mafac racer vs paul
 

I am having a bike built for me right now and i would like to eventually put on Paul brakes. But as of right now, i have a set of Mafac racers.

1) can you take of 451E/452E (see diagram below) and make it boss mount instead of center mount?
2) are the boss mounts in the same location as the paul racer brakes?

They are this style:
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/images/mafac-racer.gif

It will not work. The Mafac bosses are smaller in diameter and in a different position. The Paul's use contemporary standard canti bosses, the mafacs would have to have those same bosses turned down to a smaller size.

As an owner of both types of breaks, and a mechanic who has had to work many mafacs, the mafacs are a fine way to go if: you are not doing loaded touring, if you have a few sets as spares, and if you dont lust after the crispest braking action ever.

Set them up with new housing, clean them, make sure they arent bent up and rubbing on themselves, and put some salmon coloured kool stop pads on, and you are set.

The Pauls are nice, but actually heavier, so, go figure.

go standard canti bosses and run one of hundreds of different brakes on the frameset in the future. don't hobble your frame to mafacs unless you're made of money and have a stable of custom bikes already.

That doesn't sound like a ringing endorsement for Mafac does it? :)

They have a tendency to squeal like hell, and have more than a little bit of flex. Also no proper toe-in adjustment.

I have Mafacs on three bikes. They are silent. You just need to know how to set them up.

The Mafac bosses for brazing to the seat stays and fork show up on eBay fairly often. They are sometimes included with a brakeset and sometimes by themselves.

What does X01 know about brakes? He can't even spell it.

This will be on a rando/brevet style bike, would it make more sense to go with a center mount side pulls? My plan right now is have this chrown: http://www.ceeway.com/NEWPARTSPAGES/...parisbrest.jpg
which would look great with canti style, but trying to figure out if it would be good with a center mount brake. (also weighing the functionality of the brakes, not just the looks).

Good job jumping on me for typo. That's the spirit. What do you know about bikes? You ride a Gitane.

IMO, the bi-plane Panceti crown would look too busy with a centerpull style brake. I would rock some high profile canti's, ala some old weinmann or Mafacs. They work well, stop well, usually have brass bushings, and have a very clean look to them.

Gestalt. The world needs more of it.

Ok, I agree that the old Mafac cantilevers look great, but if you rail on the centerpulls for poor adjustment and ease of use, how can you support the cantilevers. I had a set, but gave them up because I could never get the hand of toe in with a giant crescent wrench.

I rail on them? I use them and like them. They are just finicky! Anyway, Koolstop pads have that sort of pre-toe'd little nubbin' at the end... I've never had any squeal issues with them.

I just installed some Paul touring cantilevers today. They are incredible brakes. They are finicky, in the sense that if you don't carefully toe the pads in, particularly on the front brakes, they howl like crazy. I've messed with them before, and it's the front brake that usually makes noise in my experience. The ones I installed today are on one of my own bikes, and I finally got them to operate quietly. As for the braking performance, I can't imagine a rim brake that requires less effort at the lever to stop or slow the bike. I've used a variety of canti's, and these Paul's are in another class all together than any I've used; I've also used very nice v-brakes, with brake boosters, and these Paul brakes are even better in regard to stopping power. According to Paul, the Neo Retro's are even stronger than the touring canti's. I imagine brake boosters would be necessary for those.

Thanks for the input. Going to go with Henry james crown, along with henry james lugs and true temper steel. ('merica!). Use my racers for now.

as for fenders, are honjos and VO pretty much the only options for quality? i want something for a 28mm tire, but the 35 honjo suggests up to a 27mm, and the 45 i think would just look goofy, unless i had a tire to fill it.

Viper, is this for a Terraferma frame, by any chance?

Bek, you can be a snob all you want about bike lanes, but you're dead wrong in regards to components. Mafac Racers are arguably the most inexpensive centerpull out there - you can get tons of them on eBay for peanuts, both NOS and used.

-Kurt

The other option for fenders are the Gilles Berthoud fenders that Peter White sells. They make a 700x40, which, in person, looks perfect with a 28 or so. They also have a very nice flush mount for the fender stays. Don't be alarmed by the fact that they are stainless steel, they are still pretty damn light.

Thanks, exactly the answer i was looking for. and i wouldn't be surprised about the stainless being pretty light.

Would mafac racers fit around a 40mm fender?

Personally I've always liked the ESGE (now SKS). I've used them for years and many thousands of miles. They don't dent and are quite flexible. They have a clean look to them also.

Does your frame already have bosses or not? If it has already been fitted for Pauls, you have to use Pauls - unless it's pre-paint stage.

-Kurt

It is currently in the "waiting for tubing to come in" stage :) so the options are there!

Excellent. I'd also look into the Weinmanns - though I don't care for them on narrower rims - although classic cantilevers may be a nice option.

-Kurt

Rolled all over town in the pouring rain today and the things that were stopping me on a dime were Mafac Racers with Kool Stops.

They are among the nicest centre pull brakes ever made but many people missed this because their only experience with them was when they were fitted with stock pads and had to work with steel rims.

Some of us wish we knew as much as GB... perhaps you should just listen for a little while.

Mafacs are excellent brakes. Durable and reliable. They work well. They are a bit tricky to set up, but as someone else already said, cantilevers are much trickier.

I have a 1971 Raleigh Super Course which came with Weinmann brakes. I switched them to Mafacs, and I'm extremely happy.

I haven't used Pauls, so I can't compare.

What is it about the Mafacs that you prefer to Weinmann? I'm working on an old Falcon and have thought about putting the Weinmanns that it came with back on it, but haven't decided for sure yet.

I can't explain why, but I get more stopping and more modulability with Mafacs.

When I was a teenager, it was almost a religious war between the Weinmann fans and the Mafac fans. I had a few bikes with Weinmanns, so I was a Weinmann fan... until I tried Mafacs. Before that, I was already a mechanic, and I disliked Mafacs because the setup was more complicated. But now I feel it's justified.