bezaboy Posted December 9, 2014 Report Share Posted December 9, 2014 Building a bike and need a front wheel, so which had the best brake ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b40rt Posted December 9, 2014 Report Share Posted December 9, 2014 Gramica hub, Fantic brake plate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
axulsuv Posted December 9, 2014 Report Share Posted December 9, 2014 If you really want bada$$ front brakes go all the way and do the last yamaha front drum set up off their last moto cross bikes ... The end of drum brake tech , or as above the last grimeca off a fantic or SWM are next best with a few tweaks ... Glenn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woody Posted December 10, 2014 Report Share Posted December 10, 2014 They're all at least 30 years old so regardless of which was the best when new it's no guarantee what state it will be in now. Worn hubs, worn cams, cam bush in brake plate worn, who knows. I've had Honda, TY and Grimeca front wheels over the years which have had pretty useless front brakes. Even the Yamaha motocross brake plate I used in a mono front wheel was no good. All used current off the shelf brake shoes. Now, there are better linings available to have existing shoes relined. Whichever wheel you use, if you have the drum skimmed to ensure it's round / true, get modern oversize linings suitable for trials fitted to the shoes and skim them to fit the hub for full contact, then you'll have a decent brake 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twinshock giles Posted December 10, 2014 Report Share Posted December 10, 2014 The only way I could get decent brakes on my TLR was to use genuine Honda pads (which were also cheaper than the pattern ones available), however my drums are well worn and the pivots need work. I think KTM also may have used a twin leading shoe front brake at the end of the drum brake era on their MX bikes, however they are a much bigger drum than you would need for trials use. When my front brake on the TLR was set up correctly you could do the wrong way round wheelie bit with a heavy application of front brakes. My bikes with Grimeca hubs have all been good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lineaway Posted December 10, 2014 Report Share Posted December 10, 2014 I learned to do nose wheelies on the stock mono ty hubs. I doubt you will ride now what we did back then. In fact that is what I have decided to ride next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve fracy Posted December 10, 2014 Report Share Posted December 10, 2014 Hmmm I was gonna say the 300 Fantic I had was the best front brake, but from experience, the brakes on the TY monos were amazing! So if rules dont matter, the front end off one of them would be amazing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lineaway Posted December 10, 2014 Report Share Posted December 10, 2014 Our local ITSA club now has a mono class. The NATC nationals allows any air cooled bike, cables, twin shocks. So a modified bike can suit all the vintage I ride. I gave up on AHRMA years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
axulsuv Posted December 11, 2014 Report Share Posted December 11, 2014 (edited) I just added a Fantic 300 floating backing plate to the front of my 240 ... It works Fantastic ! and I have not yet installed new shoes on the plate .But the ultimate front drum was on the last yamaha mx bikes with a drum brake , it took the Fantic function to the next level , But the 300 plate or a correctly modified 240 grimeca plate will do all you truly need . And yes mine works as good as the disc on my section ,(aka two finger stoppies) but has a much better progressive feel . But as stated above , all the parts have to work correctly and not be worn out ... Glenn Edited December 11, 2014 by axulsuv Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ducman Posted December 11, 2014 Report Share Posted December 11, 2014 I would go for TY 250 Twin or Mono hubs and brakes.Best in Water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guys Posted December 11, 2014 Report Share Posted December 11, 2014 They're all at least 30 years old so regardless of which was the best when new it's no guarantee what state it will be in now. Worn hubs, worn cams, cam bush in brake plate worn, who knows. I've had Honda, TY and Grimeca front wheels over the years which have had pretty useless front brakes. Even the Yamaha motocross brake plate I used in a mono front wheel was no good. All used current off the shelf brake shoes. Now, there are better linings available to have existing shoes relined. Whichever wheel you use, if you have the drum skimmed to ensure it's round / true, get modern oversize linings suitable for trials fitted to the shoes and skim them to fit the hub for full contact, then you'll have a decent brake How does one skim them? Is there a special tool for that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stan wellback Posted December 11, 2014 Report Share Posted December 11, 2014 Fit the oversize linings onto the brake plate like normal,then turn the linings to size on a lathe. must be mounted in lathe chuck by the spindle/axle hole, not the outside of the brake plate. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woody Posted December 11, 2014 Report Share Posted December 11, 2014 ok, firstly, when it comes to giving advice on stuff like this I'm not an engineer, so it isn't necessarily the correct way, but it works for me... Fit shoes to brake plate and put in lathe. I made a 'mandrel' to fit the brake plate onto and it is a tight push fit, so the mandrel can be held in the chuck, not the brake plate itself (basically it is just a tight fitting spindle) Then skim the shoes until they will just fit into the hub. I've used a normal metal cutting tool for this (no idea if it is an alloy or steel tool or if there is even any difference) Can't really advise you on chuck speed either, I think it's about 800rpm. With the brake plate sitting on the mandrel, if the tool does snag it just stops the brake plate revolving as the mandrel can continue spinning with the chuck. This way you don't have brake shoes making a break for freedom and dancing around your garage Once you have the shoes so that they just fit into the hub you can either stop at that or, go a bit further. If you stop here the shoes will give a good contact patch onto the lining. You test how much by fitting the brake plate and spindle, applying the brake arm so that the brake just bites and revolving the brake plate several times. Take it out and look at the markings on the shoes to see where they contact. It may be enough Or, you can open the shoes slightly and hold them in that position by cable tying the brake arm or jamming something in the cam to hold them. Now, they won't fit back into the hub as they are slightly open. Put them back in the lathe and skim again. This should only remove material from the wider part of the arc at the cam end initially. Keep skimming until material is being removed from the entire surface so that the circumference of the shoe surface is round again. Now refit into the hub, operate the brake as before and revolve the brake plate. Check the contact area which should now be virtually 100%. If not repeat until you have the contact patch you're happy with. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparks2 Posted December 11, 2014 Report Share Posted December 11, 2014 (edited) Woody - Let's not have any more of this 'Now, I'm not an engineer' stuff. You know what your talking about, more than most 'engineers' I know, it's just false modesty to draw attention. Any more and it's a yellow card. Regards Sparks P.S. What is an 'Engineer' anyway? Chartered engineer? Electrical engineer? Electronic engineer? Engineering Fitter? Control Engineer? Civil engineer? Refrigeration engineer? You name it, there's an 'engineer' for it. Oh dear, I've upset someone, (or woke them up). Edited December 11, 2014 by sparks2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b40rt Posted December 11, 2014 Report Share Posted December 11, 2014 Domestic Engineer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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