What kind of brakes to get for my bike?

[butterbean]

Discs are definitely better than rim brakes, and they're fine if the bike comes with them. But as an upgrade, a drum is more economical. But anything is better than rim brakes.

 

[battery]

couldnt agree more. I wish I knew sooner of drum brakes. I guess my getting on the forum is long over due. with the money I spent on caliper pads...

 

[butterbean]

Well if you've already spent the money to upgrade to discs or bought a bike that came with them, you may as well stick with them. The best thing you can do is get as large a rotor as will fit your front wheel. The larger the rotor, the more stopping power. More stopping power means stopping quicker, which will help the rotor pads last longer. When going down hill, pump the brakes instead of applying constant pressure. This will help prevent the rotors from overheating. When the rotors overheat, they can glaze. A bit of rubbing alcohol will remove a light glazing, and it's a good idea to wipe the rotors down with rubbing alcohol once a month. Because if they glaze heavily, it will greatly reduce your stopping power, making it take longer to stop which will overheat the rotors even more, which will glaze them even more. After awhile of repeated overheating and glazing, you will start to see a blue-orangish discoloration on the rotors. By this time, you'll need new rotors and pads. But it can be prevented by the things I said, which is getting a large rotor, pumping the brakes when going down hill (unless you need to stop right away, as in the case of a traffic light or someone cutting in front of you), and wiping your rotors down with rubbing alcohol once or twice a month.

 

[Fabian]

Install the largest front disk brake rotor you can currently get your hands on (Hayes 9" rotor), then match it with an Avid BB7 caliper.

The below photo show why anything less than the largest disk brakes on a motorized bicycle is simply suicidal.
Under similar conditions, a rim brake would heat the air inside the tyre to the point of bursting the tyre off the rim, if the rubber brake pads didn't first turn themselves into the consistency of melted cheese:

 

[IbedaYank]

coaster brake hub
http://sheldonbrown.com/coaster-brakes/musselman.html

single speed rear drum brake

http://www.sturmey-archer.com/userfiles/manuals/Summit-X-FD--X-RD-LTE-163.pdf

completely differnt

the more surface there is on the brake pads the more powerful the brake is giving equal clamping force. The more metal in the drum the the harder it is to overheat the pads.

 

[butterbean]

It really depends on what kind of setup you're running. To say that anything less than disc brakes with a 9" rotor is suicidal is really not true. I've been running a Worksman drum for over a year now (haven't been riding at all this winter due to hazardous road conditions) but the drum has worked fine for me with a top speed of around 30 mph (automatic clutch, no shifting). In fact, I have a Shimano coaster brake, but very rarely use it, relying primarily on my drum and have no issues with it whatsoever. If I had a bike that had come with discs, I'd be using them, but I will never spend the money to convert a non disc bike to discs after seeing how adequately a drum performs for my needs. I paid $35 for a used Worksman wheel in very good condition. I'll bet just the 9" rotor costs at least that much.

 

[max350]

Install the largest front disk brake rotor you can currently get your hands on (Hayes 9" rotor), then match it with an Avid BB7 caliper.

The below photo show why anything less than the largest disk brakes on a motorized bicycle is simply suicidal.
Under similar conditions, a rim brake would heat the air inside the tyre to the point of bursting the tyre off the rim, if the rubber brake pads didn't first turn themselves into the consistency of melted cheese:

What have you done with the discbrake ! Panik braking from 12:42 mph? or what?

 

[Fabian]

That's exactly what i have done, and not a single digit faster than 12.42 mph

 

[butterbean]

coaster brake hub
http://sheldonbrown.com/coaster-brakes/musselman.html

single speed rear drum brake

http://www.sturmey-archer.com/userfiles/manuals/Summit-X-FD--X-RD-LTE-163.pdf

completely differnt

the more surface there is on the brake pads the more powerful the brake is giving equal clamping force. The more metal in the drum the the harder it is to overheat the pads.

God you are dumber than a box of hammers. A coaster brake is a TYPE of drum brake, you dumb sh!t.

 

[Fabian]

God you are dumber than a box of hammers. A coaster brake is a TYPE of drum brake, you dumb sh!t.

Butterbean, may i suggest that you rephrase your comment by intellectualising the wording, or ideally deleting the last 3 words.
Once people start throwing that kind of language around, it doesn't take long for the forum (or any forum) to slide into a cesspool of caustic (vengeful) attacks that doesn't serve any constructive purpose.