Home brew Drum Brakes

[John Lewis]

While out riding today I was thinking of brakes. Now disk brakes here are quite expensive +$100 per each. So why not make your own brake system?

My Lightwing aeroplane weighed 230kg empty. Add 2 persons and fuel and its quite a bit more. Now each Lightwing brake consisted of an approximate 1.5 inch section of about 4 to 5 inch 16 ga tube, covered with brake shoe material and pop rivited into the wheel hub. The brake material was rivited on with countersunk rivits on the original but bonding would be better if you could get it done cheaply. There was a simple steel band round this that was tightened by a cable to operate the brakes and released with a coil spring. They worked well and could slow the plane from 50kts or so and hold the plane for runups with ease.

So I ask why we couldn't do something similar on say the DeltaWolf. A simple adapter, drum and band. Something like this. I hope my rather poor drawing makes all clear.

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/hh98/lew2au/DrumBrake.jpg

Hope this makes sense. What do you think?

John Lewis

[savarin]

you can actually get these for tandems and three wheelers.
They come on cheap chinese imported old fashioned bikes.
http://www.autopartsmanufacturing.com/productsimages/bicyclebikebrake_72352.jpg
The brass drum screws onto the freewheel thread on the left hand side and the green plate contains a leather belt bonded to a steel band.
On the delta wolf it would screw to the freewheel adapter.
Works exactly as you stated.

[John Lewis]

Interesting.
The ones on the plane had the material on the drum. Real brake material not leather. I wonder how the leather holds up.

The Lightwings are built at Ballina. They are pretty agricultural but tough. I'm sorry I had to let mine go.

John Lewis

[Sparky]

old indian motorcycles had brakes like those.

you could just run caliper brakes, just have to add a bracket to mount em on.

check ebay for discs. i got a brand new pair, rotors and calipers, for $40. and i found em the same price on websites that sell bike parts. just cheaper quality than what i ended up with.

[savarin]

Interesting.
The ones on the plane had the material on the drum. Real brake material not leather. I wonder how the leather holds up.

John Lewis

I called it leather as that is what it looks like. Its very hard like shoe sole leather about 6mm thick.
Mine came with a bolt on trike backend.

[savarin]

check ebay for discs. i got a brand new pair, rotors and calipers, for $40. and i found em the same price on websites that sell bike parts. just cheaper quality than what i ended up with.

Gee, lucky find, all the disks I find are top end components with a price to match.

[John Lewis]

Gee, lucky find, all the disks I find are top end components with a price to match.

I did have a win from ebay. Full set front and rear $70 AUD. Delivered straight from China in three days. Pretty low quality but they will do for the wolf. Got them after I'd ordered and paid up front $240,$120 each, for some at LBS. I'm still waiting for those weeks later.

Got to say I fancy the drum idea just because I'll can make them all myself instead of buying ready made. Theres satisfaction in that.

John Lewis

[savarin]

I did have a win from ebay. Full set front and rear $70 AUD. Delivered straight from China in three days. Pretty low quality but they will do for the wolf. Got them after I'd ordered and paid up front $240,$120 each, for some at LBS. I'm still waiting for those weeks later.

Got to say I fancy the drum idea just because I'll can make them all myself instead of buying ready made. Theres satisfaction in that.

John Lewis

Hi John,
do you have an address for the chinese ones?

[Sparky]

http://www.pricepoint.com/thumb/3-Parts-158-Brakes/Disc-True.htm

:D

[John Lewis]

Hi John,
do you have an address for the chinese ones?

Here is the address of the store. Check page 4 set for 40 items per page. 8 days to go on current one. I found it by putting disk brake into ebay search originally.

http://store.auctiva.com/cycleway?rlid=4

This willtake you straight to it I think.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=190255332806

John Lewis

[savarin]

for aussies only
Supercheap auto has a dual disk brake full suspension mountain bike for $129
Thats a lot of bits rather cheap although they are dare I say "cheap" in the quality sense of the word

[Trailblazzzzzer]

I bought my brakes there also.
I paid $70 and freight was included to US
The buy it now price was $76 I offered $70 and he took it.
They came ASAP.
Very pleased
Davo

[John Lewis]

for aussies only
Supercheap auto has a dual disk brake full suspension mountain bike for $129
Thats a lot of bits rather cheap although they are dare I say "cheap" in the quality sense of the word

They don't sell them in this State because of the crazy Sunday trading laws here. :(
I went in to ask them when I saw them in a catalog. THought I'd get one for the disks for the Wolf and the suspension rear would do for a Maurauder.

John Lewis

[theDude]

Did you take a look at these: www.electricscooterparts.com/brakes.html ? It's only $12 for the whole band brake assembly.

[savarin]

Did you take a look at these: www.electricscooterparts.com/brakes.html ? It's only $12 for the whole band brake assembly.

they are the ones I was describing,excellent.

[John Lewis]

they are the ones I was describing,excellent.

Might have to get some of those to try. They're certainly cheaper than disks. Wonder how effective they are?

dvantage of making own. You can make a bigger drum and improve efficiency that way. I think the biggest on the site was 90mm.

John Lewis