Re: Mafac straddle cables

Mark Janeba said:

!Jones said:

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

Mark Janeba said:

Mark Janeba said:

!Jones said:

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

A shy person said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

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.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Is there an elegant solution?

Mark Janeba plied again:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

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

"Nec laudas nisi mortuos poetas: tanti non est, ut palceam, perire. -
Martial

Quoted message said:

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

Thesauristically,

Carl Fogel

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.

-------------------------------
John Dacey
Business Cycles, Miami, Florida
http://www.businesscycles.com
Since 1983
Our catalog of track equipment: online since 1996
-------------------------------

Quoth Carl Fogel:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

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

John Dacey observed:

Quoted message said:

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

Sheldon Brown said:

Quoth Carl Fogel:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

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

John Dacey observed:

Quoted message said:

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