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Your drum/roller brake experiences

(14 posts)
  • Started 8 years ago by Darkerside
  • Latest reply from weezee
  • This topic is not resolved

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  1. Darkerside
    Member

    So, n+1 arrived yesterday (mumble, mumble, Urban Arrow, mumble). It's fitted with rollerbrakes fore and aft, although came with a disc-ready spare wheel.

    After a brief play yesterday, the rollers aren't as horrendous as I was expecting, and the robustness + weatherproofness appeals.

    I'm going to find some big 'ole hills to test them on today, but feedback from the collective forum brain also appreciated.

    From some fairly extensive Googling, they seem to be universally disliked by people who haven't actually used them, but those who have generally get on with them ok...

    Posted 8 years ago #

  2. chdot
    Admin

    I like drum brakes.

    Got Sturmeys on my 8 Freight. Just work, adjust for cable stretch, that's about it.

    Might not be as powerful as 'modern' disc brakes but had no concerns when heavily loaded. Can stop quite sharply if pulled on hard.

    Had a bike with Shimano roller brakes once. Can't remember how well they worked, but squealed a lot.

    Posted 8 years ago #

  3. duncans
    Member

    Squealing = need to add the special grease.

    I had roller brakes on my old bike - they weren't completely terrible but I much prefer disks.

    However the front bearing collapsed under damage from tree roots and kerbs on the A8 path, result was beyond economical repair due to roller brake funkiness and other Trek Soho issues. Being niche, you can't get spares or replacements cheaply or easily.

    Posted 8 years ago #

  4. crowriver
    Member

    I have drum brakes on two bikes - both Pashleys - the Pronto postal bike and the Fold-It folding bike.

    They are great, as chdot says they "just work". Weatherproof, fairly powerful, no noise. Cables do need adjusting now and again, haven't replaced cables yet but doesn't look complicated.

    Posted 8 years ago #

  5. cc
    Member

    Congratulations on getting the Urban Arrow!
    In my experience roller brakes are a bit weedy when new, so you have to anticipate your braking quite carefully, but they gradually get more powerful as they wear / bed in.

    Posted 8 years ago #

  6. Greenroofer
    Member

    Mrs G has Shimano ones on her bike They just work. Negligible maintenance in six years of regular commuting. Taking the back wheel off with those brakes and a Nexus hub is something we avoid as it's a complete pain.

    Posted 8 years ago #

  7. chdot
    Admin

    "Squealing = need to add the special grease."

    So I believe!

    Brakes, squeak, grease - just seems wrong!

    (And they looked cheap and ugly.)

    And the rear was a 7 speed which didn't last that many miles.

    Posted 8 years ago #

  8. Darkerside
    Member

    To add in what I found from t'web: Sturmey drums seem to be regarded as "better", but are built in to the hub and (very) occasionally need the pads replacing. Shimano drums ("rollers") screw on to the outside of a hub so can be replaced as a unit and have no consumables at all. However, they need the magic grease to lube the metal-on-metal braking interface, and are more draggy than the Sturmey drums (particularly in the cold).

    Shimano front rollers also have a "power modulator" which slips the brake (rather like a clutch) if you grab a great handful of brake at once. This apparently makes a massive racket. I suspect it's in there as Shimano regard this as a brake more likely to be used by novice riders (hire bikes and such), and therefore have erred for reduced chance of going over the handlebars at the expense of worse emergency braking for an experienced rider. Sheldon is scathing...

    Posted 8 years ago #

  9. Arellcat
    Moderator

    I will add that the torpedo has the 90mm Sturmey drum brakes. They are pretty jolly good, though discs would stop the machine from 40mph with somewhat greater authority.

    However, you find few velomobiles using disc brakes because of the air flow requirements and the need to have a weatherproof brake.

    Posted 8 years ago #

  10. kaputnik
    Moderator

    Good experiences of the drum brakes (Sturmey) on my winterbike. The feel of them and the best way to pull the lever to get the most effective braking i different than a rim brake, but you quickly adjust and I've never found I couldn't stop. Simple to adjust and after that they are weatherproof and need the absolute minimum of maintenance. No more dodgy braking thanks to water or oil on the braking surfaces.

    I had the same experience as (I think) Dave did with one of the hubs and had to take it apart and reassemble to get the thing to stop binding, which seemed down to Sturmeys QC issues.

    Posted 8 years ago #

  11. crowriver
    Member

    Should have pointed out that the brakes on the Pashleys are Sturmey Archer drum brakes, not Shimano roller brakes...

    They're really very good. More bikes should have them.

    Posted 8 years ago #

  12. firedfromthecircus
    Member

    Test rides are dangerous!
    I have drums on my Cleland Aventura but they originate from a French moped so not really relevant to the discussion. However, the man who specced them on that bike has been using roller brakes for a good few years now, and really rates them.
    I think there might be some info on his blog.
    https://clelandcycles.wordpress.com/evolution/
    I believe you can get bigger add on cooling fins for them if cooling is an issue but I doubt it would be for the manner a cargo bike would be ridden.
    Looking forward to the blog posts about your experiences.

    Posted 8 years ago #

  13. Roibeard
    Member

    Ooo - @Fired (actually @crowriver too!) I wouldn't mind a run on your bikes, the Elephant Bike might be a more realistic purchase, but I've had my eye on a Aventura for a while too...

    Perhaps we need another CCE ride-a-random bike event - I can bring a few oddities myself!

    Robert

    Posted 8 years ago #

  14. weezee
    Member

    I'm watching this thread with interested as my Gazelle has Shimano rollers front and back and, even after nearly 2 years, they still aren't delivering the power I for emergency stops. I popped into Cycle Service for a chat with Chris about it yesterday and it looks like my options for changing or upgrading are limited, probably only a straight switch to a bigger unit. That and building up my finger muscles...

    Interested to hear anyone else's techniques for braking on rollers.

    Curiously, the rollers on the Urban Arrow never bothered me quite so much as the Gazelle, though having the discs on the UA now is lovely.

    Posted 8 years ago #

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