Kool StopMafac Salmon Replacement Pad Set of 4

These pads fit my 1973 Peugeot UO-8 perfectly. The bike had been essentially unused for the last 45 years, so when a railtrail opened near my house last year, I took it down off the garage ceiling, got it tuned and lubed, and got back in the saddle. However, the brake pads were still the fifty year old OEM pads. They worked fine for the 200-300 miles I did last summer, but I ride very much out in front of myself, and never had to do a panic stop. I understood that the rubber was hard and brittle, and they made a good Stuka-siren impression on the textured wheels to warn the people ahead, but I did have worries about them just turning into dust all at once. After a bit of searching around, I found these on Amazon. While a lot more expensive at $25 than most of the possible alternatives, they are advertised as the proper fit for the Mafac brakes on the Peugeot, so not a big deal. The last time I had done this job was when I was maybe fifteen years old, on my J. C. Higgins "English Racer". The only tools I used for the job were a 10mm wrench, a large bench vise, and a hammer (don't gasp). The wrench is used to remove the shoe from the caliper (removing the wheels was not necessary on this bike). Then I held the shoe vertically with the edge of the open end on the end of the fixed jaw of the vise, and CAREFULLY tapped out the old pad with the hammer. The shoes on this bike are aluminum, so I was VERY CAREFUL not to hit the shoe with the hammer and damage the closed end. Once the pad started to move, the more it moved the more easily it moved. Just tap it and move it a little at a time. Then I got the new pad started into the open end of the shoe, by hand, which is a tight fit and takes a little finess to get both sides into the shoe. I did not use any lubricant. Once it's in, only a few millimeters, place it across inside the jaws of the vise, holding the square end of the pad against the moving jaw (to keep it square) and closing the vise to bring the closed end of the shoe into contact with the fixed jaw. Then press the pad into the shoe, going slowly and keeping the pad and shoe aligned (the first centimeter or so is important). Go slowly so you don't compress the free end of the pad and distort or balloon it before it goes into the shoe. I even stopped a couple of times and removed it to check that they were going in straight. Once the pad is fully in, STOP so you don't compress the closed end of the shoe. If you don't have a large enough vise, you might try a C-clamp or bar clamp, but they will be less stable. I don't think trying to tap the new pad into the shoe would work as well, as the forces would be higher and shocky. Install the shoes back into the calipers and line them up with the wheels. Be sure to have the closed end of the shoes facing forward, so the wheel doesn't spit the pad out. It may be necessary to adjust the calipers for the thickness of the new pads. This is left to the reader as an exercise (as my college textbooks used to say). I won't be riding the bike until the Spring, so can't evaluate the performance yet.ADDENDUM: Due to the poor weather and other distractions, I didn't get out on my bike until October! When I installed these brake pads, I just fitted them into the shoes and installed them into the calipers. When I tried them out, the rear brake was fine, but the front wheel squealed like a pig in a blender! I rode a couple of times (10-15 miles each), hoping that the front brakes would bed in, but they only got louder. So I did some research online and found out about sanding and toe-in. I sanded the shiny surface off all the pads, and the posts on the shoes are permanently attached at a small angle to create some toe-in. When I tried them, now the rears were squealing, too! So I decided to be more aggressive with the sanding to create more toe-in. I used some 80-grit abrasive paper on a flat workbench. The information (from several sources) was a little confusing as to which end of the brake pad should contact the wheel rim first.See https://sheldonbrown.com/brandt/brake-squeal.html Here's how I can explain it: the closed end of the brake shoe should always face forward on the bicycle. If the open end of the shoe faces forward, the wheel can spit the pad out of the shoe. The forward end of the pad should contact the wheel first, so that means that the cylindrical pad form at the closed end of the shoe should remain the longest, and each of the other three cylinders should be progressively shorter. I lined the abrasive paper up with the edge of the bench, and sanded across all four cylinders a bit, just to take off the shiny surface. Then I sanded across the rear three (with the first one off the edge of the paper/bench) to make them all a little shorter, then the rear two, then the rearmost one. I can't quantify how much shorter I made each one, but I only took a minute or so on each step. I did this on all four shoe/pads. When I went out for a ride, the rear brakes were now fine, but the fronts still had a little tendency to squeal. This seemed to abate with a little use, but to be sure I sanded them some more when I got home. Now they are all working properly, with just the slight "sawblade" noise of the pads on the textured wheels. So, to conclude, the critical point is to have the pads longest on the closed end of the shoes, and progressively shorter as you move to the open end of the shoes. Again, this bike is a 1973 Peugeot UO-8 with Rigida wheels and MAFAC brakes.

After 52 years of using MAFAC on so many bikes, the ONE addition that improves them is Kool-Stop pads.

I was cleaning up a 1962 French built Torrot for the dad of a friend of mine. He bought this bike in 1962 with money he earned with his paper route! It was in rough shape but definitely salvageable (no thought was given to a restoration) for riding. I had to pay a little more for these but worth every penny in authenticity of the rebuild. Rides great and brakes fantastic with the red compound Kool stops!

I was only half convinced this would work... I have a 70s bike, French make with the famous Mafac Racer. And their famous squeal. They cost me a few close calls. For the sake of trying, before actually trying to find different brakes, I ordered a set of these in Salmon, and as a result I was absolutely blown away.Not too difficult to install, perfect fit, and more importantly perfect braking. I finally feel much safer on my commute including in wet conditions. And I'm not talking a few puddles, 45 minutes under a downpour, water in my shoes squishing between the toes, and yet still able to brake. Maybe not 100% as efficient as if it were dry but still super reliable.Oh and the squeal completely disappeared. It was fun because it added a lot of drama to the simplest of brakings. But it was also kind of annoying.I probably had the loudest brakes in town (that's Paris btw) ! All gone nowMoral of the story: turns out, after 40-ish years, rubber is just too old :)And thanks to koolstop for making these !!

These brake shoes fit my Mafac "Racer" brakes.

I bought my bike in the 90's and rode it a lot. Its sat around for a while but recently came back out of hibenation. The bike is GREAT, the old Mafac Racer pads were, hmmm not so great even in the 90's!These pads push right into the old holders and actually give you some stopping power.If you have Mafac Racer brakes on your cycle, you NEED these pads. DOnt let the price scare you off, buy them!

Perfect replacement for my 30+ year old brake shoes on my Peugot UO-10. Not really sure which end faces the sky, so I winged it and it looks ok. Vendor very friendly, responsive to questions

These fit perfectly into the 40 year old mafac pad holders I have. The stopping power of the salmon compound is excellent.