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Source for 4mm Barrel Adjuster

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Source for 4mm Barrel Adjuster

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Old 03-14-23 | 12:11 PM
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Source for 4mm Barrel Adjuster

I purchased this very nice Peter Mooney frame from the local non-profit bike shop. The missing barrel adjusters are not the 5mm ones I'm used to. They appear to be M4 x .7.
When I finished the paint touch up I though I was in the clear but I'm striking out finding replacement adjusters. I've tried both Shimano and Campagnolo adjusters from their adapters that convert downtube shifter bosses to adjustable cable stops with no luck. The Shimano is 5mm and the Campagnolo is 5mm with 4mm flats.

Any help is appreciated.


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Old 03-14-23 | 01:14 PM
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Is it possible that slide in barrel ajusters like Jagwire Mickey adjusters would work. I am at work now but I have some of these at home and could see what the diameter of the shaft is. Is suspect they might slide right in. Also are the 4 mm holes threaded?
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Old 03-14-23 | 02:31 PM
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Originally Posted by masi61
Is it possible that slide in barrel ajusters like Jagwire Mickey adjusters would work. I am at work now but I have some of these at home and could see what the diameter of the shaft is. Is suspect they might slide right in. Also are the 4 mm holes threaded?
Thanks for checking that for me. Yes the holes are threaded, so a little smaller than the 4mm nominal size.
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Old 03-14-23 | 02:56 PM
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obrentharris - no problem . Now my curiosity has been triggered. Makes me wonder if Peter Mooney is still making bike frames? I'm also curious if the threaded holes are wide open all the way through or if they are stopped at the bottom?
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Old 03-14-23 | 02:57 PM
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4 mm seems a bad choice for a barrel adjuster, not strong enough. I'd drill and tap to M5.
5 minute job.

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Old 03-14-23 | 04:58 PM
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Originally Posted by bulgie
4 mm seems a bad choice for a barrel adjuster, not strong enough. I'd drill and tap to M5.
5 minute job.

Mark B
Thanks Mark. I think I'll take your suggestion. I was a little worried that the remaining material might not be strong enough. The thickness of the boss is 7.5mm so I would still have 1.25mm of wall thickness after drilling and tapping.

In answer to the previous question from [MENTION=42101]masi61[/MENTION] the holes are wide open all the way through. I can run an M4 screw in from either end.
I have heard that Peter Mooney is no longer building, but that is third hand information at best. This is not one of his fanciest frames but the work appears top notch to me. I'm very eager to finish building it so I can take it on a nice long ride.
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Last edited by obrentharris; 03-14-23 at 05:00 PM. Reason: confused as usual
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Old 03-15-23 | 04:11 AM
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I did an eBay search for 4mm barrel adjusters and came up mostly empty. I did find these: https://www.ebay.com/itm/39423691497...mis&media=COPY.

They might just work. The knurling is nice in a retro kind of way.
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Old 03-15-23 | 06:49 PM
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Those are M5

[QUOTE=obrentharris;22829309]I purchased this very nice Peter Mooney frame from the local non-profit bike shop. The missing barrel adjusters are not the 5mm ones I'm used to. They appear to be M4 x .7.
When I finished the paint touch up I though I was in the clear but I'm striking out finding replacement adjusters. I've tried both Shimano and Campagnolo adjusters from their adapters that convert downtube shifter bosses to adjustable cable stops with no luck. The Shimano is 5mm and the Campagnolo is 5mm with 4mm flats.

Any help is appreciated.

Thats a Walter brand CS60 head tube lug. The adjusters are M5, not M4. It looks smaller because of the paint in there. Gently and carefully run a tap in there and you'll be set.
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Old 03-15-23 | 07:53 PM
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Originally Posted by vintage cellar
Thats a Walter brand CS60 head tube lug. The adjusters are M5, not M4. It looks smaller because of the paint in there. Gently and carefully run a tap in there and you'll be set.
That would certainly be good news since I'm still waiting for my number 19 bit to arrive so I can tap to 5mm. Unfortunately there is no paint on the threads in the hole and my 5mm tap will not even start in the hole. The short reaming section on the front of the tap brings out small flakes of metal and leaves behind a shiny metal surface at the entrance to the hole.

Perhaps they changed the lug design early on when they decided 4mm wasn't such a good idea.
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Old 03-19-23 | 04:32 PM
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If you don't need the adjustment, you could probably use a step down ferrel in there.
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Old 03-20-23 | 03:56 PM
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Originally Posted by obrentharris
I've tried both Shimano and Campagnolo adjusters from their adapters that convert downtube shifter bosses to adjustable cable stops with no luck. The Shimano is 5mm and the Campagnolo is 5mm with 4mm flats.
Brent
Brent, I just checked the Campagnolo down tube shift lever adaptors I put on my travel bike in 1995. Its barrel adjuster is 4mm and not 5mm. It has a spring around it to make it look bigger in diameter. The spring is to secure the adjustor to keep it from turning. Look for an older set of Campy adaptors and you will be all set. Those lugs were made with Campy instead of Shimano in mind. It makes no sense that Peter made a frame with adjusters that would be difficult at the time to find.
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Old 03-20-23 | 07:47 PM
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Originally Posted by masi61
I did an eBay search for 4mm barrel adjusters and came up mostly empty. I did find these: https://www.ebay.com/itm/39423691497...mis&media=COPY.

They might just work. The knurling is nice in a retro kind of way.
Thanks for the suggestion! I have some Simplex adjusters like that and they are indeed 4mm, but m4x75 (or something very similar) while the bosses on the frame are m4x70.

Originally Posted by Doug Fattic
Brent, I just checked the Campagnolo down tube shift lever adaptors I put on my travel bike in 1995. Its barrel adjuster is 4mm and not 5mm. It has a spring around it to make it look bigger in diameter. The spring is to secure the adjustor to keep it from turning. Look for an older set of Campy adaptors and you will be all set. Those lugs were made with Campy instead of Shimano in mind. It makes no sense that Peter made a frame with adjusters that would be difficult at the time to find.
Thanks Doug! Paul Sadoff also suggested to me Campy adjusters. Unfortunately I mistakenly bought the later ones which are 5mm, but all's well that ends well; a few minutes with a No. 19 drill and the 5mm tap allows me to now use the 5mm Campy adjusters.



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