Well, 48.5 to 63 doesn't sound much like short reach, at least not as understood today. Isn't the minmum on "normal reach" Campy NR SP's about 47mm?
Someone on the list did send me some scans of a Mafac catalog that lists a Competition version that goes down to 43mm, but the Competition is more recent than Dural Forge/Racer. Of course I'f you were really cool you had brazeon Mafac studs, in which case the framebuiler determined the effective brake reach.
Most of the late 60's/early 70's French frames are built for Mafac Racers or early Competitions which were pretty long reach by later standards. That's why you needed a drop bolt to mount Campy SP's on these frames. I also used a drop bolt to mount original Dura-Ace SP's on my circa 1972 LeJeune F-70, although I later replaced these with more correct Mafac Competitions.
Regards,
Jerry Moos Big Spring, TX
"R.S. Broderick" <rsb000@hotmail.com> wrote: I am not quite sure as to the exact details with respect to those options available for the earlier "Dural Forge" marked version of the MAFAC Racer calipers (...yes, even though they were marked "Dural Forge" these were known as Racers back in the day before they were ever marked as such) other than to say that they were, indeed, available in multiple configurations. However, I can tell you that the late 1960's through 1970's Racer calipers which are actually marked on their leading pivot arm as being "Racer" were available in three distinct flavors:
1) The short reach "petit étrier" or "small clamp" caliper which could extend from 48.5 mm to 63 mm as measured from the middle point of its pivot bolts to the center line of its brake pads.
2) The long reach "grand étrier" or "large clamp" caliper which could extend from 53.5 mm to 68 mm as measured from the middle point of its pivot bolts to center line of its brake pads.
3) And the not too terribly common "étrier réglable" or "adjustable clamp" caliper which could extend from 55.5 mm to a whopping 75 mm as measured from the middle point of its pivot bolts to center line of its brake pads.
I still have a pair of those "adjustable" type MAFAC calipers, albeit mine are early Competitions and not Racers, which I used in modified form on my 1973 Gitane TdF during its competitive days. Their most unique feature, and that which makes them de facto "adjustable", is the interface between the brake center bolt and the rear brake body or bridge. Whereas a typical MAFAC Racer, 2000, Competition, or "S" Type rear bridge has a perfectly round hole through which their center bolt passes for purposes of mounting, the "adjustable" versions of these MAFAC calipers have a vertically elongated elliptical hole which allows one to incrementally adjust the overall reach of the caliper above and beyond those adjustments also available with respect to the similar ellipsis found at the ends of the respective brake arms themselves. When compared to their fixed counterparts, these "adjustable" calipers have two other distinguishing features. First of all, there are small serrations along the backside of their brake bridge which are there to mitigate any opportunity for unintended and unwanted migration from whatever position you ultimately elect to bolt them down. And secondly, and distance between the two arm pivot bolts is one millimeter wider than either version of the non-adjustable type calipers, which is to say they measure 63 mm as opposed to 62 mm center to center in this respect. Should you be interested in viewing photographs of one of these "adjustable" calipers, I have just uploaded a precious few into my WoolJersey album and they can be viewed by following this link:
http://www.wooljersey.com/
Please note that the caliper depicted here is decidedly NOT stock and has been set up in traditional Spence Wolf / Cupertino Bike Shop form, which is to say that it has a forward mounted alloy brake booster plate and is equipped with early Scott / Mathauser finned and curved brake shoes having permanently (...or at least I sure hope so) mounted pads. Inasmuch as these photographs were originally taken for other purposes, you will have to look carefully to see the elliptical interface on the adjustable bridge (...the second picture in the set is probably best suited for this purpose).
Robert "MAFAC maven" Broderick ...the "Frozen Flatlands" of South Dakota Sioux Falls, USA
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>From: Jon Brownell
>To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
>Subject: [CR]Mafac Question
>Date: Tue, 18 Sep 2007 19:50:25 -0700 (PDT)
>
>Were Racers or Dural Forge brakes available in short reach? If so, does
>anyone have a pair to
>sell or trade?
>
>Thx
>
>Jon Brownell
>Mill Valley, CA, USA
>
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