Drum Brake Bikes

What and how do drum brakes work?

Today’s motorcycles are equipped with a very efficient braking system that ensures the bikes can come to a halt safely within a fraction of a second. A mechanical drum brake is a sort of braking system that comes with a closed design. In a drum brakes bike system, the fixed object is called the brake shoes, and the rotating object is called a drum. Brake shoes are connected to the vehicle chassis, while the drum is connected to the axle shaft. It’s called a closed design because the drum brake shoe position is inside the drum.

What are the types of drum brakes?

Based on how the brake shoes are forced against the drums, there are three different types of drum brake for bikes: leading/trailing shoe type, twin leading shoe type, and duo-servo type.

1. Leading/Trailing Shoe type: A leading shoe is one that faces the direction in which the drum rotates. The trailing shoe is the one on the other side.

   To generate braking force, the leading shoe is dragged across the friction surface of the drum. The trailing shoe is pulled away from the area of friction, which prevents it from aiding in braking. It works just as well for both forward and backward braking.

2. Two leading shoes, or twin leading shoes: There is a self-servo effect with one shoe. As a result, it offers the most braking power because the drum is fractionated by both shoes.

3. Duo Servo: The twin leading construction, in which two brake shoes are coupled, is improved with the duo-servo-type drum brakes. The wheel cylinder presses the primary side leading shoe against the drum, and the force that causes it to rotate with the drum wedges the secondary side leading shoe into the drum to produce braking action.

It is used in commercial vehicles that need strong braking forces.

How to bleed drum brakes?

Call a helper, and instruct them to gently push the drum brake pads or pedal. The brake pedal should gradually move to the floor if you loosen the bleeder screw. Brake fluid will start to leak from the bleeder during this period. You can close the bleeder and ask your helper to release the pedal after the fluid leak has stopped.

Reasons why you should prefer drum brake in bike:

• Relatively long service interval (less frequent pad replacement, etc.)
• Excellent protection from physical damage/impacts.
• Huge stopping power, greater than disc brakes with a similar disc diameter
• Cheap to manufacture.
• No inherent rubbing by design – unlike disc brakes.

Popular Bikes in India that comes with Drum Brakes as their braking system:

3 Most popular motorcycle drum brake in India are :

• Hero Splendor Plus
• Hero HF Deluxe
• Bajaj Platina 100