Drum brakes on Sturmey Archer 5-speed hub are failing?

[kbrumann]

My daughter has had a lot of trouble with the 5-speed Sturmey Archer hub on her Pashley Sovereign Princess. Pashley replaced the hub under warranty (which took over a month), but the drum brakes on the new hub aren't working properly. My daughter was told in the shop that the drum brakes will improve with use... This sounds unlikely to me.

Does anybody know if the brakes on the hub are likely to improve or shall we return the Pashley Sovereign Princess for another exchange (waiting probably another month)?

 

[Pat "5mph"]

Got drum brakes - serviced yesterday actually on a single speed.
They were working perfectly first day, never needed "improvement with use"
Service consisted in tightening and oiling brake cables - pad did not need changed,

 

[mrandmrspoves]

If the brake linings are brand new they may take time to bed down and gain full effectiveness. Same goes for car brake liners - which is why many people chamfer the leading edge to speed up the process.

 

[byegad]

They do bed in a bit, I'd say that my QNT which has had replacement front wheels bedded in in about 150 miles from brand new and with the old brakes in new drums about 50 miles was nedded to get them really working. I'd look at cable outers compressing on a longer application.(Recumbent tadpole trikes have very short cable runs to the brakes.)

I find them very good, comparable to cable operated BB7 disc brakes in terms of stopping ability and feel.

 

[mrandmrspoves]

Likewise - nice and sharp still on my Trice - but I guess they have had 19 years to bed in and I have had it for less than a year so I cannot state with any certainty what they were like for the first 18 years!

 

[mrandmrspoves]

To be serious for a few seconds - just have a look to see whether the activating lever on the hub is moving when the brake lever is applied. If movement is measured from the tip, I would expect it to move about 1cm or so. Does the wheel spin freely when no brakes are applied? If it feels like the brake is applying correctly - but it just doesn't slow the bike down rapidly, I would give it a few miles longer to bed in.