the collar, less filing needed that way, more metal & strength retained. Plus then it's immediately obvious which side goes toward the rim. Notched both sides, unless your eye-crometer is that good, you might have to measure to see which notch is deeper.


Not that there's anything wrong with the RH parts really, they're fine, it just seems suboptimal, in a nitpicky way. (Do these rants make my ass look big?)

Anyway, if you don't have a chainsaw sharpening file, march down to the general store and get a couple. They're cheap, and I like them because they don't have any taper, they're a straight cylinder. Of course if you have a "rat tail" file already, you can save yourself the trip, just about any file will work. They don't even care what diameter, a notch at too large or too small a diameter will still work fine.

I have even done them with a flat file (or a belt-sander), just take the top plane of the collar down a bit on one side to some slight angle off of parralel with the opposite plane. Works just as well as a notch, in fact better in one regard: you can fine-tune the amount of toe-in by rotating the collar, infinitely adjustable within the range of zero to whatever angle you filed the top plane at. Hard to keep track of the orientation though, unless you mark them somehow. The "half-pipe" notch you get with a chainsaw file is more brain-dead simple to install.

I realize you're talking about a bike to ride, not a wall-hanger, but this is C&V and presumably we like old bikes. I like to keep at least some of the old-bike look, and modern brake pad holders are a bit jarring to my eye. So I always use original Mafac holders, with KoolStop repro 4-dot pads. And I wish everyone else would too, so they'll keep making them! The various repros they make, also for Weinmann and Universal, are a wonderful service they're doing for the C&V community. I think that should be applauded, and have money thrown at it!