Custom Oak Cycles 650B French Randonneur Project.

While my Paul Components brakes are awesome, they're not exactly the stiffest of centerpull, this result in it's squealing like a muted pig, and required compressionless housing for it to bite properly, modulation and power however is still the best combo with the centerpull.

The good thing is that I was aware that there'll be a new centerpull coming out that's inspired by the Mafac Raid, and now it have;

Not only it's almost a direct copy of the Raid, it also have some improvement;

We did improve a few things compared to the original Mafacs:

• We made the arms slightly thicker, to make sure the brakes work with the higher brake forces generated by modern pad compounds. The weight gains are minimal.
  
• The bushings of the original were cheap plastic and often developed play. Ours are special IGUS bearings that should last a long time.
  
• The original pad holders were made from stamped aluminum, and the posts could come loose. Ours are cast as a single piece, with integrated posts.
  
• The mounting bolts of the Mafacs, with their thin heads, also are known to fail when you aren't careful during tightening. Ours are stronger, with integrated washers based on a René Herse design.
  
• We improved the finish of the arms and the plating of the screws.
  
• Our braze-on pivots don't have the ugly aluminum plates to hold the spring. Instead, there is a ring with the spring hole that the builder brazes onto the post. (The photos still show the Mafac/Dia Compe braze-ons, since ours weren't ready when the frame was built.)
  
  

It address some of the issues of the original Raid, once it's avaliable, it'll replace the Paul Components after the bike get a revamp.

It may also get a new rack as well to replace the Velo Orange that come with it;