Thanks to everybody for responding to my questions on centerpulls.The voting wasnt all that clear but aided and abetted by Sheldon Brown's - Harrris Cyclery website article, a Jan Heine (sp?) article in an older Rivendell Reader and what I found after a bit of scrounging around I was drawn to Mafac. After pulling Competition and Racer models apart I noticed indeed bronze - maybe brass bushings as predicted by Jan Heine on the Comps. This seemed a reason to choose them over Racers. I notice however the Competitions have shorter reach than the Racers. They appear about equal in reach to standard, a.k.a. long reach sidepulls. Since the Hetchins is not yet in hand and currently sports a less desirable sidepull setup Im gambling the shorter reach of the Competitons is adequate. I'm curious if the different models came in different reaches or was it the model that determined the reach? To date I have not been able to get my hands on Dural Forge, Tigers or Top 63 models and would like to know more about them - bushing type, reach, cable hookup/flexibility, beefiness of parts - anybody remember?
The upshot of all this is I now own no less than 5 Competition calipers which exhibit at least two different mounting plate styles and straddle wires of two different lengths. Having never owned a centerpull equipped bike I was impressed by arguments in favor of them put forth in the RR article though I am surprised, now that I have them in hand, at how little clearance there appears to be for getting fatter tires in and out. Have i got that right? I have an NOS Competition lever set on the way from Martin Coopland plus a couple more straddle wire sets - in case others are searching...... The Mafac Comp levers seem to offer a bit more visually than the levers of other centerpull brands which contributed to the choice.
onwards and upwards
Tom Rawson
Oakland, CA