Anyone have any experience of these (the vintage type)?
I'm working on a 1940s Elswick at the moment and I have confused myself about how the front drum brake should fit into the fork. The back wheel has the drum and brake arm on the left hand side (as you sit on the bike). I know this is correct because the threads for the freewheel are obviously on the other side.
When I got the bike, the front hub was installed with the brake drum and arm on the right. I thought this a little odd at the time as I would have expected front and back to be the same. When I was building it up earlier in the week, I was going to change the front to match the back. I then noticed that the curve on the arm matches the curve of the fork if the wheel is installed with the arm on the right, so I put it in on the right as it was originally. I still can't convince myself this is actually correct, partly because I would have expected it to be on the same side back and front, partly because the cleaned and serviced back brake works brilliantly and the cleaned and serviced front brake is pathetic. I then notice that the front brake works well if you push the bike backwards and apply the front brake, just not when going forward.
I'm tempted to swap it round but then the reaction arm will be curved in the opposite direction to the curve in the fork, which will look odd and I don't understand why it would have been made like that. The reaction arm goes onto the fork with a bolt on clamp, not a braze on, so it is easy to swap it to the other side.
Anyone have any thoughts? Here is a picture of the brake as it is installed at the moment. Note how the curve of the reaction arm matches the curve of the fork blade.
I'm working on a 1940s Elswick at the moment and I have confused myself about how the front drum brake should fit into the fork. The back wheel has the drum and brake arm on the left hand side (as you sit on the bike). I know this is correct because the threads for the freewheel are obviously on the other side.
When I got the bike, the front hub was installed with the brake drum and arm on the right. I thought this a little odd at the time as I would have expected front and back to be the same. When I was building it up earlier in the week, I was going to change the front to match the back. I then noticed that the curve on the arm matches the curve of the fork if the wheel is installed with the arm on the right, so I put it in on the right as it was originally. I still can't convince myself this is actually correct, partly because I would have expected it to be on the same side back and front, partly because the cleaned and serviced back brake works brilliantly and the cleaned and serviced front brake is pathetic. I then notice that the front brake works well if you push the bike backwards and apply the front brake, just not when going forward.
I'm tempted to swap it round but then the reaction arm will be curved in the opposite direction to the curve in the fork, which will look odd and I don't understand why it would have been made like that. The reaction arm goes onto the fork with a bolt on clamp, not a braze on, so it is easy to swap it to the other side.
Anyone have any thoughts? Here is a picture of the brake as it is installed at the moment. Note how the curve of the reaction arm matches the curve of the fork blade.
