P.L.Jensen

We have an Ibis Cousin It… 26” wheels…The existing brakes are fine, but as always could be better…

Most of our riding is mostly flat, low traffic, country roads…

The frame has braze ons, front and rear for cantilevers… The cantilever brakes a Campy Record OR… The levers are Sturmey Archer flat/touring bar compatible…

There is also a vintage 1992 (when the bike was built) Hope brand, cable actuated disk brake that never was satisfactory… Maybe it just wasn’t set up right…???… I never felt confident using it… It looks like modern disc brake system mounts are behind the rear stays, and the Hope is in the front… This disc brake has been off the bike for years, but I still have it…

I also have another bike with a 26” front wheel with a Sturmey Archer internal drum brake…

My thought is to use the SA Internal Brake operated with the left lever, and the front cantilever operated with the right lever… The rear cantilever would be controlled by the stoker…

Your thoughts please…

Paul…

obrentharris 

It might be worth giving the Hope brake another try if you have only used it with drop bars. Drop bar levers don't pull a lot of cable but the Hope brake requires a lever with a large amount of cable pull like a mountain bike lever. There is a gizmo called a Travel Agent which will allow you to use a long pull brake like the Hope with typical drop bar levers.

Another solution that was popular before the advent of disc brakes was a pair of cantilevers controlled in the traditional way by the captain, and a drum brake, (usually an Arai brand, but your Sturmey Archer might work for this) used as a drag brake on long descents. The drag brake could be controlled by the stoker or attached to a bar end shifter to be activated at the top of the hill and deactivated at the bottom.

Many of us were pretty happy with cantilever brakes for many years. If you haven't done an internet search on setting up cantilever brakes it would be worth your while. By varying the length of the straddle cable you can adjust the strength and sensitivity of the brake.
Brent

Alcanbrad

I would not recommend a front drag brake let alone a front drag brake controlled by the stoker. If the front wheel locked up or lost traction during drag brake operation, especially on a turn, there wouldn't be time to recover.

obrentharris 

Ouch! Thanks for the clarification. I completely missed that the Sturmey Archer brake was a front hub.
Brent

Leisesturm

Cantilever brakes need short pull levers. Are those Sturmey-Archer levers short pull? They might be, but I thought I would put it out there to check. Using long pull levers with short pull calipers can actually work. Kind of. A matched setup is usually better. The Bike Friday was a unique case. I am against requiring a Stoker to do any braking at all. Even drag braking. Helping with primary braking is out of the question. The same bosses that the canti's fit on can allow V-brakes to work. I cannot imagine that a setup with some quality V-brakes and Avid or Tektro levers would require any supplementing for flat land riding. And the cost would be absolutely reasonable. Our current commuter has Shimano LX-V calipers and Tektro dual pull levers and it handles significant hills with aplomb.

RCMoeur 

When we upgraded our Santana Vision (26"/559 wheels) from cantilevers to good V-brakes, it was a notable improvement in stopping power. I could even skid the front wheel fully loaded without trying too hard (although my dear wife said if I ever tried that again, she'd kill me).

As mentioned in the ongoing "how fast downhill?" thread, she has control of the Arai drum drag brake. 4000+ miles and no problems (other than her veto power over descending speeds I'm comfortable with but she isn't.)

DCwom

I don't see a "why" you need a drag brake, I wouldn't consider adding one if you're not planning on doing serious hills. Improving your main brakes I understand, but personally I wouldn't want the stoker to have control on regular breaking. We know a tandem team where the stoker pulls on the exposed brake cables along the top bar when she thinks her captain is going too fast, personally just whack me on the back if you want to slow down.

rcommbikes 

Greetings. I just refurbed a nice 2000 Santana and it had cantis that were replaced with V-brakes using Problem Solvers They seem to work very well. Will post more about the bike here shortly.
https://problemsolversbike.com/

dave s

We had travel agents like above on our tandem with V brakes and road levers. Worked ok, never great. Replaced the v brakes with mini-v's that don't require the travel agents, very happy, way better braking, and most importantly, no squeeling.