sheddle

Quoting this one because it recently got price reduced to a very reasonable $275. Straight gauge cromoly and original Deore in great condition.


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JaccoW

He might be a good mechanic, but those brake pads are certainly still being made: KoolStop for Mafac

Should be available for around €15 for a full set.

EDIT: Alternatively (though slightly sacrilegious), you could replace those pad holders with modern ones:

• Kool Stop Dura Type Brake Shoes
• Kool Stop Dura2 TripleLite Brake Shoes
• Kool Stop Campi Super Record Holder Brake Shoes

CMAW 

These are not Mafac Racers but "the lesser Mafac" brake. They work fine, though and replacing the pads is easy and cheap.

(in spanish just for fun)

bertinjim 

Mafac pads are made by Kool Stop and the black are a close match to your bike's design. It is a widely distributed product range and if the mechanic's wholesale suppliers don't have them they can be bought by mail order. Kool Stop International - High Performance Bicycle Brake Pads Since 1977 I use Kool Stop pads on my Mafac Competition center pull brakes and on my Mafac LS sidepulls and they are an excellent product and well worth the wait. Kool Stop also makes Weinmann pads but there should be no need as your Mafacs are quite serviceable but, it seems, not quite as convenient for your mechanic.

bertinjim 

babie_lato-

Because your Mafacs are the S type centerpulls and use the same pad configuration as Weinmanns , the Jagwire pads suggested by CMAW would be a speedy compromise. I have those pads on an 80s Peugeot PB 12 and the work well. Not as well as Kool Stops but if speed and availability are big issues they are a decent compromise. By the way, those TA front racks are awesome with a flat bottom handlebar bag like a TA or Berthoud. Great for light shopping, jackets, water and snacks on longer rides, a load of library books just about anything.

polymorphself 

babie_lato Looks like the pad question got answered, kool stop is the way to go! I didn't see that you got a PR65. What an awesome mixte though. Does yours have the Peugeot leather saddle?

dweenk

I say tell your bike repairman bulls**t. Find another shop or learn how to do it yourself.

JaccoW

You are right but let's be honest, it's rare to find a bike shop knowledgeable on older parts like this. And most of the time they have to deal with customers that want to spend the minimum amount needed to get thing rolling again. Nobody wants to spend $20 to special order brake pads.
Even in a bike friendly country like the Netherlands I was lucky I ran into a shop where they were enthusiastic about my Batavus and it's French crankset with weird-sized pedal threading. They were willing to tap it out to modern threading.

Anyway, I like the front rack with the headlight attachment. I only have the non-headlight version and it's tiny!

babie_lato

Dear All, thank you for your nice responses!

@polymorphself, yes my PR65 came with the black leader saddle, but was actually thinking to use my Brooks Cambium C17 that I really love.
@JaccoW, @bertinjim thank you for the idea, now I know the Kool Stop R10 Mafac replacement pads are the solution! But it's impossible to get them here in Switzerland so for now I let my repairman exchange the brakes for vintage Weinmann. They are very good too and they are Swiss, so it's easy to repair them and find components locally.

Of course I will store all original components in case I ever change my mind or want to sell the bike. But for me personally it not so important to ride a bike that is in 100% original state and could be a museum artefact. It's much more important, that it is functional and easy to repair because I will use it daily. Of course it has to look good too, but Weinmann brakes are also pretty sleek (in my opinion, picture below).



@JaccoW did you ever use your front rack to actually put a basket on it? It seems so small, I wonder if it can hold hold any weight.

Biketiger

What a great, succinct description of what makes a high quality frame. I'll have to remember this next time a friend asks me about buying a bike!

polymorphself 

babie_lato Awesome. The brooks will look great on it but I ask because I’ve actually never seen one of these Peugeot saddles until looking up this model. Definitely hold onto it. I’m excited to see some pics of this bike.

That front rack is called a randonneur rack and is made for a “rando bag.” They look great and can usually carry around 15 lb. Many people prefer carrying their loads in the front of the bike. Check out these Flickr groups for some beautiful randonneur bikes and bags:

https://www.flickr.com/groups/1666326@N22/pool/
https://www.flickr.com/groups/classicbicycles/pool/

And yeah, as for the brakes, in my opinion period correct in general is more important than having exactly what came on the bike. I do like the mafacs and would try to eventually get those setup, but those weinmanns will look good and they make sense.

merziac

@babie_lato

Pretty sure the Weinmann pad/holders are the same or close enough to fit the Mafac's so that mechanic either didn't look close or doesn't know what he's looking at.

Either way I would take him to task and get it to someone else if he doesn't get onboard.

Do not change the brakes, the bike is set up for them and should stay that way, they are good.

merziac

Agreed, but clearly he doesn't know what he's doing and shouldn't just try to "upgrade" anyway, this is a very crappy situation that shouldn't even be.

