I'm going over a 240 that I bought last year, and the last major problem to deal with is weak brakes. The shoes don't look worn at all, but I would guess they're a few decades old. The drums look fine too, with no pitting or visual wear. The front brake cable is lubed, and doesn't seem to stretch more than any other brake cable.

Everything looks fine, but both brakes are horrible! I'm not expecting them to work as well as modern disc brakes, but they should be as good as a 199 Sherpa, or 349 Cota, right?

So where do I start? I was thinking new brake shoes, but thought I would check with you guys first.

I'm going over a 240 that I bought last year, and the last major problem to deal with is weak brakes. The shoes don't look worn at all, but I would guess they're a few decades old. The drums look fine too, with no pitting or visual wear. The front brake cable is lubed, and doesn't seem to stretch more than any other brake cable.

Everything looks fine, but both brakes are horrible! I'm not expecting them to work as well as modern disc brakes, but they should be as good as a 199 Sherpa, or 349 Cota, right?

So where do I start? I was thinking new brake shoes, but thought I would check with you guys first.

The 240 frt brake is usually very good if set up correctly....that being the point. Assuming the shoes have meat on them and are not glazed...if very shiny, the shoes should be generously roughened using course emery . Rub the shoes across the width to roughen.

Then assemble exactly as below:

Put all togther and leave all nuts loose. Use the cable adjuster to take up ALL the slack in the cable. Apply the front brake (lever) and hold securly applied with a strong tye-wrap or cable tie whatever you wanna call them

Then tighten the axle clamp screws opposite the axle nut. Then the axle nut, then the clamp screws on the nut side. Drink a cup of tea, and tighten the torque arm at the bottom, then the top. Another tea and then tighten the mudguard brace. Then the cable can be adjusted for correct freeplay. The brake should work fine as is centered correctly.

The 300 is the same diamenter and works just as well but for longer as it is self centering!

If you dont want to re-morgage your house to buy a 300 frt brake, use a reamer to take 0.01mm mm off the hole OD where the axle passes through. Again, this will not give more braking power but will aid centering. Every trial, the lossening and tightening procedure can be repeated

HTH

Lee

Edited March 29, 201115 yr by Lee Harris

I'm going over a 240 that I bought last year, and the last major problem to deal with is weak brakes. The shoes don't look worn at all, but I would guess they're a few decades old. The drums look fine too, with no pitting or visual wear. The front brake cable is lubed, and doesn't seem to stretch more than any other brake cable.

Everything looks fine, but both brakes are horrible! I'm not expecting them to work as well as modern disc brakes, but they should be as good as a 199 Sherpa, or 349 Cota, right?

So where do I start? I was thinking new brake shoes, but thought I would check with you guys first.

So....you have just bought a bike that has a set of brake shoes that are 20 years old, they dont work as good as your 4RT..........buy a new set of shoes and a cable...thats about

Thanks for the great reply Lee, that's exactly the kind of info that I was looking for!

Edited: deleted my insulting reply to Martin's insulting reply.

Edited March 29, 201115 yr by SherpaT

although martins fix will probably be more effective than mine ....or do you think the team riders loosened everything up after every trial....?

So....you have just bought a bike that has a set of brake shoes that are 20 years old, they dont work as good as your 4RT..........buy a new set of shoes and a cable...thats about £30 ($48 if your in the US)

I cant beleive trials riders sometimes, I know its the cheapest form of motor sport, but why do they never want to spend money and expect a bike thats 30 years old to run perfectly.

Is it out of warranty already?

Edited March 29, 201115 yr by chewy

Personaly i would of put some new shoes and a new cable on,go off and do a couple of rides to bed them in before looking for help.

Personaly i would of put some new shoes and a new cable on,go off and do a couple of rides to bed them in before looking for help.

I have to admit, I really don't understand the "attitude" in these replies. What was the harm in asking for advice before resorting to trial-and-error? Sure, I could throw parts at it, and maybe get lucky, but I might never have discovered Lee's setup scheme.

Anyway, thanks Lee. And to the rest of you:

The bit I forgot to add is that it might just be considered dangerous to ride a bike with 20 year old shoes in it. Have a lining fall off while your riding it and your probably gonna have a trip over the bars.

No insult intended, just stating the facts straight to the point.

Martin