SamuelW

Hello, I snapped off one of my bike's rod brake pads - it's a late 50s 'Triumph'-branded Raleigh Roadster - while I was trying to adjust it and since I can't find a mechanic to repair them (no bike shops want to deal with rod brakes) am trying myself, though I know nothing about bikes and have no aptitude for mechanics!

I am at the moment trying to work out which replacement pads to get. I know they need to be 'angle-sided' brake pads. They seem to be available at various lengths, from 40mm to 58mm long (probably others too, that's just from a cursory Googling) with different shaped blocks.

My current ones (which are readily available over Ebay) are 58mm Fibrax ASH 144 or SH-144 brake pads 'for carrier bikes' and the brake blocks are slightly convex with notches but these are not the originals, they were put on by a bike shop about a year ago when I bought the bike. It was the only bike shop I have found prepared to touch rod brakes but I am not sure they did a good job as the braking was very poor, even in the dry (and I am not comparing to ultra-modern brakes, my point of reference is calliper brakes on steel wheels, which is what my previous bike had) -- which is why I was having a go at adjusting them when I broke them.

I would have assumed with brake pads it would be simply the longer the better, as there is more contact area for braking. But is this a mistake? Other slightly shorter 55mm brake pads available are completely flat on top, not convex and have no notches. And there are also some 55mm ones available which say NYLON on the side and have a narrow trough down the middle along the length. Might these flatter ones be a more effective even if slightly shorter?

(Various pages on the internet recommend brake pads with leather inserts for improving braking in wet weather on the steel wheels but I can't find any of these online in the angle-sided form, so probably have to give up on that.)

A follow-up question about adjustment: when I snapped the brake shoe screw I was trying to fix it at an angle which meant more of it would touch the rim at once, by tightening it slightly at an angle to the piece of metal on which it sat, rather than flush against the base of that piece of metal (that piece of metal, which the is itself attached to the stirrup of the rod brake approximately perpendicularly and parallel to the wheel and might be what is referred to as an anti-vibration plate?) because it seemed that the front portionof the brake pad (which was also more worn and curved) touched the rim before the back of the brake pad. Did doing this makes sense or was it a crazy thing to try to do?!

Any advice gratefully received!

dedhed

Some Vintage Brake Parts from Yellow Jersey Raleigh Modolo DiaCompe Zeus Campagnolo Mafac

Andrew R Stewart 

This might be the second rod brake thread I've read here

The pads will wear to the curve of the rims in time so flat or convex won't mater in time. I will attest to the leather inserts for use of chrome rims, in the rain. They do work better then common rubber.

Can't say much about length but i do wonder about alignment and fit as this can be a bit more challenging with rod brakes acting on the ID of the rims and the brake stirrups not being too repositionable (although the guide pieces clamped around the stay/blade can be repositioned a bit).

Rod brakes never worked any where as well as calipers do in my experience for a few reasons. Leverage, flex, pad options, rim roundness issues and more. But they do have a place.

Back in the mid 1970s the bike shop i worked at was bring on the Raleigh brand and the sales rep gave us his introduction to Raleigh "presentation". He asked us what we thought was the most produced Raleigh model. We answered the record, the Sports (3 speed) the Grand Prix and we all were wrong. It was the DL20, the Tourist, the rod brake bike made under contract in many 3rd world countries. A bike the local blacksmith can fix... Andy

SamuelW

Thank you both for these very helpful responses!