Adjusting Centerpulls... is it possible?
02-09-16 | 04:38 PM
#26
Senior Member
Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 1,439
Likes: 301
The straddle cable is too long. There are different lengths. Take yours off, measure it then get the shorter one from Amazon. Really ! I bought some from them !! This allowed me to stop as good as brand new double piviot caaliper brakes with salmon pads and an aluminum rim.
SP
OC, OR
ps - LOVE my MAFACs. Not quite as stiff as modern short-reach dual pivots, but I'll put 'em up against ANY other rim brake (except maybe Magura hydraulics) for power and modulation.
02-09-16 | 04:43 PM
#27
Abuse Magnet
Joined: Jun 2012
Posts: 1,881
Likes: 188
From: Colorado
Bikes: '91 Mtn Tek Vertical, '74 Raleigh Sports, '72 Raleigh Twenty, '84 Univega Gran Turismo, '09 Surly Karate Monkey, '92 Burley Rock-n-Roll, '86 Miyata 310, '76 Raleigh Shopper
I haven't had to adjust very many centerpulls, but I've never had a problem doing so.
02-09-16 | 04:54 PM
#28
Senior Member
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 18,138
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No need for a new cable. On MAFACs they're adjustable. On the end that's anchored to the brake you can loosen the nut, adjust the cable length as desired and snug the nut down again. Nothin' to it!
SP
OC, OR
ps - LOVE my MAFACs. Not quite as stiff as modern short-reach dual pivots, but I'll put 'em up against ANY other rim brake (except maybe Magura hydraulics) for power and modulation.
SP
OC, OR
ps - LOVE my MAFACs. Not quite as stiff as modern short-reach dual pivots, but I'll put 'em up against ANY other rim brake (except maybe Magura hydraulics) for power and modulation.
02-10-16 | 02:13 AM
#29
Senior Member
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 22,994
Likes: 10,496
From: Sacramento, CA
Bikes: old ones
.
...I'm really surprised by all the MAFAC h8erz in this thread. I have probably had, over the years, fifty or sixty bikes with MAFAC centerpull brakes, and they all modulated and stopped just fine. If there is a drawback to them, it is the lack of a quick release, other than the straddle cable end. So the kludge for that was (is) to swap out the levers for something with a release, or to use something inline on the cable.
Any centerpull brake from the glory days of them has the obvious advantage of dual pivots, while most (if not all) of their sidepull contemporaries were single pivot. Just don't get the hate.
...I'm really surprised by all the MAFAC h8erz in this thread. I have probably had, over the years, fifty or sixty bikes with MAFAC centerpull brakes, and they all modulated and stopped just fine. If there is a drawback to them, it is the lack of a quick release, other than the straddle cable end. So the kludge for that was (is) to swap out the levers for something with a release, or to use something inline on the cable.
Any centerpull brake from the glory days of them has the obvious advantage of dual pivots, while most (if not all) of their sidepull contemporaries were single pivot. Just don't get the hate.
02-10-16 | 05:35 AM
#31
Freewheel Medic
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 13,552
Likes: 3,293
From: An Island on the Coast of GA!
Bikes: Snazzy* Schwinns, Classy Cannondales & a Super Pro Aero Lotus (* Ed.)
.
...I'm really surprised by all the MAFAC h8erz in this thread. I have probably had, over the years, fifty or sixty bikes with MAFAC centerpull brakes, and they all modulated and stopped just fine. If there is a drawback to them, it is the lack of a quick release, other than the straddle cable end. So the kludge for that was (is) to swap out the levers for something with a release, or to use something inline on the cable.
Any centerpull brake from the glory days of them has the obvious advantage of dual pivots, while most (if not all) of their sidepull contemporaries were single pivot. Just don't get the hate.
...I'm really surprised by all the MAFAC h8erz in this thread. I have probably had, over the years, fifty or sixty bikes with MAFAC centerpull brakes, and they all modulated and stopped just fine. If there is a drawback to them, it is the lack of a quick release, other than the straddle cable end. So the kludge for that was (is) to swap out the levers for something with a release, or to use something inline on the cable.
Any centerpull brake from the glory days of them has the obvious advantage of dual pivots, while most (if not all) of their sidepull contemporaries were single pivot. Just don't get the hate.