I would be having a conversation with a manager or such, it's even possible the Mafac's are being targeted, they are fairly rare in this version ime, probably not in europe but still.

JaccoW

The classic Mafac Racer with its canti posts is definitely more common but a quick look on eBay.fr shows them to be avaible for reasonable prices. I even found a Mafac Tiger brake.
But €24 + shipping should get you everything you need.

Anyway @babie_lato , Bike24 is a German website and there should even be some Swiss stores like Hubacher.ch that sell them.

merziac

Well then the mechanic is just not even trying to do the right thing, there is no reason to change anything but the pads and he should know better,again.

babie_lato

Hello All!
Below the promised pictures of my new Peugeot PR65. It's still a project in progress, although already perfectly ridable and functional.

Some things I changed (with help of my repairman):

1. I know most of you will hate me for that (maybe apart from @mr_macgee ): I found the original porteur stylehandlebars too narrow and too flat, the original stem too low and both together extremely uncomfortable. I know a mixte is technically a half-racer but personally I really, really prefer to sit more upright. In the city I ride quite slowly anyway. I provisionally changed the handlebars and the stem for cruiser style ones from my old Hercules bike. They are super comfortable but don't look so great. So I'm thinking of changing back to the original stem and keeping the cruiser handlebars. Or maybe changing back to the original stem and getting new handlebars, like for example: granola bar or tourist bar. What do you think?

2. For reasons described some posts above I made the controversial decision to change the Mafac centre-pull brakes to Weinmann 500. They are doing great, also in the rain. It also somehow makes sense to me, because original brake levers are also from Weinmann. Still, in the future, if I find a good source of Kool Stop R10 pads here in Switzerland I may change back to Mafac.

3. Original quick release skewers were all rusty and the chrome layer was off so I changed them for Shimano ones (see foto).

4. I replaced all cables and cable housings (old ones were broken). I'm thinking of replacing them in the future once more, with metallic ones, just because they look so elegant. Anyone has these ones?

5. I changed the seat for my Brooks Cambium C17, just because I love it.

6. I took away the fenders. I don't mind getting wet and I don't ride if the rain is really heavy.

7. I took away the back luggage rack just because I don't really like back racks (maybe I will mount a front rack in the future).

Everything else is original: the Reynolds 351 frame, the fork, the Stronglight TS crankset, the Simplex derailleur, Maillard wheels, Mavic 700c aluminum rims, Weinmann brake levers.
Of course I kept all the original parts that I demounted, just in case.

I also wanted to say again: thank you so, so much for all your advices. If not your help I wouldn't have this bike now. And I really, really love it!

nb85

it’s been great following along. Thanks to everyone who posted!

bax76

To add some interesting update to this topic.
Bicycle had a conversion of mentioned Koga Miyata touring frame, into something more light weight.
It's a strange geometry of frame, so I can easily ride this bike.
I am 183 cm tall, and frame is 53/ 54, but head tube is much higher than on diamond frame - similar one.
Rear tire is 28, front one 23mm.

Bicycle is fantastic , I really enjoy every mile, good climber and fast.

bax76

And one classic mixte for the record, good old Peugeot 531 from 70s. This one was in pretty bad condition after purchase. I manage to save most of his original parts.
Interesting is that I bought plastic Shimano BB axle cartrige, and manage to screw into France threaded BB. You can easily rethread plastic cups with brute force, without damaging frame.

Smaller frame but amazing bicycle, it rides with such an ease.

Big difference is that Miyata is much more precise work with more attention to details.

non-fixie 

Just picked up this machine as a birthday present for mrs non-fixie. Made by Ko Zieleman, the late Amsterdam frame builder, with Columbus tubing. AFIK he built no more than a handful of these, for family members and close friends.

Searching for information about these frames, I noticed on Velospace that this particular frame had been owned by pullup in he past, so I sought his guidance on this buy. Which I promptly received.

bamboobike4

But we're getting there. A Deore XT will shift all 3 front rings. Back is no problem.
Brakes now work just fine. Shifting on the rear is smooth.
The Campy seat binder works just fine. Lights and fenders next.
Then trim the excess metal to make it a cleaner build.

My bike for the same excursions is a Raleigh Sports.
I'm trying to modify the OEM rack to use with the Topeak MTK, no cutting unless I know for sure.
I can always get different bags.

BTinNYC 

Good to look through all the Mixte pics.

Building up a simple mixte for the Mrs' best friend. She says bikes are squirrely and unstable but her bike is a race style web cheapo and probably squirrely as hell. I think the relaxed mixte geometry will make her comfortable.

Also changing to a 1 x 7 gearing for simplicity. We'll see how the modern black 1x crankset looks. I'll post pics; hideous or not.