The standard setup for a double pull brake was to set up the front and rear caliper with the double pull using barrel adjusters to balance the brakes and the other lever with the drum. The double pull brake works ok, but just ok set up that way, and rarely ever worked any better than just two calipers using all three brakes. The stretch with the length of cables meant that the balance changed as lever pull increased. Again for a tandem, if you need lots of brake on a really long hill (say, a mountain?), your hands get tired and what may be more important is your rims may heat up a bit more than safe. That's when a drag brake works so much better. You can still balance front and rear braking with the levers and use the drag brake to control max speed. Feel free if you wish to use the double brake setup, and I seem to remember Dale recently requesting a Mafac double holed lever on the list, but it seems more for tradition than better braking. I've made that conversion to drag brake on my '84 Santana way back when, combined with Scott Self Energizing brakes (Sorry Dale for the Off topic stuff) and that 50 lb. behemoth needed everything it could get.
Dan Artley in hilly Parkton, Maryland
>>> Forbes Bagatelle-Black <diarmaede@yahoo.com> 05/19/05 12:23 PM >>>
(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.
Yours,
Forbes B-Black Santa Clarita, CA
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