Pashley Britannia Brakes

[geordie.allie]

I am new to this site and looking for some advise please.

I bought a Pashley Britannia earlier this year and am very unhappy with the brakes. I have had them checked, tightened, replaced and still not up to the standard I would expect. I have been told that these are "the way Pashley brakes are" and that I should accept it, however I don't understand how brakes that can take up to four seconds to stop are legal and have passed trading standards. Could someone please explain this to me?

Thanks
Allie

 

[Spinney]

Are you comparing the brakes with brakes on other bikes, or is this the only bike you have?

I have always found that bike brakes take a surprisingly long time to stop the bike (when you want to stop quickly), compared to car brakes.

 

[London Female]

I am new to this site and looking for some advise please.

I bought a Pashley Britannia earlier this year and am very unhappy with the brakes. I have had them checked, tightened, replaced and still not up to the standard I would expect. I have been told that these are "the way Pashley brakes are" and that I should accept it, however I don't understand how brakes that can take up to four seconds to stop are legal and have passed trading standards. Could someone please explain this to me?

Thanks
Allie

Hello, I have a Pashley Britannia. I've had it 2.5 years and haven't had any issues with the brakes. Yes, it's true they are not as sharp as the brakes on my two other bikes but then I only use it to go the short 2 mile trip to town and don't ride this bike at the same speed as the other two either. I have never had any difficulty stopping when I need to.

 

[geordie.allie]

Are you comparing the brakes with brakes on other bikes, or is this the only bike you have?

I am comparing to other bikes I have had in the past. Pashley brakes as you may know are the more traditional hub brakes from back when a horse and cart was your main competition, unlike today.

I only use it to go the short 2 mile trip to town and don't ride this bike at the same speed as the other two either

I use my bike to do an eight mile round trip to work and back each day. I rarely take it further. I don't cycle excessively fast either, I would just like the bike to stop when I'm going down a hill for example!
I think I have trouble understanding how brakes that are less effective than others on the marker can still be acceptable from a health and safety point of view.

 

[mickle]

The answer is to replace the front brake altogether. And this, I'm sorry to say, means replacing the front wheel entirely. I've just come to this conclusion with the front brake on my partner's bike - the same shocking piece of crap Sturmey Archer drum as you have on yours. I'll be replacing it with a Shimano dynohub laced to an alloy rim onto which I'll attach a Shimano Roller brake. But any Roller brake compatible hub will do - just make sure you don't get the 'power modulator' version of the hub, it's rubbish. Since it's your front brake which shoulders most of the responsibility for braking, replacing just the front should fix the problem completely. And replacing the rear hub is rather more complex and much more expensive.

Someone will buy the old front hub and or wheel off you for their resto project if you put it on ebay - recoup some of your outlay.

 

[London Female]

I am comparing to other bikes I have had in the past. Pashley brakes as you may know are the more traditional hub brakes from back when a horse and cart was your main competition, unlike today.


I use my bike to do an eight mile round trip to work and back each day. I rarely take it further. I don't cycle excessively fast either, I would just like the bike to stop when I'm going down a hill for example!
I think I have trouble understanding how brakes that are less effective than others on the marker can still be acceptable from a health and safety point of view.

I haven't tried mine downhill. To be honest, while I think the Pashley is beautiful to look at, it is a bit of a pig to ride. My trip to and from town is flat and I wouldn't attempt to try any hills on it. The only reason I keep it is because my other bikes have clip in pedals on and if I am just popping into town to meet someone for coffee or a bit of shopping then I don't want to mess about putting cycling kit on.

 

[geordie.allie]

The answer is to replace the front brake altogether. And this, I'm sorry to say, means replacing the front wheel entirely. I've just come to this conclusion with the front brake on my partner's bike - the same shocking piece of crap Sturmey Archer drum as you have on yours. I'll be replacing it with a Shimano dynohub laced to an alloy rim onto which I'll attach a Shimano Roller brake. But any Roller brake compatible hub will do - just make sure you don't get the 'power modulator' version of the hub, it's rubbish. Since it's your front brake which shoulders most of the responsibility for braking, replacing just the front should fix the problem completely. And replacing the rear hub is rather more complex and much more expensive.

Thanks Mickle. I am going to pick up the bike this afternoon and will take your suggestion with me. It's so annoying as a Pashley as I am sure you know, is not cheap to buy. I thought spending a lot of money on an established brand would have stopped all these sorts of problems from coming up. I guess not.

Thanks to London Female too. I really think that while people buy Pashley for the tradition and so called quality, not to mention buying British, they need to modify their bikes for a new generation of road users.

