my rear brake sucks dick

[Ironsled77]

anyone else having braking problems with forwards on a drum brake? i have tried everything except making a copy of the g&l brake pivot. i put new pads on scratched the fuck out of the drum, cross cut the pads, remade my existing bracket to a longer one for more leverage. all to no avail. any ideas? i know im pretty valguer for my first post but this has been bugging me for sometime and yesterday was the first day to ride it with all the new stuff done to it and.......it still sucks! thanks in advance

 

[Sundie]

stupid question: do you have the pads in the right way? When you take it off to look at it, is the whole friction pad being contacted?

 

[Travis]

I have them and they work fine. I don't know if you can really blame the forward controls because they are only one part the equation, the lever. A lever is a lever... if it's moving your linkage in the proper direction and the proper amount, it's doing it's job.

Did you make your own linkage? Did you make your own brake pivot? How long are the levers on either side of the brake pivot? What angle is the linkage relative to the brake lever on the drum? I really doubt there is anything wrong with the TC Bros forward control.. It's just a lever.

Pics of what you're working with would be nice. Also how well did your rear brakes work before you make any customizations to the bike? With the help of the members here, you'll get this figured out.

 

[eric123]

What did TC Bros say when you contacted them? You did contact them first and let them know about your dilema?

 

[Ironsled77]

i will get some pic tomrrow. i made it all, pads are contacting good. first hub had all new shit on it. second hub was a used one. links are all tube with hiem joints. i think it might be the pivot point. but i have reworked it twice. really it probably has nothing to do with tc but i still think the forwards arent the best. thinking but going to mids but im going to sell the bike anyway but need to get the brakes first

 

[Ironsled77]

oh yeah and i dont know how the brakes work before cause i didnt ride it before i cut it up! hahaha couldnt wait!

 

[angus67]

might have to put the front brake back on, huh? (just a guesse)

 

[Ironsled77]

defineitly not spending the 1000 plus dollars for a brake set up.

 

[Ironsled77]

ok heres pics guys.....

 

[inxs]

- pic 2 and 3 are the same...do you have a pic of the link to the original brake shaft?

 

[Ironsled77]

test for pics

 

[Ironsled77]

last one

 

[Ironsled77]

inxs sorry working with a dinosaur for a computer: ) was have a hard time posting pics. first time on this board. anyway there they are. I made a brace in between the forwards to take the flex out of them, i extended the pivot point thinking that was it, the drum on the bike in the pic is not the one i run. i thru that on the other night for a test. I know the pads are almost worn out. the black drum is the one that goes with the bike. it has new pads and i cross cut them in hopes of getting some more bite. thanks for looking and please let me know if i did some thing wrong!

 

[Travis]

Your pivot point is the problem. You need a longer lever on the bottom of the pivot.

 

[Travis]

Okay, just ran out and took these. Neither angle is ideal but the rear brakes work just fine. You might want to consider moving your pivot point up and having about 3 inches of lever on the bottom, and almost 4 inches on the top. Ideally, you want all the linkages and levers to be 90 degrees to each other when the brake is applied. All of your angles look fine, you just need a longer lever on the bottom of the pivot point. You could also probably do 2" on the bottom and 2.5-2.75" on the top.

 

[inxs]

- ...usually a leverage ratio of around 1-1.5 is used...if you look here front is 41mm and rear is 67mm

 

[Ironsled77]

thanks guys. i think i will have to move my mounting point up and then extend the lower. cause i think it will be draging on turns. when i have the black hub on the pivot is at a 90. the other pads are shot but work great on the stock bike so i figured i would give it a try. Im off to pick up another bike right now so i will have to make a new bracket later tonight and wait for the weather too brake to test again. thanks aagain and i hope thats all it is!

 

[Travis]

- ...usually a leverage ratio of around 1-1.5 is used...if you look here front is 41mm and rear is 67mm

Exactly, the TC bros lever itself is about 2" long on the bottom, so I went with 3" for the bottom of the pivot since the top of the pivot is the stock ~4" on my setup.

Ironsled, that sounds like it should do the trick. Be sure to let us know how it works out!

 

[ardcorechoppers]

nice avatar..maybe you should get your parts from those guys..

 

[yamaman]

Maybe you should also change the title of your thread. It seems it's not TC bros that suck dick, it's the bloke who made your pivot!