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Mafac straddle cables



 
 
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  #1  
Old January 16th 05, 07:16 PM
Mike Jacoubowsky
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Default Mafac straddle cables

Mafac straddle cables:

In the days of old (like about 1980 or so), were the barrel ends of
brake cables a different size than they are today?

The reason I ask is because I'm setting up some Mafac cantilever
brakes from that era and the barrel ends are not seating. The notch
in the cantilever arm that receives the cable end is significantly
smaller than my modern QBP cable end.

It does not look like a viable option to leave the cable end anything
less than firmly seated in it's notch. Is there an elegant solution?

Jones


If I recall correctly, when Mafac cables were no longer available (or
perhaps we were just out?) we "made" one by using a derailleur cable anchor
bold assembly as one of the cable ends. I could be thinking of something
else, but I believe I did something like that on one of my own bikes.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com


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  #2  
Old January 16th 05, 08:22 PM
Mark Janeba
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Default

!Jones wrote:
Mafac straddle cables:

In the days of old (like about 1980 or so), were the barrel ends of
brake cables a different size than they are today?

The reason I ask is because I'm setting up some Mafac cantilever
brakes from that era and the barrel ends are not seating. The notch
in the cantilever arm that receives the cable end is significantly
smaller than my modern QBP cable end.

It does not look like a viable option to leave the cable end anything
less than firmly seated in it's notch. Is there an elegant solution?


If I understand you correctly, you're talking about the straddle cable
that connects to both cantilever arms. These are derailleur cables.

One end is bolted to the arm; for the other you need a
doohickey[1]threaded on the end of the cable to engage the cantilever
arms. See photo: http://home.comcast.net/~mandmlj/MafacStraddle.jpg
(Photo from a 1980 Mafac tandem cantilever brake arm)

Notice how the "doohickey" keeps the cantilever arms from spreading and
letting the cable slip through.

I'm guessing that you're using a more modern straddle that has a *large*
lug on one end.

Hope this helps,

Mark Janeba

  #3  
Old January 16th 05, 08:25 PM
Mark Janeba
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Default

Mark Janeba wrote:

!Jones wrote:

Mafac straddle cables:

In the days of old (like about 1980 or so), were the barrel ends of
brake cables a different size than they are today?

The reason I ask is because I'm setting up some Mafac cantilever
brakes from that era and the barrel ends are not seating. The notch
in the cantilever arm that receives the cable end is significantly
smaller than my modern QBP cable end.

It does not look like a viable option to leave the cable end anything
less than firmly seated in it's notch. Is there an elegant solution?



If I understand you correctly, you're talking about the straddle cable
that connects to both cantilever arms. These are derailleur cables.

One end is bolted to the arm; for the other you need a
doohickey[1]threaded on the end of the cable to engage the cantilever
arms. See photo: http://home.comcast.net/~mandmlj/MafacStraddle.jpg
(Photo from a 1980 Mafac tandem cantilever brake arm)

Notice how the "doohickey" keeps the cantilever arms from spreading and
letting the cable slip through.

I'm guessing that you're using a more modern straddle that has a *large*
lug on one end.

Hope this helps,

Mark Janeba


Add footnote:
[1] I'm not too eloquent today. What the heck *is* this thing called?

-MJ

  #4  
Old January 16th 05, 08:46 PM
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On Sun, 16 Jan 2005 11:25:12 -0800, Mark Janeba
wrote:

Mark Janeba wrote:

!Jones wrote:

Mafac straddle cables:

In the days of old (like about 1980 or so), were the barrel ends of
brake cables a different size than they are today?

The reason I ask is because I'm setting up some Mafac cantilever
brakes from that era and the barrel ends are not seating. The notch
in the cantilever arm that receives the cable end is significantly
smaller than my modern QBP cable end.

It does not look like a viable option to leave the cable end anything
less than firmly seated in it's notch. Is there an elegant solution?



If I understand you correctly, you're talking about the straddle cable
that connects to both cantilever arms. These are derailleur cables.

One end is bolted to the arm; for the other you need a
doohickey[1]threaded on the end of the cable to engage the cantilever
arms. See photo: http://home.comcast.net/~mandmlj/MafacStraddle.jpg
(Photo from a 1980 Mafac tandem cantilever brake arm)

Notice how the "doohickey" keeps the cantilever arms from spreading and
letting the cable slip through.

I'm guessing that you're using a more modern straddle that has a *large*
lug on one end.

Hope this helps,

Mark Janeba


Add footnote:
[1] I'm not too eloquent today. What the heck *is* this thing called?

-MJ


Dear Mark,

It's a retaining or stop fitting. If threaded to screw onto
the end of a Honda rear brake rod, it can be called a
retaining or stop nut.

Doohickey and dingus, however, are the preferred technical
terms for simpler parts that fit onto more complicated
thingamabobs or gizmos.

Thesauristically,

Carl Fogel
  #5  
Old January 16th 05, 10:41 PM
Sheldon Brown
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Default

A shy person wrote:

Mafac straddle cables:

In the days of old (like about 1980 or so), were the barrel ends of
brake cables a different size than they are today?

The reason I ask is because I'm setting up some Mafac cantilever
brakes from that era and the barrel ends are not seating. The notch
in the cantilever arm that receives the cable end is significantly
smaller than my modern QBP cable end.

It does not look like a viable option to leave the cable end anything
less than firmly seated in it's notch.


Right.

Is there an elegant solution?


Mark Janeba plied again:

If I understand you correctly, you're talking about the straddle cable
that connects to both cantilever arms. These are derailleur cables.

