Re: [CR] squealing mafacs-another trick

(Example: Framebuilding:Brazing Technique)

To: <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
Date: Mon, 18 Jan 2010 14:58:52 -0800
From: donald gillies <gillies@ece.ubc.ca>
Subject: Re: [CR] squealing mafacs-another trick


I think that MAFACs use 42mm brake pads and the modern jagwire X-block pads are 40mm and are available at the LBS for $0.75/ea in a card of 40x pads, so you might want to buy some of those, pry out the pads, and forget about the 4-bump pads and use X-pads instead. If they don't exactly fit you can notch deeper grooves in them with a rasp files, they tend to be wider than vintage pads which means they can be used EVERYWHERE. Whoever designed these pads was a genius.

There are two circumstances I have found where pads will squeal :

1. The rubber is dried out, as in my ALAN 74 with Campy GS brakes.

2. The rubber compound is defective, as in shimano-99 pads, which were so tough they pulled shreds of aluminum out of my mavic CXP 21 rims with my ultegra brakes.

Fresh jagwire X-pads have fixed both problems, with a weinmann X-pad vintage look at a screaming-bargain low price.

- Don Gillies
San Diego, CA, USA