J_Lo

Does anyone know where I can buy one of these from UK or Europe? I've only been able to find one on US ebay.
I just need the little radiused washer- 493e. Can't seem to upload images or urls
Any help greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

gugie 

493E is the entire bolt assembly for a rear MAFAC centerpull brake, as shown below, but you'll need two of the "radiused washers." I'm pretty sure most centerpull brakes from that era will have a similar part that you could use.


Where are you located? A trip to a local co-op should be all you need, or a local BF member might have a set you could have. If you were near Portland, Oregon I'd give you a couple.

Aardwolf

I got some Mafac Racer from France that had one of those washers missing.
Nicked one from a Weinmann Vainqueur 610 or 750 I had stashed, fitted perfectly

J_Lo

Hi, thanks for the response! Yeah I'm just missing one of the washers marked 496- thanks for the pic! Unfortunately I'm in London, UK otherwise would take you up on your kind offer

J_Lo

That's useful info too Aardwolf- thank you!

bulgie 

It isn't just centerpulls that used those, they're also found on sidepulls. Any brake really, that mounts to a round seatstay bridge with no flat spot built in. Some better frames had the flat spot that replaces the radius washer going way back, '50s or earlier? But they didn't get popular until maybe mid-'70s, and became ubiquitous on any but the cheapest frames by the '80s.

Here's my 1960 Specialissima with the flat spot brazed on:



Because they gradually became a thing only for cheap bikes, if you want a high-quality one, look for older ones. Quality mostly just means nicer finish; I don't think there's anything wrong with the cheap ones structurally. They just look ugly. But who looks at your brake radius washers? OK I do, but I'm weird.

The ones on Weinmann brakes (sidepull and centerpull) in the '70s were nice, and came on Schwinn bikes, and Schwinn dealers were usually good about stocking spare parts, so Weinmann radius washers are generally easier to find than Mafac. But they're all interchangeable. There's nothing functionally different between a Mafac and any other brand, that I can think of anyway.

EDIT: Oops, OP is from England, so Schwinn dealers are no help, sorry about that! But Weinmann brakes were common everywhere, right?

J_Lo

Very interesting- thanks again. Yep I'm in England. It does look like the Weinmann brakes are a lot more available- so that's good to know they use the same piece I need.

kenhawkeye

I live in Dorset UK and I have a few of those. Send me a private message and I'll send them to you

J_Lo

Hi kenhawkeye, I managed to sort some in the end. Thanks very much for the offer!