brakes on a springer fork?

[Sparky]

alright, my next build will be a chopper based loosely on the overkill plans.

love the overkill in its natural state, but its just not for me.

im going for a chopper like ive seen in a million pictures in my dads old bike magazines. lots of rake, triple tree springer, low down, 26' wheels at both ends, ape hangars, and a skinny back tire. and very likely to put an engine in it.

my conundrum is... how does one put brakes on a springer front end?

by springer, i mean like these- http://www.jeris-springer.com/home.html

a disc brake would be great for looks and to handle stopping a 50cc engine. but it seems that if its a springer, i wouldnt have anything to mount the caliper to, as it would all move whenever i hit a bump.

caliper brakes would have the same problem. and be ugly to boot.

and as i recall on the old choppers, they just didnt have a front brake.

[robertwb70]

That link is to motorcycle forks and they have brakes on them, maybe you could mount yours the same way they do.

[Sparky]

i knew they were for motorcycles.. did i miss the obvious?


---just looked again. oops.... guess i did. :o:o:o


well, that sorts that out rather nicely. anyway, yall now know what my next project is!

[n9viw]

Here's a link from my old stomping grounds (and I may be back, if I ever finish my old 750... heck, I gotta START on it first!): http://www.hondachopper.com/springer_forks_and_front_brakes.html

The short of it is, you have a fixed link from the REAR leg to the top of the caliper mount, and a floating caliper mount that rides on the axle. Doesn't matter how the wheel goes up and down, the link creates a parallelogram effect with the rocker on the springer, keeping everything in line. It's also said to eliminate "springer stand", which happens when you link the caliper mount to a rocker and the rockers 'stand on tiptoe' when you hit the brakes, effectively making your springer fork a rigid mass!

[trikeman]

Sparky - you might check over on the motorized bicycle forum at

http://www.motoredbikes.com/index.php

A lot of guys there are putting motors on beach crusiers and adding springer forks to them. All of them want better braking.

Here is a thread to get you started there:

http://www.motoredbikes.com/showthread.php?t=11053&highlight=springer+brakes

[Richie Rich]

my conundrum is... how does one put brakes on a springer front end?You might consider a hub brake. I use one on my DeltaWolf. It may solve your problem.

.....Richie...

[savarin]

I use a back pedal brake hub as my front brake.
Its remarkably effective but care must be taken not to make a hard grab and lock the brake. It will lock the wheel and skid if snatched.

[savarin]

You might consider a hub brake. I use one on my DeltaWolf. It may solve your problem.

.....Richie...
Hi Richie,
where do you get those terrific spike nuts from?

[trikeman]

I use a back pedal brake hub as my front brake.
Its remarkably effective but care must be taken not to make a hard grab and lock the brake. It will lock the wheel and skid if snatched.

When you say back pedal brake hub, do you mean a coaster brake? How to you hook it up, since you have no pedals on the front?

[SirJoey]

Hi Richie,
where do you get those terrific spike nuts from?

Since "Richard the Merciless" melted me the other day when I was roasting in this triple-digit heat, I'm gonna steal his thunder... :p

They're called Pike Nuts. A little pricey, but you can get 'em here:
http://www.dmpolish.com/catalog.php?main_page=index&cPath=98_196&zenid=109cc74451df371d66e92e1444f06732


http://img384.imageshack.us/img384/7131/sirjoeysigmedij1.gif

[savarin]

Since "Richard the Merciless" melted me the other day when I was roasting in this triple-digit heat, I'm gonna steal his thunder... :p

They're called Pike Nuts. A little pricey, but you can get 'em here:
http://www.dmpolish.com/catalog.php?main_page=index&cPath=98_196&zenid=109cc74451df371d66e92e1444f06732


http://img384.imageshack.us/img384/7131/sirjoeysigmedij1.gif

not too bad but the shipping weight would price them out.
Gotta get a lathe!

[savarin]

When you say back pedal brake hub, do you mean a coaster brake? How to you hook it up, since you have no pedals on the front?

Thats the one.
I ground the teeth off the sprocket, welded an arm in place actuated by the cable brake.
The cable pulled the arm (sprocket) and applied the brake.
The cable stop was on the rocker with a fairly strong spring between it and the actuating arm to act as a return for the actuating arm.
The original anchor was bent so it could also be held by the rocker.
It looks very neat and works well.
I had some closeups but cant find them. I will try to get some more this weekend.
I have a sneaky feeling I had a description in the old archives.
I got the idea from someone else here then

[trikeman]

Thanks savarin. I do vaguely remember that description from the old archives (I think). I always liked those old coaster brakes when I was a kid. They worked so well, we never worried about not being able to lock up our back tires and do "performance slides." Its good to hear they also work well with a cable and lever. I have several old 20" rear coaster brake wheels from single speed kids bikes. It would be nice to find a use for the old coaster brake hubs. Pics would be great. I will search the old forum to see what is there.

[savarin]

Thanks savarin. I do vaguely remember that description from the old archives (I think). I always liked those old coaster brakes when I was a kid. They worked so well, we never worried about not being able to lock up our back tires and do "performance slides." Its good to hear they also work well with a cable and lever. I have several old 20" rear coaster brake wheels from single speed kids bikes. It would be nice to find a use for the old coaster brake hubs.

I re-laced it into a 26" wheel with a skinny smooth tread tyre. Looks "cool" to use the vernacular.

[trikeman]

As far as locking up those wheels when we were kids, it probably didn't hurt any that we were standing on the crank arm too lol. Lot of leverage there!!

[trikeman]

savarin - this may be the post from the old forum

http://www.lucidscience.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=872

I'm going to have to try that myelf.

[robertwb70]

I tried this on my pedicab and couldn't get it to work but I just looked at the archive and Savarin said that a long brake actuation arm was his problem and the arm on mine was extra long so that's probably why I couldn't get it to work. Problem is with the weight of the pedicab the arm needed to be even longer than it was to be effective but it would probably be much better on a "normal" weight bike.

[Sparky]

thanks guys.

i'll post pictures when i get more into it. so far everything is just planning.

i have a complete 26' disc rim, disc, and caliper, so i figured i would use it for this project. i think a 26" rear with a coaster brake, and i should have enough stopping power for most any situation. i'm not planning on making the engine any more powerful or trying to win any races. just something to scoot around on.

i will likely have some issues with rake and length of the forks and trail, but we'll figure that out when i get there.

[savarin]

savarin - this may be the post from the old forum

http://www.lucidscience.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=872

I'm going to have to try that myelf.

thats the one, looks like I never did the write up.
I will see how busy I am this weekend.
My day job is taking up far too much of my off time.

[Richie Rich]

Hi Richie,
where do you get those terrific spike nuts from?I got them last year on ePay from this guy....

http://tinyurl.com/5q3xtb

...Richie....

PS...Thanks for the assist, Joey. We're all in this together. ;)

[trikeman]

I tried this on my pedicab and couldn't get it to work but I just looked at the archive and Savarin said that a long brake actuation arm was his problem and the arm on mine was extra long so that's probably why I couldn't get it to work. Problem is with the weight of the pedicab the arm needed to be even longer than it was to be effective but it would probably be much better on a "normal" weight bike.

Robert - you might take a look at how these plans (page 2) use a coaster brake with a brake pedal. That might work on your pedicab:

http://www.vintageprojects.com/mini-bike/Power-Bike.pdf