The type you see on old Raleigh cruisers. Any of you have any experience with these? I want to put one on the front of my girlfriend’s daily rider, maybe on one of my bikes too if works out well. I know they’re supposed to be pretty heavy, but that’s not really an issue. I’m curious about their stopping power (this bike would probably see some cargo) and also about their serviceability, the ease/necessity of changing pads etc. Sheldon doesn’t have much to say about them so I’m asking you geniuses instead.
overall drum brakes are weak…
I would think that parts would be hard to come by, but I could be wrong… My experience comes from motocross… I had to rebuild the brakes on my little brothers mini-bikes a few times… they were poor performing crap.
I’ll be the first to say it
just get discs
getting drum brakes would only be good for gimmick value.
something tells me discs wouldn’t fit quite right on the build he’s talking about
Shimano makes (or made) a drum brake called Roller brakes, if you’re really set on drums. You need their proprietary hub though.
I have a newish (maybe two year old) sturmey archer front drum on a bike. it built up wonderfully, the recesses in the spoke holes make the spokes sit perfectly. it ended up being the best wheel i’ve ever built (not built that many, but still…) Don’t know if the super high flanges helped or not, but it is one tough wheel!
It’s a little heavy, but I don’t notice that at all. Stopping power is not that great. However, that stopping power is the same in wet and dry conditions. And it is impossible (or very, very difficult) to lock it up. Also modulation is excellent!!! can’t emphasise this enough. These things make it great for joe & jane average to use.
And maintenance is zero. I imagine at some point you’d have to overhaul them but i think that would be after many tens of thousands of miles (someone else might know).
Do it! i think they’re really underrated. As i say, they don’t have the best stopping ability, but not everyone rides “on the edge” and needs the best performing brakes. like all brakes once you get used to the stopping distance there is no problem. they are still better than some of the crappy calipers i have ridden at times. For a canadian winter I think it’d be great!
btw i emailed sheldon about them and he said that the shimano one is crappy and not to get it. the stopping power is horrendous. i think they even say that on the harris site somewhere.
[edit] here’s what sheldon’s site says about the shimano rollerbrake: "These brakes are prone to fading due to overheating is used in mountainous terrain. I particularly advise against using a front Rollerbrake, because the front hubs made for these brakes incorporate the infamous and wrong-headed “Power Modulator " mechanism which reduces the effectiveness of the brake.”
Also, they are a lot cheaper than disc brakes, require no braze-ons and no maintenance. much more practical for a lot of people (like me).
here’s a pic of mine:
[quote=“Straws”]I’ll be the first to say it
just get discs
getting drum brakes would only be good for gimmick value.[/quote]
Forgot to specify that this is going on an old steel beater. I’m pretty sure there’s no such thing as a readily available 1" threaded fork with disc tabs but I won’t even bother looking because it alone would exceed this project’s budget. What I’m looking for is something cheap, trouble-free and snow worthy. I guess that’s a gimmick.
[quote=“wotan”]I have a newish (maybe two year old) sturmey archer front drum on a bike. it built up wonderfully, the recesses in the spoke holes make the spokes sit perfectly. it ended up being the best wheel i’ve ever built (not built that many, but still…) Don’t know if the super high flanges helped or not, but it is one tough wheel!
It’s a little heavy, but I don’t notice that at all. Stopping power is not that great. However, that stopping power is the same in wet and dry conditions. And it is impossible (or very, very difficult) to lock it up. Also modulation is excellent!!! can’t emphasise this enough. These things make it great for joe & jane average to use.
And maintenance is zero. I imagine at some point you’d have to overhaul them but i think that would be after many tens of thousands of miles (someone else might know).
Do it! i think they’re really underrated. As i say, they don’t have the best stopping ability, but not everyone rides “on the edge” and needs the best performing brakes. like all brakes once you get used to the stopping distance there is no problem. they are still better than some of the crappy calipers i have ridden at times. For a canadian winter I think it’d be great!
btw i emailed sheldon about them and he said that the shimano one is crappy and not to get it. the stopping power is horrendous. i think they even say that on the harris site somewhere.
Also, they are a lot cheaper than disc brakes, require no braze-ons and no maintenance. much more practical for a lot of people (like me).
here’s a pic of mine:
[/quote]
Not sure what I think about those bars, but awesome bike nonetheless. Was the hub very spendy? I was thinking of getting one off an old cruiser but getting a new one would be an option too if they’re reasonably priced. An other thing I meant to ask: Is drag ever an issue with these? That would be a bummer.
ps i weigh about 85kg and have carried a further 20kg or so with no problem on that bike. even though it is fixed gear i try not to backpedal too much, because good quality inch-pitch chains aren’t easy to come by and i don’t want to kill that one. therefore, the hub brake does most/all the stopping.
holy hell I didnt even notice the inch pitch
jacques, i know what you mean about the bars. but supposedly that’s how they’re designed to be used!! the hub costs US$70 or US$86 if you want a generator:
http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/sturmey-archer-hubs.html
[edit] these new ones (like mine) are alloy now too, so they weigh less than most of the old ones you’ll find on bikes. and the kit comes with everything except a lever. if i remember correctly, the cable is one of those double-ended ones so you can use it with either drop lever or flat bar styles.
as far as drag goes, they are okay. not as good as well packed loose ball, but similar to most mid-range cartridge bearing hubs.
here’s a pic with different bars, probably looks a bit better:
that bike is classy as fuck!
Thread Necromancer!
Wotan what rack is that??
edit: nm i bet it’s the VO randonneur
i was in maui and rode down the volcano and the bikes we used all had drum brakes. according to the tour guide, drum brakes performed equally well in wet/dry conditions whereas disc brakes would start to lose stopping power in wetter conditions.
i guess if you’re a company that takes tourists to the top of a 10,000 ft mountain so that they can coast back down the road surrounded only by sharp jagged lava rocks they’d want something that stops consistently. anyway, I say GO FOR IT!
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