MAFAC Levers Wanted
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MAFAC Levers Wanted
Oh but I'm picky this time!
I'm looking for the early levers with the little dots after each letter of M.A.F.A.C
Like this pair from VeloBase:
I don't need the hoods or the adjusters.
Anyone have a set of these squirreled away?
Thanks,
Brent
I'm looking for the early levers with the little dots after each letter of M.A.F.A.C
Like this pair from VeloBase:
I don't need the hoods or the adjusters.
Anyone have a set of these squirreled away?
Thanks,
Brent
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Let me check in the morning.
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I have one open-back lever I could sell. Only one though.
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No dots, good luck.
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#6
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I'm pretty sure I have a pair of Mafacs. I'll look. They are from about 1972 if that helps.
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I looked. None with periods after the letters.
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Likes For obrentharris:
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Are these what you're looking for?
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My levers were 1967 on. Didn't appreciate them until I started buying and racing better bikes. 1) Mafacs fit big hands. 2) You can pull on those hoods as hard as you want going up insane grades on a fix gear and not break the skin on your hands (and especially the sides of your fingers). Those rolled lever undersides are wonderful!
Can't help you with the M.A.F.A.C. I'm not even going to look, No remote chance. Good luck! And thanks for turning me on to how far back those brakes go. Sadly, I am totally sold on aero hoods and hidden housings. I wanted those riding my long miles as a racer in 1977. So my Racers got whatevered for levers, now Tektro. But my two winter/rain/city bikes still sport Racer front calipers because, quite simply, they are the best brake for the job. Now, aero Racer levers? I'm on board in a flash!
Can't help you with the M.A.F.A.C. I'm not even going to look, No remote chance. Good luck! And thanks for turning me on to how far back those brakes go. Sadly, I am totally sold on aero hoods and hidden housings. I wanted those riding my long miles as a racer in 1977. So my Racers got whatevered for levers, now Tektro. But my two winter/rain/city bikes still sport Racer front calipers because, quite simply, they are the best brake for the job. Now, aero Racer levers? I'm on board in a flash!
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When you're not paying enough attention and you hit a big enough bump with your hands on the tops of the bars, the brake cable sticking out of the top of the housings can keep your hands from sliding completely off the bars and your dentist getting an emergency call.
Plus it's nice having adjusters on the housings.
I am totally *unsold* on areo bars and hidden housings.
Plus it's nice having adjusters on the housings.
I am totally *unsold* on areo bars and hidden housings.
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#13
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When you're not paying enough attention and you hit a big enough bump with your hands on the tops of the bars, the brake cable sticking out of the top of the housings can keep your hands from sliding completely off the bars and your dentist getting an emergency call.
Plus it's nice having adjusters on the housings.
I am totally *unsold* on areo bars and hidden housings.
Plus it's nice having adjusters on the housings.
I am totally *unsold* on areo bars and hidden housings.
I remember hearing of several of Lance Armstrong's team mates crashing on potholes in training rides and thinking - I bet my brake cables would have stopped that crash. Also reading prominent coaches talking of relaxing ones grip completely(and setting up one's brifters to do so) to save energy. Again, far, far from what I was taught. (You keep a firm grip on the bars so the unseen pothole never knocks your hands off. So the fellow rider's elbow hitting yours doesn't crash you. That one crash will cost you far more that season than all the marginal gains.)
Now the brake lever feature I loved in my racing days that a few levers have now - the ability to open them up to change wheels and not automatically close when you squeeze the lever. The old Dia Comp levers with the swing tab on top. Clumsy and dorky yes, but my racing bikes Grand Compes had them. When I crashed in a race that meant a lot to me and got up to chase, my front wheel was wobbling badly and hitting the brake shoes. I was still a little unsteady and did not want to take my hands off the bars to do anything but shift. Reaching for the caliper release would have been scary. But with those levers I didn't have to let go to open the brake. Caught the field and placed. Thank you, Diacompe.
To this day still brifter free, Aero cables, yes, but not completely over the edge. (Brifters where if you place your index finger on the lever side firmly to steady the bars as you reach down for a WB, they change gears??!! What??)
Ben