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Message started by guitarsr4girls2 on 05/25/06 at 14:01:07

Title: disadvantages of drum brake
Post by guitarsr4girls2 on 05/25/06 at 14:01:07

When I was at the bike shop the other day this salesman and I were talking about my Savage and the Honda Shadow (I think), and I was mentioning how I would rather have disc brakes front and back b/c of ease of changing plus from what I recollect, disc brakes are better period. I used to have an old Falcon that had drums and those brakes sucked.

Anyway, he looked at me (and talked to me after that point) like I was a moron and said that drum brakes were just fine and there was no difference.

But isn't there?

Title: Re: disadvantages of drum brake
Post by vroom1776 on 05/25/06 at 14:17:31

you are right on both counts. The only advantage(s) to drums is that they are cheaper, and possibly lighter.

Title: Re: disadvantages of drum brake
Post by MacAttack on 05/25/06 at 15:08:35

You win! I think they have lots of drum-brake tooling around, or they use it for marketing price points. All that said, the drums aren't BAD, just not as efficient. But 70% of your stopping power is up front anyway, so, no worries. :)

Title: Re: disadvantages of drum brake
Post by vroom1776 on 05/25/06 at 16:20:53

unless you remove the front brake. Then it's 0%. ;)

Title: Re: disadvantages of drum brake
Post by PerrydaSavage on 05/25/06 at 16:28:55

Speaking of brakes, I recently replaced my worn-out OEM front pads with a set of SBS ceramics and have noticed that while the lever feels much firmer, the brakes themselves don't seem to have as much "grab" as the old ones?
Anyone care to comment on this?

Title: Re: disadvantages of drum brake
Post by slavy on 05/25/06 at 16:33:29

If the drum brakes were better ALL the racing machines would have them. If they are the same , there would be at least some racing machines with drums.
The truth is, that if this is not a high performance unit, the drum brakes can do the same job. Everything comes to stopping power, that depends on the surface , on the material of the pads /shoes/ , and the pressure , that is applied. And 2 more things that are in a favor of the disk brakes - they stay cooler, so You don't lose the
braking in the middle of the race
- if water gets in the drum- poor You
The factor about easyness to replace the pads - nobody in the R&D of the companies cares.

Title: Re: disadvantages of drum brake
Post by lancer on 05/25/06 at 17:55:08

I hear tell that when you first replace a set of pads, there is a little of a break-in period for them, and after they get set the braking should improve noticeably.

PerrydaSavage wrote:

Title: Re: disadvantages of drum brake
Post by Reelthing on 05/25/06 at 19:19:41

PerrydaSavage wrote:

give them a bit - or have you already rode um a couple hundred miles?

Title: Re: disadvantages of drum brake
Post by SeattleSavage on 05/25/06 at 20:56:01

You get better road feel with discs too, not the springy spongy feel of drums. Drums are fine on the back of our bikes though. More than enough grab to skid the back wheel even on dry.

That's not mentioning looks either. Big goofy drum. Thin sexy disc.

No one that knows anything about brakes would opt for drum brakes when speaking performance though.

Kev

Title: Re: disadvantages of drum brake
Post by klx650sm2002 on 05/26/06 at 03:33:31

I like KLX's discs, 290mm front and 240mm back.

Clive W :D

Title: Re: disadvantages of drum brake
Post by azjay on 05/26/06 at 07:13:45

drum brakes offer more friction surface with less effort, until they get hot or wet. discs offer consistant braking, better cooling, and virtually unaffected by water, but require more pressure to operate, that is why they are hydraulic on bikes and power assisted on most cars. their tolerance for heat is what gives them their advantage over drums. it sounds like your salesman is a product of the IDKAT stealership ::) lol

Title: Re: disadvantages of drum brake
Post by PerrydaSavage on 05/26/06 at 08:50:50

Quote:

give them a bit - or have you already rode um a couple hundred miles

Yes, I've ridden 'em a couple of hundred kilometers since installing 'em ...

Title: Re: disadvantages of drum brake
Post by vroom1776 on 05/26/06 at 09:35:06

SeattleSavage wrote:

That's not mentioning looks either. Big goofy drum. Thin sexy disc.

Kev

I like the look of a rear drum as opposed to a rear disk. Looks cool, IMO.

Title: Re: disadvantages of drum brake
Post by 911radioman on 05/26/06 at 12:22:54

PerrydaSavage wrote:

Ditto here. I put SBS on mine a while back and I love them. Plus, they are tons quieter than the OEM ones.

Title: Re: disadvantages of drum brake
Post by Brewbrother on 05/26/06 at 15:43:02

azjay wrote:

Well said, of course IDKAT.

Title: Re: disadvantages of drum brake
Post by KenGLong on 05/26/06 at 18:17:31

While riding home toay the pickup in front of me veered hard into the left turn lane leaving me looking at the back end of a car waiting for the light. Oops. Hit both brakes and the rear locked up tight on me. I was going straight so no problem.

Nothing wrong with the rear drum brake on the Savage!

Ken

Title: Re: disadvantages of drum brake
Post by SeeAPierce on 05/28/06 at 12:36:18

Drum brakes are just fine in the rear - but there are lots of differences. Much has been said here about cooling and effectiveness, all of which is true. Your Falcon probably had 4 wheel drum - yuk! I upgraded my Mustang to front disk and it made a big difference. Front disk/rear drum is a very common setup for bikes and cars, until you get to higher performance, then you get front and rear disk. The average sales guy should know the differences if only to try to "sell you up" to a higher priced bike. Your sales guy showed his ignorance...and he threw attitude on something he obviously knew nothing about. Next time ask him about carb jetting and see how far he gets before he bails out...

Title: Re: disadvantages of drum brake
Post by Savage Librarian on 05/28/06 at 19:53:58

You know, I think I've run into that salesperson...in several shops! Maybe they're all clones?

The drum brake on the rear of the Savage isn't too bad. The Savage is a light bike and it takes relatively little braking power to make it stop. It's a lot more noticable on a fully laden C50 set up for the long haul though, lemme tell you! I've certainly wished more than once I had a disk behind me on that one....

Keep on confusing the clueless salespeople! It's one of the simple things in life that keeps us going, methinks! :)

Title: Re: disadvantages of drum brake
Post by AussieSavage on 05/29/06 at 01:20:50

The rear drum brakes on the Savage are pretty good really, due to the fact that its not a heavy bike.
I own a Honda Shadow, American Classic and the rear drum brakes are really only there for show:) .They have hardly any stopping power, due I think to the weight of the bike.
I like the rear drum brake idea as well , gives a cruiser that old fashion look.

Cheers AussieSavage

Title: Re: disadvantages of drum brake
Post by Brewbrother on 05/29/06 at 16:16:21

AussieSavage wrote:

I feel a rear drum brake works better in commuter traffic. I use the rear brake more than the front brake when I commute to and from work. It has ample stopping power.