Mafac cantilever straddle cables

[Mark J.]

Hi all,

I'm renovating an ancient bike with 70's Mafac cantilever brakes. I
just want to replace the cables*, and the straddle cables gave me a
quandary.

Mafac straddle-cable ends are old-style gearshift cable lugs, and
there's a fitting they goes into to engage the brake arm.

In the old days, we'd replace the straddle with any good gear shift
cable (Campy's were generally beefier), but modern index-shift gear
cables seem a bit fragile for brake work.

Thoughts?

Mark J.

*The brake shoes were replaced long ago with Cool-Stop ?Eagle claws?, so
that's covered. Mafac pads were a bit of a fright.

[news18]

On 08/08/18 09:00, Mark J. wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> I'm renovating an ancient bike with 70's Mafac cantilever brakes.  I
> just want to replace the cables*, and the straddle cables gave me a
> quandary.
>
> Mafac straddle-cable ends are old-style gearshift cable lugs, and
> there's a fitting they goes into to engage the brake arm.
>
> In the old days, we'd replace the straddle with any good gear shift
> cable (Campy's were generally beefier), but modern index-shift gear
> cables seem a bit fragile for brake work.
>
> Thoughts?

see if you can source cable of the desired thickness and swagged/press
lumps on the end(s). Depending on the wear points, you might be able to
feather the end of the old cable into a new cable and solder/braze a
join, but the join will have to be in a length of straight cable.

[Sir Ridesalot]

With any luck A. Muzi will have some. He runs Yellow Jersey Bicycle Shop in Wisconsin and has all sorts of old stuff.

Cheers

[AMuzi]

Use Campagnolo (or Simplex if available) gear wires. The
head fits nicely in your Mafac carriers but Shimano type
heads jam in place. As regards strength/quality, modern
wires of all types are uniformly better period.

p.s. Kool Stop has Mafac type inserts in both black and
salmon compound if you can find your original shiny aluminum
holders.

p.p.s. Simichrome is your friend for classic not-anodized
Duraluminum parts.

--
Andrew Muzi
<www.yellowjersey.org/>
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

[AMuzi]

On 8/7/2018 7:47 PM, news18 wrote:
> On 08/08/18 09:00, Mark J. wrote:
>> Hi all,
>>
>> I'm renovating an ancient bike with 70's Mafac cantilever

>> brakes. I just want to replace the cables*, and the

>> straddle cables gave me a quandary.
>>
>> Mafac straddle-cable ends are old-style gearshift cable
>> lugs, and there's a fitting they goes into to engage the
>> brake arm.
>>
>> In the old days, we'd replace the straddle with any good
>> gear shift cable (Campy's were generally beefier), but
>> modern index-shift gear cables seem a bit fragile for
>> brake work.
>>
>> Thoughts?
>
> see if you can source cable of the desired thickness and
> swagged/press lumps on the end(s). Depending on the wear
> points, you might be able to feather the end of the old
> cable into a new cable and solder/braze a join, but the join
> will have to be in a length of straight cable.

One day if you're bored enough, melt the head off a brake
wire and note the wires are punched to an 'onion' shape
before the head is cast around them. Merely soldering a lump
of lead-substitute on a wire is unsafe.

[jbeattie]

Dude, one word: Tektro R539 Road Brakeset. O.K., that's three words, some numbers . . . and a letter. Or, from Jan: https://www.compasscycle.com/shop/components/brakes/compass-straddle-wire/

-- Jay Beattie.

[news18]

Which wasn't suggested. Also, I'd be surprised if any of the
swagging/swagged ends had lead in them as any stage. YMMV, but we're
infested with Tool Shops that will sell you a decent press
exconomically, if you didn't want to invest in a swagging hand tool.
>

[Tosspot]

Gear cables are a lot thinner. I'd get a normal brake straddle and
grind the lumps off until they fit.

[AMuzi]

On 8/8/2018 12:14 AM, Tosspot wrote:
> On 08/08/18 01:00, Mark J. wrote:
>> Hi all,
>>
>> I'm renovating an ancient bike with 70's Mafac cantilever

>> brakes. I just want to replace the cables*, and the

>> straddle cables gave me a quandary.
>>
>> Mafac straddle-cable ends are old-style gearshift cable
>> lugs, and there's a fitting they goes into to engage the
>> brake arm.
>>
>> In the old days, we'd replace the straddle with any good
>> gear shift cable (Campy's were generally beefier), but
>> modern index-shift gear cables seem a bit fragile for
>> brake work.
>>
>> Thoughts?
>>
>> Mark J.
>>
>> *The brake shoes were replaced long ago with Cool-Stop

>> ?Eagle claws?, so that's covered. Mafac pads were a bit

>> of a fright.
>
> Gear cables are a lot thinner. I'd get a normal brake
> straddle and grind the lumps off until they fit.

The hole in Mafac transverse anchors is small for a standard
brake wire, then or now.

[Frank Krygowski]

I used a gear cable when I wanted a custom straddle cable for a mixte
frame. I wanted the rear center pull brake's straddle cable to wrap
around the front of the seat tube. I made a new steel button for the
bare end of the cable and soldered it in place. The hole in the button
was countersunk at the far end, and the cable frayed outward. The bike's
still in the extended family and working well.

I used that same trick back in the 1970s when my motorcycle's clutch
cable stripped out of its end button.

--
- Frank Krygowski

[slto...@gmail.com]

That ad for straddle cables also showed an ad at the bottom for the old Rene Hersh type of set-up.