Brake Calipers - 04

BRAKE CALIPERS:
MAFAC Competition (modified) - dual pivot center-pull aluminum alloy calipers - "Super de Luxe" Clear anodized finish - direct braze-on boss mount - post 1973 optional wheel guides (standard with anodized finish) - post 1973 second edition with foil MAFAC logo inset into the face of the leading arm - pre 1980 arm configuration having slotted receptacles for "bullet style" straddle cable ends - date code marked "10 77" for October of 1977 - bronze pivot bushings - virtual bridge with 65 mm C-t-C pivot spacing (front) / 63 mm C-t-C pivot spacing (rear) - large stirrup (49 mm - 59 mm drop) long reach - model Competition Cn T-A : MAFAC brake shoes - standard 7 mm straight post (non-threaded) fitting - aluminum alloy - Clear anodized finish - pre 1980 without directional orientation "arrows" - model 1463E - Kool-Stop brake pads - MAFAC style "four pot" design - Black compound - model KS-MRB ... [Arguably one of the most viscerally appealing aspects, in addition to being that singular characteristic most often associated these days with the notion of a prototypical Peugeot PY-10 dating from the 1970’s, would be their front and rear braze-on mounted MAFAC Competition brake calipers. But by no means did all PY-10 bicycles from that era actually have this particular type of brake fitting. While contemporary cyclo-cross bikes as well as tandems were commonly built having braze-on mountings for cantilever type brakes, and whereas constructeurs of French randonneurs such as Rene Herse and Alex Singer had long offered this manner of fitment for traditional center-pulls on some of their finest handiwork, the use of braze-on studs to mount conventional center-pull brake calipers was quite novel in the ranks of the pro peloton when Peugeot-Esso-Michelin adopted this feature in 1977. The fact of the matter was that center-pull calipers themselves, something which had been a staple in the peloton since the 1950’s, were clearly on their way out of favor by the mid 1970’s, having been supplanted by a new generation of high quality side-pull models led by the exquisite Campagnolo Record unit which had been introduced back in 1968. Yet models of the PY-10, including those ridden by the Peugeot-BP-Michelin team and its successor Peugeot-Esso-Michelin, employed iconic MAFAC Competition center-pull brake calipers exclusively from inception in 1974 all the way through the end of the decade (...team bikes were generally fitted with a Gold anodized "nutted" bolt-on version of first edition "stamped logo" MAFAC Competition brake calipers commencing May of 1974 and continuing throughout the entire 1975 season, then a Clear anodized "nutted" bolt-on version of second edition "foil logo" MAFAC Competition brakes for 1976, followed by a Clear anodized braze-on version of second edition "foil logo" MAFAC Competitions for the years 1977 and 1978 as well as part of 1979, then back to bolt-on second edition "foil logo" MAFAC Competition calipers but now having a recessed Allen nut mount mid-season in 1979 coincident to adoption of an all chrome front fork, before finally moving to Spidel branded MAFAC LS2 side-pulls in 1980, which were in turn succeeded by Weinmann Carrera 400 side-pull calipers mid year 1982 just prior to introduction of the carbon fiber PY-10 FC for the upcoming model year 1983 - Bernard Thevenet’s second career Tour win in 1977 would mark not only the tenth and final time that the Peugeot marque itself would prevail in the Tour de France but also the final instance of any bicycle having center-pull brakes would do same). With respect to retail versions of the PY-10 made available for sale to the public at large, the specifics of their brakes basically followed the same pattern as that of genuine team bikes excepting the years 1977, 1978, and 1979 where the provision of braze-on mounted calipers was essentially limited to the CP model in most markets with other PY-10 variants having a traditional bolt on fixture for their MAFAC center-pulls (...indeed, this paradigm held true for France, Belgium, England, Germany, and Italy - however, other models of the PY-10 such as the PY-10 E sold in North and South America as well as the PY-10 EC offered in Scandinavian countries including Sweden, Finland, Norway, and Denmark were made available at least during 1978 having braze-on mounted brake calipers), as well as 1980 where commercialized versions of the PY-10 continued to use Allen nut mounted MAFAC Competition center-pull calipers in at least one country (...i.e. England) as opposed to the updated MAFAC LS2 side-pulls supplied in other markets and as seen on team bikes that year. The details of those MAFAC Competition calipers seen here, the arms of which happen to be original to this very bike, are absolutely correct with respect to what would have typically been fitted to a 1978 vintage Peugeot PY-10 CP (...although select contemporary PY-10 models were also offered having Gold anodized versions of same) excepting my decision to upgrade their pads to modern Kool-Stop inserts - but I tend to not get too critical about such consumable commodities on a bike that is actually going to be ridden with some degree of regularity. Besides, those très cool brake pads do a superb job of emulating the look of the MAFAC model 64 originals and they are even available having either a traditional Black carbon compound (...like the ones seen here) or a proprietary Salmon colored iron oxide compound as pioneered by Scott / Mathauser.]

PLEASE NOTE: The MAFAC Competition brake calipers depicted in this series of "DURING" photographs were intentionally assembled to include a central brake bridge. This type of configuration is decidedly NOT appropriate with respect to how said calipers ought be mounted onto a Peugeot PY-10 CP like this one inasmuch as it has braze-on bosses which obviate the need for any physical brake bridge. Rather, they have been included herein only as fixtures on which to temporarily assemble for illustrative purposes the other individual piece parts that constitute the calipers as a whole.