Wikipedia
MAFAC, or Manufacture Arvernoise de Freins et Accessoires pour Cycles ( Arveni Manufacturing Works for Bicycle Brakes and Accessories), was a French manufacturer of bicycle brakes and tool kits. MAFAC was founded in post-war France under the name "Securité", which changed to MAFAC in the Autumn of 1947. Initially MAFAC made cantilever brakes, brake levers, and tool kits. Early MAFAC brakes were built in the cantilever configuration with a separate brake arm on each side, actuated by a straddle cable. Later MAFAC brakes were of a center-pull design in which a straddle cable links the two overlapping arms of the brake. Like the cantilever design, it is actuated by pulling from the center of this cable. MAFAC's rubber brake hoods, originating in the late 1940s, had built-in adjusters, allowing adjustment of the brakes while riding. The center-pull brakes were designed to clear fenders, front rack mounts, handlebar bags, and large tires. This made MAFAC brakes one of the most popular models from the late 1950s through the 1970s.
The ability to clear larger tires also led to MAFAC cantilever brakes appearing on some of the earliest mountain bikes, including one of the first package-built mountain bikes, the 1981 Specialized Stumpjumper.
The center-pulls were solid brakes and inexpensive which led to MAFAC brakes being specified on everything from inexpensive to competition level bikes. Economic pressures and strong competition from Japan led to the company's disappearance in the late 1980s.