1" disk compatible forks

[Isotonicake]

I've recently bought a tandem with 1" headset and cantilever brakes plus a drum brake. These brakes are pretty shoddy and struggle to stop me alone on the tandem, let alone if I have my wife on board too.

I was thinking about swapping out the canti's for V's, and giving the rear drum a service to try and get it to have at least some retardation force. If drum brake continues to useless, I plan to fit a a2z disk converter and fit a 4pot hydraulic disk and 180mm rotor. Bike has 135mm rear spacing and I already have an xt hub laced to 36h sputnik rim already on the touring bike looks to fit & spin quite nicely.

Browsing the internet, and I came across these 1" forks for a suspiciously low price;

https://www.amazon.co.uk/HYBRID-FORKS-S ... 9558&psc=1

How quickly would we die if these were fitted, alongside disk brakes to the tandem? I already have a front xt hub dynamo laced to 36h sputnik rim which could work quite nicely indeed.

thanks

[Brucey]

random 1" forks are not going to be anything like strong enough for tandem use and that goes double if you use a disc brake on them. Proper tandem forks using a 1" steerer have a really heavy gauge steerer and fork blades which are quite unlike those found on a solo.


If tandem rated cantis and drum brake are not up to snuff you should make sure that

a) some numpty hasn't fitted the wrong levers with them (it is easily done *)
b) you have new cables
c) you have new brake blocks and they are bedded in
d) that the drum brake is correctly set up (and that the drum is clean and free of rust)


I'm guessing you have an Arai drum brake; this (like many drum brakes) will definitely not work correctly for a fair while if the bike has been standing (the drum goes rusty inside) and of course the cam needs a smear of grease and the cable needs to be both of first class quality and in first class condition. Note also that the Arai drum brake (and others of similar ilk) is meant to be a drag brake not a main brake; being able to (say) lock the rear wheel is rarely on the cards and anyway would be counterproductive bearing in mind its intended use.


So my suggestion is to spend fifteen quid on doing some basic maintenance rather than start messing about with it trying to turn it into something it was never meant to be by nailing rubbish onto it. When you think you have got the brakes as good as they are going to get, if you are still not happy with them, show the machine to a more experienced tandem crew and get a second opinion on it.

(*) some cantis require high MA brake levers. This certainly prohibits recent STIs and in some cases it makes any STIs inadvisable.

FWIW quite a lot of tandems are 140mm or even 144mm at the back; do make sure that someone hasn't just bodged a 135mm rear wheel in it for convenience.

cheers

[brumster]

And don't compare with ( well set up) modern brakes on a solo machine. A tandem with two people on board will take longer/ more effort to stop / slow down.

[alexnharvey]

Are there rim brakes at the back too? If not, a pair of well set up cantilever or v-brakes might help a lot too. Of course, you need another means of actuating the drum brake.

[rjb]

I had a Dawes supergalaxy tandem for 25 years and covered over 100,000 miles. Braking was Shimano cantilever brakes and an arai drum brake on the rear. When I replaced it with a Dawes discovery tandem with 26" wheels and Shimano V brakes I was surprised how much better the braking was with V brakes making the thought of fitting a 3'rd arai type drag brake redundant.

[hamster]

I swapped to Magura hydraulic rim brakes on my Dawes, it would comfortably bring things to a halt even when fully loaded with a trailer, down a 1:4 in Devon in torrential rain.
The difference compared to V's was that the rear was far more effective, while the front could be applied with less effort AND more progressively.

[Isotonicake]

Thanks all - I just spent an hour after work today stripping the hub brake with degreaser, a file and copious paper rag. Manged to get the brake working acceptably well.

Canti's - rear especially is abysmal. Will replace both front and rear with v brakes.

Coming from disks on most of my bikes, I want to have effective braking but perhaps my standards are too high...

Thanks all

[rjb]

The shoes on drum brakes can become "glazed" over after a lot of use. Scrubbing the brake pad surface with a wire brush can restore braking efficiency.

[Brucey]

if the back brake is terrible but the front isn't this nearly always means your cables are crap. Bad cables can feel OK but rob you of most of your brake power. Any brake with new cables can be an improvement.

cheers

[Isotonicake]

Oh, the front is also terrible, it's only the rear is worse!! We had a slight run up and down the street and the stopping distance from about 15km/h was over 10m!

Just picked up new v's & cables from the lbs and will fit them during a tea break tomorrow.

[Brucey]

I said that most likely your cables are crap. That will make the front brake crap too, just not as crap as the rear brake. If I had a quid for every time someone bought new brakes and new cables instead of just new cables......

What levers and what length Vs are you intending to use?

cheers

[Ivor Tingting]

Thanks all - I just spent an hour after work today stripping the hub brake with degreaser, a file and copious paper rag. Manged to get the brake working acceptably well.

Canti's - rear especially is abysmal. Will replace both front and rear with v brakes.

Coming from disks on most of my bikes, I want to have effective braking but perhaps my standards are too high...

Thanks all

It's DISC brakes not disk!

[9494arnold]

I agree with all the comments about off the shelf forks above.
Mate of mine used original forks (on a trike) and added a drum brake and ended up breaking his fork.
(I know it's the way these days but I have never really trusted forks without a fork crown . Handbuilt Tandems have a Tandem Specific Fork Crown )
Is one of your levers a dual cable job? Never used one but always thought that you were effectively halving the efficiency of the 2 linked Brakes because your hand is trying to do twice as much work .
I used to do some Tandeming and one of the best dodges I saw was a ratchet (index) gear lever connected to the drum brake , which meant you can put the brake on and it stays on, excellent for desents , it leaves both hands free for steering and the other 2 brakes.
Decent quality brake blocks might make life better again too
(Never tried it, mine was a really old Tandem and there wasn't room for a drum brake) two Weinman Centrepull brakes which could make for exciting riding!
If what you have done so far doesn't cut the mustard , is there room for a Sidepull brake under the rear bracket? Or behind the fork or in front of the rear stays ?
Do you need to clean the braking surfaces? Roughen them slightly?
I am a trike rider so have to live with 2 brakes on the front wheel and I have tried many combinations.
You might have to trust the Stoker with a brake lever though!

[Brucey]

….Coming from disks on most of my bikes, I want to have effective braking but perhaps my standards are too high...

Thanks all

It's DISC brakes not disk!

I agree. In general terms 'disk' is a permissible dictionary variant for disc-shaped objects but it makes no sense at all in relation to brakes. The reason...? No-one that makes them refers to them as 'disk brakes'.

cheers

[Jamesh]

Why not give the stoker a brake?
If the pilot were to have a black out or worse your in big trouble but if the stoker has a brake there is a chance of coming to a safe stop?

However the stoker might be a lull joy and put the brake on at the first opportunity!

Cheers James