On Tue, 2010-12-14 at 14:55 -0700, PATRICK MOORE wrote: > I'm tempted to pay $5 just for a photo of the rod brake stuff, for > sentimental reasons (but I won't). The Indian ones never worked after > the first few miles; I wonder if the Raleighs etc worked better? Kool > Stop salmon pads? Old and long outdated technology, like Woods valves, > or simply bad quality?
Well, to some extent it depends on your standards for "worked". My Raleigh DL-1 had those brakes, and in dry conditions and on the level when new the brakes were certainly adequate to the performance level of the bike. It's awfully hard to get a DL-1 to go much faster than 10 mph on the level, and the bike seems to have a "hull speed" that keeps the speed down no matter what you do. Leisurely speed, leisurely brakes, a reasonably good match. In the wet, steel rims and black rubber brakes, fuggedaboutit. "Stopping" is just not going to happen, no matter how hard you mash on those levers. Your life passes before your eyes as you feel like you're falling from a great height... There is not and never was a Kool Stop brake to fit. No salmon rubber. Back in the early 20th century there used to be leather brake pads that allegedly worked better on wet steel rims than anything I ever saw -- Fibrax was the brand, I believe -- but certainly by 1980, when I bought my DL-1, they had vanished into the mists of time. Over the course of time, I'm not sure what happened to my DL-1 - uneven rim wear? out of round condition? but after four or five years when I'd put the brakes on they'd shudder as some sections grabbed and others did not. The LBS tried but was unable to resolve the problem. Also over the course of several years the moving parts in the brake lever system wear and develop "lost motion" you can't dial out. Slack develops, and the lever can only move so far before it bottoms out on the handlebar, so you lose maximum braking pressure. There are some very charming things about old English roadsters -- but their brakes really aren't one of them. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bu...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
