Jan and all,
I wonder how much squeal from earlier times had to do
with textured rim sides such as Rigida steel clinchers
and Weinmann tubulars. My own experience: Mafac
Racers with Kool Stop pads on machined-side Velocity
rims and anodized Ambrosio tubulars--no squeal.
Weinmann sidepulls on Weinmann tubular rims on another
bike--squeal like protected witnesses!
David Feldman
Vancouver, WA
> Hi Josh,
>
> My Rivendell does not screech at all. Mafac
> Competition centerpulls
> on brazed-on pivots, MA-2 rims, Matthauser mtb pads
> on the front and
> Mafac pads on the rear. The bike has seen quite a
> few miles in the
> rain, so the pads are nicely worn in.
>
> My 1976 Singer sport-touring doesn't squeal either.
> Mafac 2000 with
> Matthauser mtb pads (no brazed-on pivots, but
> standard mounting),
> Mavic MA-40 rims.
>
> My ca. 1954 Alex Singer squeals a lot since I put
> new Mafac pads on.
> Mafac Racer, brazed-on pivots, but the pads need
> wearing in, and I
> don't ride it in the rain, so this will take a
> while.
>
> The same Mafac pads do squeal on our Herse tandem
> (the one for PBP),
> despite a few hours of rainy riding. But the
> cantilevers on that bike
> have some play, and the brakes only squeal during
> very hard
> application. It is possible that this will go away
> as the pads wear
> more, or that it is due to the play in the brake.
>
> So I'd try Matthauser pads, and then ride in the
> rain a lot. Or try
> to adjust the toe-in by filing the washers underneat
> the pads, or by
> filing the pads themselves.
>
> Even when they squeal, the Mafacs brake well. I once
> did have a
> no-name pad melt when I applied the brakes hard on a
>
> cantilever-equipped bike. A car disregarded a yield
> sign, one front
> pad melted, the brake dove under the rim, I careened
> onto the
> sidewalk before coming to a shaken stop using the
> rear brake alone,
> which gladly did not melt - not an experience I
> would like to repeat.
> And, worst of all to classic bike lovers, the entire
> rear rim side
> was covered with gunk! ; )
> --
> Jan Heine, Seattle
> Editor/Publisher
> Vintage Bicycle Quarterly
> http://www.mindspring.com/
>
> >Hi Jan,
> >Does changing the pads eliminate the intolerable
> screeching of the
> >Mafacs? I've tried different rims but to no avail.
> >Josh Berger
> >Bronx, NY
> >In a message dated 3/31/2004 8:48:50 PM Eastern
> Standard Time,
> >classicrendezvous-request@bikelist.org writes:
> >
> >In my experience, a well set up Mafac centerpull,
> preferably on
> >brazed-on pivots (but not necessarily so) exceeds a
> Mafac cantilever
> >in feel and brake performance. I don't own dual
> pivots, but from the
> >little I have used them, they cannot compete with
> the Mafac
> >centerpulls for feel and modulation. And the brake
> power of the
> >centerpulls is more than enough.
> >
> >Of course, for any brake to work well, you need
> good pads (Matthauser
> >canti pads work great), good, well-lubed cables and
> careful assembly
> >and set-up. Not to forget decent rims (not chromed
> steel). Bike-boom
> >bikes with Mafac centerpulls lacked all of these
> factors, and so a
> >very good brake got a bad reputation.
> >
> >Just back from intervals on my Mafac
> centerpull-equipped Rivendell -
> >on a 10% hill with numerous turns, which that ends
> in a stop sign at
> >the bottom.
> >
> >Weinmanns work well, too. I once rode a fully
> chromed Ren=E9 Herse with
> >internal cables and all the options. On the way
> home, I stopped at
> >the health food store to get some groceries, and
> the guy selling the
> >homeless paper had the same brakes on his junkyard
> bike as the Herse:
> >Weinmann 610 centerpulls! I like the idea that one
> of the cheapest
> >and one of the most expensive bikes in town share
> at least one part.
> >I didn't ask how his brakes worked with kinked
> cable housing, chromed
> >steel rims and upturned handlebars.
> >--
> >Jan Heine, Seattle
> >Editor/Publisher
> >Vintage Bicycle Quarterly
> >http://www.mindspring.com/~heine/bikesite/bikesite/
> >
> >------------------------------
>
>
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