05-10-2018, 12:26 PM
(05-10-2018, 10:52 AM)Chris KC Wrote: Friction force = friction coefficient x reaction force, it has nothing to do with area. As Ruairidh says wear life should increase simply by virtue of there being more material. By the same token they will take longer to bed in.
Improvement due to Bowdenex conversion tends to be negated by excessive friction. I've converted back and although it still needs proper adjustment I'm already enjoying better braking.
The geometry of drum brakes is a complex topic - that's one reason why disc brakes are so popular! By all means experiment but the results may not please you. Keep in mind that a lot of heat can be generated during braking and that even and distributed contact with the drum is desirable.
I would have thought you could have an open cable running to a mounting point near the front of the radius arms and then a short bowden cable from there to the brake cam, this would deal with problems of axle twist and steering geometry and keep steering to a minimum. Or how about a bell crank mounted on the radius arm to reverse the movement of the cable and then a push rod to the brake lever, this would mean that the axle twist would pull the brakes on rather than off? - maybe they would tend to grab though .