__________________
Bob
Enjoying the GA coast all year long!
Thanks for visiting my website: www.freewheelspa.com
Bob
Enjoying the GA coast all year long!
Thanks for visiting my website: www.freewheelspa.com
02-10-16 | 06:01 AM
#32
What??? Only 2 wheels?
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 13,496
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From: Boston-ish, MA
Bikes: 72 Peugeot UO-8, 82 Peugeot TH8, 87 Bianchi Brava, 76? Masi Grand Criterium, 74 Motobecane Champion Team, 86 & 77 Gazelle champion mondial, 81? Grandis, 82? Tommasini, 83 Peugeot PF10
Me neither. No hate coming from this direction. Mine work as well as any other CPs, which is to say quite well.
Bob, those black calipers look pretty slick on that black bike. Betcha' they stop well too!
Bob, those black calipers look pretty slick on that black bike. Betcha' they stop well too!
__________________
Real cyclists use toe clips.
With great bikes comes great responsibility.
jimmuller
Real cyclists use toe clips.
With great bikes comes great responsibility.
jimmuller
02-10-16 | 10:21 AM
#33
Senior Member
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 6,301
Likes: 14
From: La La Land (We love it!)
Bikes: Gilmour road, Curtlo road; both steel (of course)
"Modulation" is a marketing term for flex.
I hate squishy brakes...
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Today, I believe my jurisdiction ends here...
Today, I believe my jurisdiction ends here...
Last edited by rmfnla; 02-10-16 at 04:08 PM.
02-10-16 | 12:34 PM
#34
Senior Member
Joined: Sep 2011
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From: Baltimore MD
Bikes: '72 Motobecane Grand Record, '72 Gitane tandem, '72 Raleigh Super Course, '73 Raleigh Gran Sport, '73 Colnago Super, '76 Fiorelli Coppi, '78 Raleigh SBDU Team Pro, '78 Trek 930, '81 Holdsworth Special 650B, '86 Masi GC, ’94 Bridgestone RB-T
Here's my third hand tool. A couple of bucks at the hardware store. Just clamp the pads to the rim.
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The man who dies with the most toys…is dead. - Rootboy
The man who dies with the most toys…is dead. - Rootboy
02-10-16 | 12:35 PM
#35
Senior Member
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 2,584
Likes: 107
From: Scranton, PA, USA
Bikes: '77 Centurion "Pro Tour"; '67 Carlton "The Flyer"; 1984 Ross MTB (stored at parents' house)
I'm also a big fan of most centerpull brakes. I have a set of Paul's racers, too, and they're great. I bought them after having great luck with my brazed-on Dia Compes that were totally impressive.
One time I set up the Paul's with the normal coin's-worth of toe-in, and found they squealed a lot, and then remembered they recommend zero toe-in. I did that, and they've been fine ever since.
I recently replaced a set of cheap, old plastic frame-mounted cantilever calipers with ultra cheap v-brakes on my city bike, and for the life of me I couldn't stop the squealing. I figure the problem was either related to the fitment on the frame-welded pivots, the flex in the fork, or some other thing outside the control of the manufacturer of the brake. I replaced them with some middle-end modern Shimano MTB V-brakes (perhaps 15-20 USD) and the problem went away, even with cheap brake shoes.
One time I set up the Paul's with the normal coin's-worth of toe-in, and found they squealed a lot, and then remembered they recommend zero toe-in. I did that, and they've been fine ever since.
I recently replaced a set of cheap, old plastic frame-mounted cantilever calipers with ultra cheap v-brakes on my city bike, and for the life of me I couldn't stop the squealing. I figure the problem was either related to the fitment on the frame-welded pivots, the flex in the fork, or some other thing outside the control of the manufacturer of the brake. I replaced them with some middle-end modern Shimano MTB V-brakes (perhaps 15-20 USD) and the problem went away, even with cheap brake shoes.
02-10-16 | 07:51 PM
#37
curmudgineer
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 4,417
Likes: 113
From: Chicago SW burbs
Bikes: 2 many 2 fit here
Can't comment on MAFAC racers, since I've never had any, but the MAFAC competitions I set up on my CILO bike with KoolStop pads worked perfectly from the get-go with no issues.
