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Anyone have double drum brakes? Are they strong enough, or are they better for just one wheel? Was thinking about it for my winter bike.

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I have them.  They are neither the best or the worst brake ever.  I have them on a 43 pound bike I like to get groceries with so it gets loaded down a lot and I am a big guy and they stop it OK.

Sweet, thanks. Look like I get to build some wheels.

notoriousDUG said:

I have them.  They are neither the best or the worst brake ever.  I have them on a 43 pound bike I like to get groceries with so it gets loaded down a lot and I am a big guy and they stop it OK.

I've got a Sturmey Archer X-FDD. If i had to do it again I think I'd buy the XL-FDD.  I could use more brakes when I'm pulling a trailer loaded up with crap.   The drum is really nice in the rain or wet pavement/puddles.  It laughs at the wet. 

That's the one I was looking at, I'll have a trailer sometimes too. They should make stopping in slop easy this winter. I was thinking of wrapping the wheels with cotton twine to see if I get a better grip on ice. For obvious reasons I can't try with rim brakes. Ever see Bear Grylls put his socks on the outside of his shoes? That same idea.

James BlackHeron said:

I've got a Sturmey Archer X-FDD. If i had to do it again I think I'd buy the XL-FDD.  I could use more brakes when I'm pulling a trailer loaded up with crap.   The drum is really nice in the rain or wet pavement/puddles.  It laughs at the wet. 

Is the drum brake really worth it over a disc in the wet?  I've got over 5k on my Alfine discs in year-round commuting, original pads and rotors still.

Yes. More braking material over a given surface area that will stay dry in wet weather, unless submerged. The only real drawbacks are weight and fun times changing a tire.



Casey Carnes said:

Is the drum brake really worth it over a disc in the wet?  I've got over 5k on my Alfine discs in year-round commuting, original pads and rotors still.

I was told discs suck when wet. What about dirt or mud? No effect? Also that (for me) will take a frame change.

Casey Carnes said:

Is the drum brake really worth it over a disc in the wet?  I've got over 5k on my Alfine discs in year-round commuting, original pads and rotors still.

I've never noticed much of a difference between wet and dry performance.  Usually the tires are the weakest link when its wet out.  

If you have a frame you're fond of,  You can have disc tabs installed by a framebuilder for maybe $100. Drums probably are the better option if you are more worried about zero maintenance and  supreme reliability and weight isn't a big issue.

One advantage of disc brakes is that it is much cheaper to have spare wheels.  A spare drum hub is pretty expensive but a spare disc hub with disc isn't that costly.   And the wheels don't even have to be the same size.  it is possible to put a smaller wheel into the safe frame and run it (although this may change the way the bike handles and lower the BB if you don't also adjust tires.)

But there are some slight differences with types of rims and different tires that yield the same outer diameter but the rim sizes are different     You could swap between skinny low-profile tires to fat large tires for other conditions like snow and not have to worry about the caliper brakes on the rim not lining up with different diameter rims -but still end up with the same outer diameter on the tire so the overall "wheel" size doesn't change.

This can only really be done with disc brakes (or no brakes, such as on a fixie)

Ha! Now I'm thinking of a frame to weld'em on. I'll stick with drums for winter. Discs do sound better than I was thinking.

Casey Carnes said:

I've never noticed much of a difference between wet and dry performance.  Usually the tires are the weakest link when its wet out.  

If you have a frame you're fond of,  You can have disc tabs installed by a framebuilder for maybe $100. Drums probably are the better option if you are more worried about zero maintenance and  supreme reliability and weight isn't a big issue.

I've got them on one of my Raleighs and it's become my sole winter bike for that reason. It's nice to have two competent brakes in wet, snowy or slushy weather. 

On my bakfiets, I have a v-brake front and roller brake rear and wish I would have shelled out another $100 for the roller up front too. I have to clean all kinds of grime out of it if I hope to get much of any efficacy from that brake on gross winter days. 

That's what I was thinking. I've had to stick my foot ontop of the back tire to stop in the winter (old bmx'er E brake) it's not fun. Sick of stopping to clean off rim brakes when all I want to do is go home and get warm. Drums for me this winter! Damn, you ride a bakfiets in the snow and slush!?

Ash L. said:

I've got them on one of my Raleighs and it's become my sole winter bike for that reason. It's nice to have two competent brakes in wet, snowy or slushy weather. 

On my bakfiets, I have a v-brake front and roller brake rear and wish I would have shelled out another $100 for the roller up front too. I have to clean all kinds of grime out of it if I hope to get much of any efficacy from that brake on gross winter days. 

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