mafac brake cable
 

Hi there,

I'm Tomas and I'm missing a very important part of my Peugeot...
the cable that would provide tension for the centerpull brakes.

http://myweb.nmu.edu/~tlopez/fbrake.jpg
http://myweb.nmu.edu/~tlopez/cable.jpg

I'm currently just using front brakes in the meantime, but I'd like to sell it sometime.
Does anybody know where to find a replacement? I know this little part is no longer produced. Any advice would be great, even if all you can say is "you're hosed"

You don't need a Mafac specific cable. Any decent bike shop should have what you're looking for, and I'm sure there are countless places online to buy one. I'll find an example...

Here's the real thing (Mafac) from Harris Cyclery, if you're going for authentic:

http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/mafac.html

Otherwise, it's called a "transverse cable", so you can ask your LBS. They will be cheaper than the Mafac one.

The double ended transverse cables for MAFAC Competitions are not available anywhere as far as I know. I make my own by soldering pieces of brass tubing to pieces of brake cable. There are also bolt on cable ends that you might be able to make work.

Now I'm glad I have Racers on the TdF. Make my single-ended wires from old shifter cables.

What you have are MAFAC Competition calipers. This transverse cable is NOT available anymore. I know because I was looking high and low for them a few weeks ago. Harris lists the part as unavailable... they even say (quoted directly from the webpage):

"MAF-4069 Compétition Transverse cable Gone forever, sorry! Don't bother asking!"

I did find a pair but they were with a caliper set on ebay that I was lucky enough to snag for $12.00. Here are two suggestions:

Search ebay for them either by looking for the cables themselves (they do pop up once in a while) or looking for complete competition brake sets. But be carefull because some Competition models (later years) take an entirely different cable!

Buy a set of MAFAC "Racer" brakes... cheap as hell... sometimes free, if you find an old bike with them. They use shifter cables for this part and are readily available when you need replacements.

What's different about the cable ends, just the shape?

the ends are not little flat cylinders. they are spheres. I know the cylinder type of cable is still produced, but like Harris Cycles says: mine are extinct. Think I might have to make my own. or ebay. whatever comes first.

I have been told that you could get those cables made at a motorcycle shop that makes cables. I never would have thought of that-I got the suggestion from a friend who used to have motorcycles.

soldering it myself sounds like a good idea. I'd rather have authentic design even if not authentic product.

I once watched a MC shop make a custom cable for me, and it's not rocket science, but there were a few tricks that help make it successful. They had a huge supply of all the cast lead ends that MCs used and since you need spheres, I'd look at sporting goods shops for fishing sinkers that come close to the final size, and sand them down to fit if necessary (wear gloves, don't breath the lead dust, dispose properly, don't let your kids or pets eat it). The trick is to use a counter sink or drill bit to create a 'crater' in the end of the sphere where the cable emerges. Then you splay out or 'peen' the CLEAN cable wires so they fill the crater. I'd use a small vise to hold everything in place for peening and soldering. At this point the MC guys will dip the end into a solder pot full of molten solder, but you can just use a heavy-duty soldering iron or small torch and ACID core solder (NOT rosin core, that's for electronics) and get the solder to flow all into the crater as well as coat the whole lead end and cable strands. Then you trim off the excess wire ends and grind/smooth it out. Done right, it will hold fast for ages.

If it doesn't hold, the brake fails. That's why I use brake cable, brass and silver solder.

whether the end is brass or lead...or steel for that matter, and whether you use a high-temp silver bearing solder, or plain old lead/tin (WITH the RIGHT flux, or course) the secret is creating that mechanical point of attachment to the cable strands. Which is what splaying out the strands in a conical crater will do, and don't just rely on the strength of the solder to bond the outer surface of the cable to a smooth bore in whatever material you make the ends from. Motorcycle cables made as I describe are relied upon to stop heavy Harleys travelling at 100mph with big, greasy, toothless Hell's Angels aboard...so you KNOW they have to work :D

I can supply a pair of Mafac ball ended straddle wires for $14 including shipping. Please let me know off line if you would like these...

regards

Hilary