I really like modern brake levers such as Tektro. They are very well built and designed, and the price is good, at about $15/pair. But the leverage is slightly too low. Mine have two notches to adjust leverage, one for V-brakes and one for everything else. I'm using Mafac centerpull brakes, and when I squeeze the levers very hard, I get excellent stopping power. But a friend rode my bike and complained that the brakes don't really work. He didn't know to squeeze hard.

Is there an alternative which is about as good and about as inexpensive?

I will also shorten the yoke cable, because I know that will increase leverage, but my question stands.

Thanks!

These Shimano flat bar road levers work for me and for my wife. I paid $17.95 for them, but that was a while ago. I know they still make them.

Thanks. They're up to $28. Ouch.

https://www.amazon.com/Shimano-Canti-...796117&sr=1-12

Do you think you could measure the distance between the center of the lever pivot and the center of the barrel end of the cable? I'll do the same on the Tektros.

Not the cheapest solution, but the Avid Speedials let you adjust the leverage of the lever as much as you want. Seems like they are around $25 a set perhaps, if I recall correctly. They are excellent levers all around, I think.


jim

Pardon me if I state the obvious, but you didn't say which position on your levers you are using--the V brake position will pull the most cable, of course, even on canti's. Also, you may be able to figure a way to incorporate one of those eccentric wheel adaptors (V-daptors) into your cable routing somewhere. These two options may be a bit much for the front brake, though, with its short cable length.
CC

I get 24 millimeters.

I used the Shimano levers with Mafac Competitions for years and there's pleanty of leverage. My wife uses them with Shimano 600 Tricolor brakes and she has hand strength issues.

I'm not so sure you're correct about getting more leverage with shorter bridge wires. My rule of thumb is that you want the wire as perpendicular to the arm as possible, and that would mean longer bridge wires in the case of Mafacs. The one Competition I have set up with an extra long wire seems to bear that out, but maybe it's all in my mind. I won't be upset if I'm proven wrong.

I was going to post a link to Niagara's site that has them cheaper then I clicked your link and realized that Niagara was the Amazon seller and they were listed for $18 not $28.

Those Mafac brakes are great, but they are about the worse brakes out there to set up properly (so it could be the brakes and not the levers). As far as flat bar brakes go, my favorite by far (extremely sensitive, to the point that if you hit the front brake lever hard, you will be over the handlebars if you do not hit the back lever and/or go faster than 5mph) are the late 80s, early 90s Shimano STIs M500 and higher (but you got to commit your shifting to that group - and that is not a bad thing.) Modern cyclocross levers with dual pivot calipers might be the way to go. The old Diacombe flat bar levers worked well with Diacombe centerpulls as well (and will probably be the least expensive alternative). But, again, I think that the brakes might be part of the problem.

They're only difficult to set up because they incorporated the pad adjustment options that Weinmann and Dia-Compe ignored in their design.

-Kurt

Cross Creek, you're right. I have them set in the regular, not the V-brake, position. In the V-brake position (even less leverage), I had trouble stopping the bike, and I have very strong hands.

Thank you, Grand Bois. Now I'll go measure mine.

Johnny Allen, I could swear they were $28. $18 is more like it!

I really like Mafac Racer brakes, and yes, they're hard to set up. Honestly, they're working terrifically now, but I think it might be nice if I didn't have to squeeze so hard, even with my strong hands.

They won't look quite like the ones on my Gitane above. I didn't like the black parts so I replaced them with silver ones from Problem Solvers.

Setting up Mafacs really isn't so hard, is it? Ten or fifteen minutes tops per bike?

I am not talking about the pad adjustment and that (like everything else in those brakes) to be set up properly has to be assymetrical, including the "center" (should actually be "slightly off center away from the quick release") yoke. To get everything working well (at least to my satisfaction, and I really like supersensitive brakes) takes a while of trial and failure (more like an one hour job.) Nothing like DiaCombe or Weinmann, but they are much better brakes once they are set up properly...

Whatever.

Well, that's a surprise, for the only thing that was making my job of mounting Mafac Racers difficult on my '74 Raleigh was the fact that Raleigh didn't mill the fork crown mounting area flat, causing the front brake bolt to bend upwards:



I filed a washer to alleviate the situation, but it doesn't help much.

That said, the fork crown wasn't the Mafac's fault. All the preliminary adjustments (which needed no further re-adjustment) went without a hitch; took 15 minutes, tops. Mind you, that was also my first time mounting or adjusting a set of Mafac centerpulls. If it wasn't for that fork crown, it would have been perfect on the first ride.

Still haven't done anything to them other than add that washer...

-Kurt