CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Questions/Support/Help

Shimano roller brake advice

(8 posts)
  • Started 3 years ago by Greenroofer
  • Latest reply from Greenroofer
  • This topic is not resolved

No tags yet.


  1. Greenroofer
    Member

    So Mrs G has a rather nice city bike with 7-speed Shimano Nexus hub gears with a roller brake, Shimano dynamo (with a roller brake, and installed by @Harts Cyclery). She doesn't ride it any more, due to the arrival of the e-bike.

    I have a very tired commuter bike (also hub geared with eccentric bottom bracket) and with hydraulic disc brakes that I expect are now defective after a year of not using the bike.

    I am minded, partly just because it would be an interesting project, to swap the wheels from Mrs G's bike to mine. I'd need a few cheapish components (new cables and outers, new brake levers, new shifter). The main blocker is the brakes: they need something to hold the reaction arm that makes them work. Mrs G's bike has braze-ons, as does my Elephant Bike. My aim is just to nick the wheels from her bike, rather than plunder it for components...

    Does anyone have any experience of installing Shimano roller brakes on a bike that doesn't have the fitting (particularly on the front) to constrain the reaction arm (the fitting on the back is a screw-on bracket).

    https://www.sheldonbrown.com/rollerbrakes.html hasn't identified a solution...

    Posted 3 years ago #

  2. I were right about that saddle
    Member

    Excellent project.

    First thought: it may not be physically possible or consistent with the spirit of the thing but could you transplant the entire front fork from the city bike to the commuter?

    Other than that I think you'll be into light engineering which may not be ideal for safety-critical components?

    Posted 3 years ago #

  3. Morningsider
    Member

    Interesting. Had a quick swatch at the set-up on my Gazelle - the reaction arms are held in place by pretty meaty braze ons. I imagine they might come under quite a bit of stress during braking, so not really something you would want to bodge.

    Posted 3 years ago #

  4. chdot
    Admin

    This seems ambiguous (haven’t read every word).

    Clear that rear brakes can fitted with a clip if no braze on.

    Front?

    https://si.shimano.com/api/publish/storage/pdf/en/dm/HRB001/DM-HRB001-09-ENG.pdf

    Posted 3 years ago #

  5. Greenroofer
    Member

    Thank you all. I can't use the front fork as is, I don't think, partly because one is a quill stem and the other an aheadset, so I'd end up with the wrong kind of bars. Also my bike is black and Mrs G's is cream, so I just don't think that's going to work.

    The link chdot referenced is studiously vague about how to install them. It talks about screwing a clamp to the chainstay on the back and doesn't mention the front.

    It does seem a bit safety-critical to get the front one right, so I think something better than a jubilee clip is called for.

    I might need to abandon the whole thing. If it turns out that the disc brakes on the commuter bike have indeed failed after a year of no use, I may need to resort to riding the Elephant Bike to work...

    Posted 3 years ago #

  6. I were right about that saddle
    Member

    one is a quill stem and the other an aheadset

    Oh, not a problem as long as the head tubes are the same internal diameter which they may well be if they're the same vintage....

    Posted 3 years ago #

  7. crowriver
    Member

    In related news (with suitable apologies for thread hijack) I have a Carerra Subway commuter bike with roller brakes and Shimano 8 speed hub gears that I no longer require. I shall be releasing it from my stable in the new year. Frame was slightly small for me, probably a "medium" size, so I fitted a head tube extended gizmo which I need to remove before passing the bike on. Newish Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres fitted. If anyone might be interested in acquiring this, reply in the thread or PM me.

    Posted 3 years ago #

  8. Greenroofer
    Member

    @crowriver you have PM :-)

    Posted 3 years ago #

RSS feed for this topic

Reply

You must log in to post.


Video embedded using Easy Video Embed plugin