Nick,
Trying to get good brakes is a common problem, on all the old bikes. One of the most common mods is to shim the pivot point, of the brake shoes. Your brake arm only causes one end of the shoes to expand. The other end of the shoes are on a fixed pivot point. As the shoes, or pivot point itself, wear down, the shoe surface is getting further and further away from the drum surface. This can cause the shoes to only touch the drum, on a small area of their total surface, typically toward the end where your brake arm is expanding them apart. Down on the pivot point end, the shoes may not even be coming into contact with the drum, no matter how hard you pull the lever.
The mod is to make a shim that fits over the pivot point. This open up the shoes, on that end, placing them closer to the drum surface, when at rest. Ideally, you want the entire surface of the brake shoe, to come in contact with the drum, when you apply pressure on the lever. You can make the shims out of soft brass, tin, etc. I have even heard of folks using brass bullet casings. However you accomplish it, done right, it will make a HUGE difference in you brake performance.
Many thanks, makes sense, single leading shoe sort of thing... ANy recomendations on brake material?
Nick
