I have drums on my 8 Freight so I'm fairly used to at least one example, and that "they don't modulate as well as a hydro disc" only goes without saying if you've used them... If you haven't, we'll, yes, it's certainly the case!Brucey wrote: ↑8 Mar 2024, 12:33pmwhen conditions are very bad drum brakes can out-perform anything else because they don't get contaminated so easily. The only bad points for drum brakes on solo bicycles are a) absolute power (you cannot expect to do stoppies on a 70mm front drum brake and 700C wheels) and b) modulation; they don't modulate as well as a hydro disc, but that is a bit like saying your GF isn't as good-looking as a hollywood A-list actress; it kind of goes without saying.
Over the years they have periods where they tend to stick a bit and not fully release (typically solved by disassembly and careful lubing of the hinges in the innards plus a few minutes working them), and on one occasion one of the pads crumbled a little and the bits got places they shouldn't, resulting in periodic locking of the front wheel. That wasn't any fun at all (pretty much had to walk a mile holding the front wheel up) but I'm pretty sure was an outlier, since I cleaned all the debris out it's been fine.
Pete.