Worksman-drum versus disc?

Might stop like new but don't expect any miracles. A disc will far out stop the drum.

HI i had a new Sturmey Archer 90mm front brake i put on my 1965 western flyer crusier with 66cc 2 smoke, it would run 34 mph and stoped like a over loaded farm truck. about got me hit a couple of times (pepole pulling out in front of me.)
i switched to 203mm hays mec disk brake and i could do endos if wanted to no comparison.
Go DISC AND LIVE.

Agree with all above

I have a Worksman front drum brake on my daily-rider. I refer to it as "anti-lock braking" A disk will have much better stopping power.

For safety with the drum, I added sidepull brakes to the front end. Works great but still not as quick stopping as a disk.

Great thing about Worksman, aside from they just look so dang cool, they have to be the tuffest bicycle wheel I have ever used! 2 or 3 yrs later and I have still not had to true it.

There is a reason most every vehicle on the road uses disc brakes. The only reason drum brakes still exist is because they're cheap. Very cheap.

Hi, Guys,

I think something needs to be explained here!! In most cases disc brakes are better..... BUT.... size and construction quality is really big factor!!!!!!

I've designed and built foundry patterns for new steering knuckles to convert to Disk brakes on certain automotive applications. I've sold these pats all over the world......

I love disc brakes!!!


BUT HOLD IT JUST ONE SECOND.

The motorized bikes that Roland and I build will effortlessly out brake virtually any bike out there running mountain bike disc brakes AND they run drum brakes!!!! Big ones.

Front brake is 110mm x 40mm wide shoes. Rear is 140mm x 40mm wide.

The only reason we run the drums is to maintain the vintage look.
We started out trying the worksman and sturmy archer brakes, but these were really frightening!!!! (we havn't updated our webite in a long time, so some pictures show these brakes on the bikes..shiver...).

The mountain bike disc brakes are way better than those, but simply lack the beef to compete with the big drums we use now, and look way wrong on a vintage style machine.

It would be fun to have a 60mph-zero braking contest at some of the race meets (30-zero for the slower bikes)

I think this would be an eye opener.

Best regards,
Timm and Roland.

Errrr... Do you make a habit of selling the 110 front drum's perchance??? Have a thread nearby here where I'm looking at a SA 90mm for a new Felt Twin purchase.

Velodrome said:

Errrr... Do you make a habit of selling the 110 front drum's perchance??? Have a thread nearby here where I'm looking at a SA 90mm for a new Felt Twin purchase.

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Hey there!

The one downside to our big drum is that it's 117mm (4 9/16") wide at the dropouts, so it requires a slightly wider fork. We build our own torsional elastomer leading link front fork, so no issue for us.

Depending on the fork you are using, you might be able to squeeze it in.

We can set it up either floating or fixed backing plate, and the axle is necked down to 3/8" at the outer ends.

The hub is 36 hole, and I recommend at least 12 guage spokes, 10 5/8" long on a cross 4 pattern for 26" rims.

Yes, we do sell the hub complete, with backing plate setup either way for $140.

Timm and Roland, BigBoyCycles.

Thanks! Umm; I think the fork on the Felt Twin might look a bit bow legged if stretched to 117mm but I'd have to measure it. Cant do that for another day or so. ( goes back to searching for a bashed up trombone for exhaust)

WAIT! Is this the new brake style your talking bout Timm? Looks GOOD and really doesnt look that much bigger than the Worksman on my Taylar build.

Velodrome said:

WAIT! Is this the new brake style your talking bout Timm? Looks GOOD and really doesnt look that much bigger than the Worksman on my Taylar build.

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Actually, my blue bike has the prototype that I made using a modified Honda front brake. The current version is really close, and can be seen on the green bike parked behind it ( though Roland painted his black!)

The cool thing about this brake is that it looks in proportion to the 26" wheel, even though it is massive compared to the Worksman unit.

One more thing. I'm going on a 90 mile ride this weekend, and I've gotta pull the trombone off. It's WAYYY too loud for the street, but it's my official race pipe from now on!!!!