Heavy Duty Wheel and Hub Combo

[islanddave]

Hello All,

I bought a heavy duty hub and wheel combo from a well known supplier here on the board and have been very disappointed with it. The rear "band brake" does not work. The rest of the wheel and hub seem to be of good quality but the brake sucks. Has anyone else had experience with this set up? I have adjusted the drum but the braking action is almost non-existent. They also did not send the brake cable and and the brake lever that is to be included in the price of this wheel.(Another story I know) If you are buying this set up merely for a solid double wall rim and the stability of having the sprocket bolt up to the hub than this is the set up for you. If you also wanted the convince of the rear brake then forget it!!!!!! Because of the width and the offset of this combo the regular rim brakes will not work with this set up.

Dave

 

[Molotov256]

I'd been looking at those Grubee manufactured HD rims (I know a few reputable retailers sell them), but I ultimately decided to use a manic mechanic clam shell mount on a Schwinn wheel I had. I was mainly after a solid sprocket mount.

Thanks for the heads up on the poor quality of the brake. I was a little skeptical about that, and know I know.

 

[GearNut]

Those cheesy band brakes are basically a reverse of a traditional drum brake.
The band does need to be arched to the drum before it will work as best as it can.
That can only be done by using it until it wears in, or overusing it initially to expedite the process.
It will never be a really good brake system though.

 

[V 35]

I'm wondering ... Do you need * their * lever ? Possibly the bike's stock lever doesn't provide enough throw ? The correct lever might make all the difference.
Could you abandon the band brake, and mount a rim caliper ? I agree, rag joints are the pits ! I'm running a Live Fast Clamshell Hub on the Huffy I'm building.