Mafac brake cable ferrules

[Mickey1980]

Hello everyone!
I am planning to put MAFAC RACER centerpull brakes on a project bike. I am 90% there, just got a bit stuck with the brake cable ferrules. They appear to be stepped, and I don't have any.

I can see some stepped ferrules on Velo Orange website 5mm to 4 mm. However I am not sure if MAFAC were of the same dimensions. Anyone has any experience with them?

Thanks!
Mik.

[LG]

Which part of the brakes are you referring to, where the cable exits the brake lever? Or one of the cable hangers (headset or seatpost?

[Mickey1980]

Which part of the brakes are you referring to, where the cable exits the brake lever? Or one of the cable hangers (headset or seatpost?

Hi!
I am talking about the part of the cable that is going into cable hangers. Those seem to require stepped ferrules to stay in place.

[Clydesdale Scot]

the dimensions are here
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/256119541694

[WyvernRH]

Which part of the brakes are you referring to, where the cable exits the brake lever? Or one of the cable hangers (headset or seatpost?

Hi!
I am talking about the part of the cable that is going into cable hangers. Those seem to require stepped ferrules to stay in place.

IIRC you don't actually need the stepped ferrule for the rear hanger? Later (70's?) models of the front Mafac hanger have a little 'kick-up' at the front of the lip which helps retain a non-stepped ferrule, maybe look for one of those?
IMHO the front hanger is a bit of a liability anyway as it flexes badly which reduces brake effectiveness considerably. If you are not too worried about detailed originality replace it with a Weinmann or Dia-Compe front hanger. This was a standard fix back in the day to improve the braking when touring. That or drilling the stem - possibly not recommended

Richard

[Mickey1980]

the dimensions are here
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/256119541694

I have seen these. The price is pretty steep - over $10 per ferrule plus shipping from the UK. I was wondering if this was a proprietary size, or any 5 to 4 ferrule would work?
E.g. this
https://velo-orange.com/products/tapere ... 5mm-to-4mm

[Mickey1980]

IIRC you don't actually need the stepped ferrule for the rear hanger? Later (70's?) models of the front Mafac hanger have a little 'kick-up' at the front of the lip which helps retain a non-stepped ferrule, maybe look for one of those?
IMHO the front hanger is a bit of a liability anyway as it flexes badly which reduces brake effectiveness considerably. If you are not too worried about detailed originality replace it with a Weinmann or Dia-Compe front hanger. This was a standard fix back in the day to improve the braking when touring. That or drilling the stem - possibly not recommended

Richard

Thanks for the hint. I will check my front cable hanger - it looked sturdy with some shape added for rigidity. The problem is that I also have the rear to worry about - I need one for the pulley (mixte style)

[Clydesdale Scot]

I have seen these. The price is pretty steep - over $10 per ferrule plus shipping from the UK. I was wondering if this was a proprietary size,

I wrote that the measurements are found in that listing.

[Mickey1980]

I wrote that the measurements are found in that listing.

I guess my question is whether these dimensions are proprietary MAFAC standards or more generic that can be found across the industry and whether practically anyone tried to interchange.

Comparing the dimensions of MAFAC to VO ferrules:
Large end: External diameter MAFAC 6.0 vs VO 5.75mm; internal diameter MAFAC 5.2 vs VO 5mm
Small end: external diameter MAFAC 3.98 vs VO 4mm; internal diameter MAFAC 2.3 vs VO 2mm.
The ferrule length I guess will be less important.

So the answer is: MAFAC appears to have a proprietary standard, unless the eBay ad had issues with measurements/ or there were vast tolerances in production process

Anyone has a hands on experience on interchangeability? The dimensions look close, but the external diameter of the smaller end may not fit in and may require some drilling...

[Mickey1980]

Ok, a cheep and cheerful way to find the replacement ferrules for those who are on the budget and is not worried about participating in concours d:elegance

E6012 10AWG 6mm² Insulated Ferrule Bootlace Terminals Crimps.

They appear to be sturdy enough to keep the brake cable in place. I would still have a standard 5mm ferrule on the cable end just in case.

[hunch]

Wouldn't think those ^^^ would be all that great in compression.

If you could find someone with a swiss lathe, you could turn out several thousand in a few hours and corner the market!