 

[T4tomo]

I haven't tried mine downhill. To be honest, while I think the Pashley is beautiful to look at, it is a bit of a pig to ride. My trip to and from town is flat and I wouldn't attempt to try any hills on it. The only reason I keep it is because my other bikes have clip in pedals on and if I am just popping into town to meet someone for coffee or a bit of shopping then I don't want to mess about putting cycling kit on.

PAshley's are a terrible (or good) example of style over substance. They look lovely and retro but weigh a tonne and are put together with cheap and ineffective components. drum brakes FFS! I know this doesn't really help but I'd sell it to someone who likes the idea of cycling but will never use it and buy something with modern components. Charge do a step thru model with basket and guards etc with brakes that work and is substantially lighter!

 

[geordie.allie]

PAshley's are a terrible (or good) example of style over substance. They look lovely and retro but weigh a tonne and are put together with cheap and ineffective components. drum brakes FFS! I know this doesn't really help but I'd sell it to someone who likes the idea of cycling but will never use it and buy something with modern components. Charge do a step thru model with basket and guards etc with brakes that work and is substantially lighter!

I completely agree with you. If I had known then, what I know now I would have bought the Dawes I originally had my eye on. My worry is that selling it on even after only five months of ownership, I am going to be at a huge loss (although I am more likely to remain in one piece!) I am going away this weekend and when I come back on Monday afternoon am probably going to cut my losses and stick it on eBay

 

[Pat "5mph"]

PAshley's are a terrible (or good) example of style over substance. They look lovely and retro but weigh a tonne and are put together with cheap and ineffective components. drum brakes FFS! I know this doesn't really help but I'd sell it to someone who likes the idea of cycling but will never use it and buy something with modern components. Charge do a step thru model with basket and guards etc with brakes that work and is substantially lighter!

I disagree: been riding a singlespeed paper bike for my daily trips for the last few months, love the breaking power, much better than my other bikes with v-brakes or caliper. Big downhill on my way home, traffic lights at the bottom, stopping in the rain is fine.
Weights a tonne, true, but once it gets going it's great. Taken it as far as 30 miles trips no issues.
Maybe the op's Pashley brakes are faulty, friends with the same bike don't seem to have problems.

 

[Sterba]

Well, here is an easier solution than those proposed so far. If the wheel rim has a brake track, just fit a normal rim brake on the front and ignore the hub brake altogether. You will need a deep drop caliper, preferably a dual pivot model (eg Tektro 539) but I expect the existing brake lever and (shortened) cable will do. There's already a hole through the front fork crown for the mudguard bolt, which might need widening a tiny bit, but that can be done with an ordinary electric drill (slowly, please, so as not to warm the metal up).

 

[mickle]

Well, here is an easier solution than those proposed so far. If the wheel rim has a brake track, just fit a normal rim brake on the front and ignore the hub brake altogether. You will need a deep drop caliper, preferably a dual pivot model (eg Tektro 539) but I expect the existing brake lever and (shortened) cable will do. There's already a hole through the front fork crown for the mudguard bolt, which might need widening a tiny bit, but that can be done with an ordinary electric drill (slowly, please, so as not to warm the metal up).

Except when the rims are steel.

 

[geordie.allie]

I disagree: been riding a singlespeed paper bike for my daily trips for the last few months, love the breaking power, much better than my other bikes with v-brakes or caliper. Big downhill on my way home, traffic lights at the bottom, stopping in the rain is fine.
Weights a tonne, true, but once it gets going it's great. Taken it as far as 30 miles trips no issues.
Maybe the op's Pashley brakes are faulty, friends with the same bike don't seem to have problems.

I'm glad that your Pashley works fine, however it is the Britannia that I am having the issue with, as are many other users out there. I have had the brakes checked, tightened and replaced and it comes down to the parts being substandard.

Well, here is an easier solution than those proposed so far. If the wheel rim has a brake track, just fit a normal rim brake on the front and ignore the hub brake altogether. You will need a deep drop caliper, preferably a dual pivot model (eg Tektro 539) but I expect the existing brake lever and (shortened) cable will do. There's already a hole through the front fork crown for the mudguard bolt, which might need widening a tiny bit, but that can be done with an ordinary electric drill (slowly, please, so as not to warm the metal up).

Thanks for the advice. I spoke to the young lad at my cycle shop today and he has also suggested this much more cost effective solution. The part is on order as we speak and I will post an update once I have had the part installed.

Thank you so much for all your advice and I'll update you all once I know more!

 

[Tony Smith]

Sterba has the right idea here I think.