Thanks, Harvey! Both Ted and Phil Easton have been very helpful. Ted has suggested felt, and Phil's wife uses Corima (a modern brake pad for composite rims) on her wood-rimmed machine.
I have the opportunity to buy some wood rims for wired-on tyres, and I wanted to make sure I would be able to stop on some of the long, steep descents where I live. A tandem couple was killed on a particularly dangerous hill here some years ago, and I have no desire to follow suit!
Neil Foddering Weymouth, Dorset, England
>From: Harvey Sachs <hmsachs@verizon.net>
>To: neil foddering <neilfoddering@hotmail.com>
>CC: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org, dave@pelletizer.com, ternst1@cox.net
>Subject: Re: [CR]Spoke tension wooden rims
>Date: Sun, 14 Jan 2007 17:04:59 -0500
>
>
>
>neil foddering wrote:
>
>
>>Forgive me if this question has already been asked and answered, but what
>>brake blocks do you use?
>>
>>I may use wood rims on my 1939 R O Harrison when I build it up, and will
>>need effective brakes, since it will have a derailleur (Super Champion
>>Osgear) and I won't have the braking of a fixed wheel.
>>
>Well, Neil, I'm a bit embarrassed about this. The Paramount is fixed-gear,
>but I don't ride brakeless on the road. So, I put a vintage sidepull on it.
>Since I didn't have "proper" leather (?) or felt (?) brake pads, and since
>the varnish was in no great shape anyhow, I just put on some old Matthauser
>pads that were in the box, but try not to use them often. If Ted or others
>more knowledgeable have a better idea, I'm all ears!
>
>harvey sachs
>mcLean va