mconlonx

I built up a Cannondale mtn bike with Sachs (now SRAM) drum brakes. Aluminum hubs, sealed bearings.

Performance is on par with cantilever brakes, i.e. plenty powerful in most situations. But not as good as V-Brakes or certainly disk brakes.

When figuring cost, think of combined cost of non hub-brake hub plus brakes. It makes them seem amazingly reasonable. Except you generally need a custom wheel build, which from an expense point isn't the greatest, but for wheels you are going to be riding for a while, a good investment.

Maintenance has been almost zero.

I've been more than happy with them and don't hesitate to recommend them.

chico1st

has anyone used drum brakes with a cargo bike?
a big dummy can handle a few hundred pounds of cargo, could drums handle that?

garage sale GT

look up worksman cycles. they have cargo bikes with drum brakes. Maybe you can buy it as an accessory. I bet the suitability of any particular brake depends on its size.

zzyzx_xyzzy

Have a bike with the Sturmey Archer drum/dynamo. It's less powerful than a dry rim brake and way more powerful than a wet rim brake. Does the same thing no matter what the weather. Good for a winter commuter.

LarDasse74

Again, if you are talking about the Shimano Nexus hand-lever operated brake, it is not a drum brake - it is a 'roller' brake.

The front roller brake, I have heard, is not a great option, but I have never figured out why.

I have used the roller brake on an older 7sp Nexus hub and it stops me (260 lbs + bike & gear) just fine. Not great modulation, but fine stopping.
Should work well on a cargo bike, but remamber that most of your braking is int he front and you should get something better (like discs or Vs or properly set up cantis) for the front.

Dan Burkhart 

I have Shimano roller brakes front and rear on my 65lb Schwinn Twinn tandem, and with my son, grand daughter and I aboard, the GVW is approaching 600 lbs. Stops just fine, thankyou.

chico1st

i know that roller brakes are different... but they have the same braking power as drum brakes?

Dan Burkhart 

At least. My own riding experience with drums is Sachs, which were decidedly unimpressive. I sold lots of bikes with Sturmey Archer drums though, and although my riding experience on those is limited to test rides, they all worked much better than my Sachs drums ever did, even when brand new. They improve with a break in.

Shadowofdoom

I have an ebike with front disc at about 70# they arent very good


I have a 1950 peugeot type 55 (maybe a 250 pound motorcycle) with drums and converted the front wheel to electric drive/disc (for a hybrid AWD bike, with regen). I installed a well reviewed hydraulic brake system and the hydraulic discs arent as good as the 118mm rear drum, maybe it wont fade though? Idk.

​just bought a sturmey archer front hub (xlfd), breaking area has a 90mm diameter, that's 75% of the motorcycles brake drum diameter and my bike doesnt weigh more than 35#. (Though I dont know the difference in the width of the shoes)


I have a nexus 8 with roller brake on a 1970's panasonic sport deluxe frame. No front rim brake, no problem stopping, In 6' 4" 250#


so..


I'm sure the right disc set up is wayy better than drums also they dont use rim brakes on anything other than bicycles, I wonder why... Drum brakes have stopped cars and planes and what not for like a hundred years


What does that mean? rim brakes are lighter, more finicky and dont slow a heavy load well enough for any real industrail use and if the rim is untrue or the system gets old it's a terrible experience of the brakes and rim rubbing and being totally exhausted


Drums are heavier but they stop better and are lower maintenance.


If youre building a racer go with some kind of carbon fiber rim brake that weighs 2 ounces


If you like maintaining and adjusting brakes get a rim brake because they are high maintenance


If your not so worried about having an extra half a water bottle worth of weight on board and dont have time for high maintenance products, go drum or disc. If adding to a bike without disc connections, go drum, they're a 100% flameless and bolt on add on

Retro Grouch 

How old is that tandem? We had one of those on our first tandem but that was a long time ago and that hub was already old when I got it.

base2 

I had a Worksman with a drum in front & a coaster brake in back. They did a real good job of pretending to want to stop. I found them to always be mushy, weak, & lacking in every sense of the word.

They did work, but inspired zero confidence for anything other than flat land use at beach cruiser speeds. At best the front drum only became merely "passable" when mated to compressionless kevlar reinforced brake housing.

I donated the bike to a local charity.

I'm sure many other people will have their own experiences to share. For me though, it was a fun experiment in novelty that I probably won't be doing again unless I have a very specific set of needs or circumstances.

Roller brakes are another story & a different animal.

alo

I look at cost/economics. To replace pads on disc brakes is so cheap, you are not going to spend a lot over the years.

Yes I know, some people have expensive disc brakes where they cost more.

JohnDThompson 

It's a 1983 Gitane "Ralleye" tandem. We had it since new.

GamblerGORD53

Old thread, but whatever....I got mine in 2012.
My SA XL-FDD dyno drum is by far the BEST thing I have ever bought. It now has 24,000 miles with a bearing change at 17,000.
It requires NO adjustment or service. By far the easiest to take the wheel off. I haven't even touched the cable in 6 years/ 20,000 miles. 8,100 of the miles were on a 120 lb tour bike, 290 with me. It does FINE on any mountain. I doesn't lock up and I wouldn't want it to either. I never need to ride the brake, just give it a good squeeze going into corners.
It basically SAVES me $10 every 5,000 miles that would go into other pads, plus ZERO unsightly wear on my Dyad rims, still good as new. I used 2.3/ 2.0 WH spokes that will last forever.
The FADE stories are just old wives tales, IMO. I don't think it's ever gotten warm, never mind hot. WAY less heat than any disc for sure. Salmon pads have been just pathetic for me with calipers.

Only the last 3,000 miles has the rear had a great TRP disc caliper on my Rohloff.
Drum is certainly better than the lame one side moving pad BB5s I had on my hybrid.

MNebiker

Wow - this thread about drum brakes takes me back 60 years to my first bike, a JC Higgins with a drum coaster brake. I got the bike when I was 9, beat it like a kid would until I got my driver's license, then gave it to another family who had a 9 year old. He did the same, then gave it to his younger brother. That thing would not die.

It was touchy to adjust but had plenty of stopping power, would easily lock up the rear wheel. I used the bike on a paper route, loaded the rear carrier down with 2 full bags every day. That weight on bumpy small-town gravel roads broke the rear axle several times, so I got pretty good at repairing and adjusting the hub. The only place I could get parts for it was the a Western Auto store 25 miles away, so I kept a spare on hand. I didn't want to carry those bags!

Sorry to butt in with an old dude's memories. . . . . .