One end is bolted to the arm; for the other you need a
doohickey[1]threaded on the end of the cable to engage the cantilever
arms. See photo: http://home.comcast.net/~mandmlj/MafacStraddle.jpg
(Photo from a 1980 Mafac tandem cantilever brake arm)

Notice how the "doohickey" keeps the cantilever arms from spreading
and letting the cable slip through.

I'm guessing that you're using a more modern straddle that has a
*large* lug on one end.


Add footnote:
[1] I'm not too eloquent today. What the heck *is* this thing called?


We call it a "Transverse Adaptor' part #MAF59.

We have 'em in stock, see: http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/mafac.html

Sheldon "Manufacture Auvergnoise de Freins et Accessoires pour Cycle" Brown
+------------------------------------+
| France, France...if not for you, |
| the world would be alone! |
| --Victor Hugo |
+------------------------------------+
Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts
Phone 617-244-9772 FAX 617-244-1041
http://harriscyclery.com
Hard-to-find parts shipped Worldwide
http://captainbike.com http://sheldonbrown.com

  #7  
Old January 17th 05, 05:47 AM
Sheldon Brown
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Default

Quoth Carl Fogel:
Doohickey and dingus, however, are the preferred technical
terms for simpler parts that fit onto more complicated
thingamabobs or gizmos.


John Dacey observed:
=20
They might be the common words in use within your cloistered world of
motorcycles and bicycles, but other fields have jargon of their own.
For instance, the years I spent in one-design sailing introduced me to
the world of snivvies and dammits.=20
=20
It's not easy to develop the nuances of how snivvies and dammits
differ from gizmos and doohickies (other than their nautical
provenance) except to say that my experience suggests that your
sailboat can generally be rigged to work with the snivvies and dammits
at hand, whereas most bicycles or motorcycles are rendered inoperable
unless you have the exact thingamabob.


My wife uses "frobs" for these applications. I think that's something=20
she learned at MIT...

Sheldon "'Truc' En Fran=E7ais" Brown
+------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Also, are you familiar with the PTF-PTM manufacturing technique? |
| (This term comes from the bridge-building industry.) Stands for |
| "pound to fit, paint to match." --Steve Palincsar |
+------------------------------------------------------------------+
Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts
Phone 617-244-9772 FAX 617-244-1041
http://harriscyclery.com
Hard-to-find parts shipped Worldwide
http://captainbike.com http://sheldonbrown.com

  #8  
Old January 17th 05, 08:21 AM
A Muzi
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Default

!Jones wrote:
Mafac straddle cables:

In the days of old (like about 1980 or so), were the barrel ends of
brake cables a different size than they are today?

The reason I ask is because I'm setting up some Mafac cantilever
brakes from that era and the barrel ends are not seating. The notch
in the cantilever arm that receives the cable end is significantly
smaller than my modern QBP cable end.

It does not look like a viable option to leave the cable end anything
less than firmly seated in it's notch. Is there an elegant solution?

Jones

'Racer' model transverse wires used a gear wire of the
period which was indeed smaller diameter head than we use
now. You can make one from a modern gear wire with a little
hand work. The other end adjusts in an anchor bolt.

'Competition' models had a double ended transverse wire with
a cute lead 'handle' on the offside that's a bear to find
NOS. In 1978 Mafac changed the 'Racer' transverse to a
double ended cable with spherical ends (Never found those
available anywhere) and they closed a few years after that.

So if you have the single-ended type Mafac Racer (or a Mafac
cantilever- all models), file/sand a gear wire to a smaller
head and consider yourself lucky!

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971
  #9  
Old January 17th 05, 10:32 PM
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Posts: n/a
Default

On Sun, 16 Jan 2005 23:47:59 -0500, Sheldon Brown
wrote:

Quoth Carl Fogel:
Doohickey and dingus, however, are the preferred technical
terms for simpler parts that fit onto more complicated
thingamabobs or gizmos.


John Dacey observed:

They might be the common words in use within your cloistered world of
motorcycles and bicycles, but other fields have jargon of their own.
For instance, the years I spent in one-design sailing introduced me to
the world of snivvies and dammits.

It's not easy to develop the nuances of how snivvies and dammits
differ from gizmos and doohickies (other than their nautical
provenance) except to say that my experience suggests that your
sailboat can generally be rigged to work with the snivvies and dammits
at hand, whereas most bicycles or motorcycles are rendered inoperable
unless you have the exact thingamabob.


My wife uses "frobs" for these applications. I think that's something
she learned at MIT...

Sheldon "'Truc' En Français" Brown
+------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Also, are you familiar with the PTF-PTM manufacturing technique? |
| (This term comes from the bridge-building industry.) Stands for |
| "pound to fit, paint to match." --Steve Palincsar |
+------------------------------------------------------------------+
Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts
Phone 617-244-9772 FAX 617-244-1041
http://harriscyclery.com
Hard-to-find parts shipped Worldwide
http://captainbike.com http://sheldonbrown.com


Dear Sheldon,

Frobably a product of the search for a grand unified theory.

Carl Fogel
  #10  
Old January 18th 05, 06:40 AM
Mark Janeba
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Posts: n/a
Default

A Muzi wrote:
'Racer' model transverse wires used a gear wire of the period which was
indeed smaller diameter head than we use now.


Huh, whaddaya know. I assumed they were standard gear cables - I've got
Campagnolo gear wires in mine (just checked for the C on the top of
the head) - were Campy's smaller back then also?

I may have sanded/files it down, it's been over 20 years since I set up
that traverse wire.

Mark Janeba

 




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