Warning - don't use those old Mathauser brake pads/holders!
 

Mark Petry posted this on Classic Rendezvous. He said it was fine to pass along his PSA here...

But they look so cool!

Well, sure. That's why they command such high prices on eBay. Let 'em be cool on your wall hanger. :)

I really should go through my boxes on the shelf and sell mine.

Those prices are absurd/obscene.

No problem using them on a heavy laden tandem with Mafac Criterium cantilevers. Matter of fact, I have another set of four that were worn thin and decided to completely remove the pad. They seemed to have a good stick. I'll take my chances but I'm looking for a new pad formula and will glue them on. Adhesives have greatly evolved today.

Are there actual reports of de-lamination?

They can also be safety wired. Too much to explain here and don't want to open a can of worms of liability on the interwebs ;)

edit: Warning - do not use, send them all to me!

I felt bad when I first saw Mark's note on CR. I believe I sold a set to someone on BF last summer.

I think you have to wear them down pretty far to get them to delaminate. I had a set that delaminated, about 1/3 of the pad came loose, but they still stopped the bike just fine. When I saw that they were delaminated, they came off the bike. The ones on my tandem look good

Yeah, me! Skip's trying to kill me!!!

Time to call Jackie Chiles, Attorney at Law!

http://images.onset.freedom.com/ocre...g2dtt7fe.1.jpg




I'd hate to remove "good" shoes and not use them if it's something that was left outside in freezing weather or something to weaken that bond.

Or even better: actual reports of accidents because of it? I keep reading about "death <part du jour>s", but whenever I try to find out more, all I am able to find is (a lot of, admittedly) hearsay on the Internet.

I'm still riding with these pads. It's going to be hard to convince me to worry.

I still have those pads on our tandem. Are there any reports of these actually coming apart or is this just a concern due to age?

And are there any reports of how quickly and completely they dislodge? I just can't get worked up about this. If my pads fall off suddenly, I will most likely figure out what to do quickly, such as use the other brake or ditch the bike.

The original Matthauser formula has been purchased by Scott who has it produced by Yokozuna. They make a nice pad compatible with modern road shoes. I don't know about the block design.

Marc

Yes, celebrate while you still can for any second it may end an when its all and said and done it's better that you had some fun.

Thanks, Mr Elfman.

Maybe not La Tuna Canyon Road rated.

I was never impressed by their stopping power BITD while several guys in our shop swore by them.

Looking back, they had great wear resistance but were non-conformal on some rims that didn't have flat sides like the sewup rims that I used a lot (Super Champion Arc en Ciels). That's probably why they didn't work well for me.

verktyg :50:

Chas.

In all respects thanks for the service announcement. That said, I like to think I ride without being reckless, but jeez just about anything unlucky could happen on an old or modern bike. After all this is the C&V crowd and do we worry of tire blow outs on clinchers, snapped stems, hidden internal tubing rust, marginal cable anchors, questionable bottom brackets for you weight weenies?! Might as well make bikes only as wall art.

Try taking up motor racing, vintage cars or motorcycles. Its old chassis for the most part but of course with updated performance necessities. The majority of component fasteners are safety wire tied and in a proper direction. Same goes for all the extra safety do-dats. The vintage racers are a far safer vehicle than the millions of other enthusiast out on the roadways with them.

Bottom line is to look over your machine and if you're not comfortable with safety, either park it or make the change.
As mentioned above, these pads on the finned backing can be safety tied. (BTW: I'm not opening myself up to liability by showing here.)
Do as one wishes but I'm not about to freak over these brake pads or AVA stems, or 70 y.o. spokes, brake cables, etc..

OMG They shall henceforth be known as Death Pads and all risk of danger will be blown crazily out of proportion. Now I want a set to put on my Viscount with aluminum fork, and the AVA stem in my parts bin. That bike will viciously kill me before I leave the drive if hype is to be believed

Damitol!, the word "bonded" just never get any "brakes" in the bicycle world!.....:rolleyes::D

Even more so now.

Sounds like Mark Petry found out the hard way. But you never know.

:lol:Hey, I'm using death pads on two bikes and a Viscount death fork on my Viscount. Maybe I should build up an all-death-components bike.

after I saw this thread, I went and looked on ebay. I saw a lot of bin auctions around $40-50, and a few dreamers. Not pulling them off the tandem for that. Still not selling my spare NOS MAFAC tandem brake set for what they are fetching either.

I'm always kinda shocked to hear about people riding the death fork. The fork on my fat bike has been recalled, and I'm still riding it waiting for the replacement. But every time I hit a bump funny I cringe a little.