tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8492685525705691186.post942701956097924872..comments2024-03-28T11:56:48.304-04:00Comments on The Retrogrouch: Disc Brakes: Nothing New Under The SunBrookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12110998345857993287noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8492685525705691186.post-15544246343211519682016-06-04T16:54:52.181-04:002016-06-04T16:54:52.181-04:00That's more info than I've gotten from any...That's more info than I've gotten from anyone else on the Schwinn disc brake. Thanks!Brookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12110998345857993287noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8492685525705691186.post-50798140736097116722016-06-04T15:35:59.870-04:002016-06-04T15:35:59.870-04:00My old disk brake set up was beautifully made and ...My old disk brake set up was beautifully made and marked Made in France. As Schwinn was a major buyer of Maillard hubs, could be that the disk brakes on Krates were made by them. The Atom front drum brakes were Maillard. THe Maillard factory stands empty in Incheville, France but I believe the Maillard family still "runs the town" and could probably tell you everythingdogfacehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08226222757773406199noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8492685525705691186.post-89293282381505079292016-03-18T12:44:04.392-04:002016-03-18T12:44:04.392-04:00You're right about the Phil Wood discs breakin...You're right about the Phil Wood discs breaking apart, and drum brakes in "Repack". I've never tried a drum brake on a bike, but I imagine that it probably didn't heat up the way coaster brake hubs did.Justine Valinottihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10852069587181432102noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8492685525705691186.post-63457447881004351182016-03-13T11:08:50.273-04:002016-03-13T11:08:50.273-04:00You're right - though that looks like a differ...You're right - though that looks like a different version. It's set up as a drag brake, which is a good thing for tandems that get ridden over hillier terrain.Brookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12110998345857993287noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8492685525705691186.post-68448187920145968332016-03-13T09:12:20.084-04:002016-03-13T09:12:20.084-04:00Santana used these on some of their first tandems....Santana used these on some of their first tandems. There's actually a Shimano disc brake equipped Santana on eBay right now: http://tinyurl.com/htntqrmJulianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00909292629074869913noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8492685525705691186.post-85148308449287971152016-03-13T08:27:42.222-04:002016-03-13T08:27:42.222-04:00I actually have a Schwinn Orange Krate, which has ...I actually have a Schwinn Orange Krate, which has the front drum brake, but not the rear disc brake. You definitely could not get that bike up to any good speed without the aid of a long, steep downhill. Getting up the hill would have been a huff and push kind of ordeal. It is by far the heaviest bike I own. Heavier than my loaded tourer complete with racks, bags, fenders, lights, and all.Brookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12110998345857993287noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8492685525705691186.post-63640174241333900142016-03-13T08:21:41.015-04:002016-03-13T08:21:41.015-04:00The drum brakes were a feature of all the Krate bi...The drum brakes were a feature of all the Krate bikes, I believe. I also think I read somewhere that early mountain bikers in the "Repack" days looked for those drum brakes to rebuild into wheels for their "klunkers."<br /><br />The Phil Wood disc brakes were really unusual. They remind me more of an automotive clutch than a disc brake. I think the problem that doomed those was that some of the discs would break apart. I almost included the PW disc brake, but decided it was something that could be a whole post on its own.Brookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12110998345857993287noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8492685525705691186.post-5292863548280957272016-03-13T00:28:38.742-05:002016-03-13T00:28:38.742-05:00Those early bicycle disc brakes definitely did not...Those early bicycle disc brakes definitely did not live up to teir promise. Even those who couldn't have known how much better a Masi was than a Murray could tell that the disc brakes on their bikes weren't "all that". In fact, even Phil Wood's brakes were known to fade out when they heated up, a common occurence on tandems (where the PW disc was primarily used).<br /><br />Interestingly, some Krate bikes--as well as some Schwinn tandems--from the 1960s and 1970s came with rebranded drum brakes made by Atom, the French manufacturer of hubs, freewheels and pedals that was affiliated with Normandy and Maillard.Justine Valinottihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10852069587181432102noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8492685525705691186.post-64070332644679373882016-03-12T21:57:28.111-05:002016-03-12T21:57:28.111-05:00As a teenage bike butcher I had a couple of those ...As a teenage bike butcher I had a couple of those old disc brakes, one of the Schwinn units off the rusty Crate bike I found behind a neighbors house and a Shimano off a JCPenney bike my best friend and I dragged off the top of a 20 foot tall pile at the scrapyard(HEY YOU KIDS! YOU BE CAREFUL UP THERE!!). I think the return spring on the Schwinn unit must have been just about rusted through because it never wanted to release. I never put it on a bike but remember being stunned at what it weighed. It might not have been great at scrubbing speed but it certainly would have kept you from getting much up.<br /><br />The Shimano ended up on the front of a GT Extra-Long Pro BMX I turned into a gravity bike. The disc was threaded like a freewheel so I screwed it on a rear Skyway Tuff Wheel with some of the axle spacers removed and bodged up a bracket to clamp the caliper to the left fork leg. It looked like the business but wasn't a particularly effective brake. It was spectacularly good at warning anyone that you were coming down the hill though. It too weighed nearly as much as an adolescent refrigerator. <br /><br />I'm still amazed those gravity "sleds" didn't kill us or give us a case a tetanus at the very least but it was more exciting than homework... <br /><br />SpindizzyUnknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00194920301847931547noreply@blogger.com