Re: [CR]Arai Drum Brake

(Example: Framebuilders:Bernard Carré)

Date: Thu, 19 May 2005 11:57:21 -0500
From: "John Thompson" <JohnThompson@new.rr.com>
Organization: The Crimson Permanent Assurance
To: Classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
Subject: Re: [CR]Arai Drum Brake
References: <20050519162313.5976.qmail@web32806.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
In-Reply-To: <20050519162313.5976.qmail@web32806.mail.mud.yahoo.com>


Forbes Bagatelle-Black wrote:
> (I think these brakes qualify as "on-topic" for this
> list. These brakes have been around for quite a
> while, haven't they?)
>
> Does anyone have experience with an Arai drum brake?
> I know that some
> folks say you should use it only as a drag brake,
> hooked up to a
> ratcheting shift lever, but I want to set it up on a
> double-pull road brake
> lever I just got. Does that setup work? How much
> actual braking does
> the Arai drum add?
>
> Any advice would be appreciated.

Drum brakes have very different cable pull requirements than caliper brakes, so it's generally not recommended to run both a caliper and drum brake from one double-pull lever. If you have front and rear calipers, put both of those on the double-pull lever and run the drum by itself on a separate lever. Be aware that double-pull levers require careful attention to cable adjustment and a stronger hand to operate well.

--

-John Thompson (john@os2.dhs.org)
Appleton WI USA