  |
The brakes, however, do not inspire confidence. Only the front brake is connected at the moment and on application the entire bike shudders. I will replace the pads when I can find a good replacement here (Such as the Kool Stop Salmon pads recommended by Sheldon Brown) in Melbourne but I am not convinced that will solve all the problems. The stray bits of tire glue would probably not be helping the braking either.
I've followed Sheldon's advice here and am trying the Shimano RX2000 levers that were already on the bike. Whilst I would like to get some Mafac levers for appearance's sake, if I am going to ride this thing down Mt. Dandenong then I want the best brakes I can get my hands on.
The wheels most certainly need to be trued and I guess the bike shop would need to take the tires off for that. That is a shame.
Anyway, I will head out on the bike for a cruise after work sometime this week when I've installed the rear brake and report back on how it felt.
Edit: I have ordered some Kool Stop Mafac/Campy replacement pads and will report on their usefulness shortly.
erk970David,
ReplyDeleteThe shuddering (and probably squealing, too) are common with Mafac brakes. Toeing-in the brake shoes so the front of the pad hits the rim first by (1-2 MM) will help, as will truing the rims so that the brake shoes can sit closer to the rims. From the photo on your blog, it appears that the front brake pads/shoes are now toed-OUT from the rim so the rear of the pad hits before the front, which is the opposite of what you want.
Stiffener plates (available from CR sources and ebay) will also help to reduce vibration an squealing on the Mafacs.
I think that Sheldon Browne has extensive info on how to adjust Mafacs, as do other bike manuals and resources.