Nexus Roller Brake - Improved by now ?

Mine works fine. However, it is not the generator version. I would love to upgrade to the generator
version, but it is unavailable in the US. Do you have a source for the roller brake/generator hub?

Paul

Bruce Lange inquired:

Quoted message said:

Does anybody know if the roller brake version of the Shimano Nexus generator front hub has an
improved roller brake?

The archives reveal that these were noisy and problematic, but most of those references are from
around 1998.

Has anything been done or is this still something to avoid?

The rattle was mainly related to the front brake, and seems to have been corrected.

The front brake hub incorporates a "power modulator" which limits the maximum braking torque. The
purpose is to prevent clueless clutzes from doing endoes and suing Shimano. The unintended
consequence is that maximal front braking is reduced, which might make the difference between
stopping in time or not.

At the Interbike Outdoor Demo last month I test rode a Bianchi with the new Nexus 8-speed internal
hub (which I liked very much.) This bike had a Roller Brake in back, with a V-brake in front.

The paved demo course featured a long, straight steep descent with a right angle corner at the
bottom. I too was curious about the performance of the Roller Brake (I left it off of my own Nexus
bike) so I decided to give it a good workout. I got going quite fast down the hill, then tried to
slow for the corner using just the Roller Brake. At first it grabbed nice and hard, but as the brake
heated up it faded markedly, and I had to use the V-Brake to avoid a crash.

As I said, this was an extreme test, I weighed about 230 pounds at the time, and I got going at
quite a clip down the long straight hill.

The Roller Brakes are probably OK for light duty use in flat terrain, but I wouldn't recommend them
for cyclists who ever go fast, or ride in hilly terrain.

It's OK for a rear brake, if you don't mind the weight, but I continue to be highly dubious about
using it as a front brake on bikes with full-sized wheels.

Sheldon "Rollin'" Brown +--------------------------------------------+
| All the world's a stage and most of us | are desperately unrehearsed. | --Sean O'Casey |
+--------------------------------------------+ Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts Phone 617-244-
9772 FAX 617-244-1041 harriscyclery.comharriscyclery.comOpen ↗ Hard-to-find parts shipped Worldwide
captainbike.comcaptainbike.comOpen ↗ sheldonbrown.comsheldonbrown.comOpen ↗

"Bruce Lange" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<kMxBb.487520$HS4.3747259@attbi_s01>...

Quoted message said:

Does anybody know if the roller brake version of the Shimano Nexus generator front hub has an
improved roller brake?

The archives reveal that these were noisy and problematic, but most of those references are from
around 1998.

Has anything been done or is this still something to avoid?

Many thanks,

-Bruce-

I've got to second that. I'd like to give an old 10-speed a front drum brake, what are you guys'
recommendations on that? All I really know of is the Arai and the Shimano roller brake.

St. John Street Cycles in England has them on their website:

sjscycles.comvIndex.htmOpen ↗

(in the Lighting section, not the Hub section)

I've heard that they have a good reputation with US customers, though I've not yet purchased
anything from them myself.

Bruce Lange

"Paul Hamilton" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Mine works fine. However, it is not the generator version. I would love to upgrade to the
generator version, but it is unavailable in the US. Do you have a source for the roller
brake/generator hub?

Paul

Bruce Lange said:

St. John Street Cycles in England has them on their website:
sjscycles.comvIndex.htmOpen ↗ (in the Lighting section, not the Hub section) I've heard
that they have a good reputation with US customers, though I've not yet purchased anything from
them myself.

SJS Cycles - the "Bandit of Bridgewater" to unkind people - are often more expensive than other UK
dealers, but are also competent (they send the right thing, they send it quickly, and they bill you
the right amount), polite, and carry a very wide range of obscure parts. I rarely look at SJS first,
but nevertheless I've ended up buying from them on more than one occasion.
--
David Damerell <[email hidden]> flcl?

Adam Rush said:

I've got to second that. I'd like to give an old 10-speed a front drum brake, what are you guys'
recommendations on that? All I really know of is the Arai and the Shimano roller brake.

Other front drums available:

Sachs VT5000 (out of production? they're still available in some shops) Sunrace Sturmey-Archer has
several models on their web site

There are also single-sided drums, used on wheelchairs, tadpole trikes, and the occasional lowracer
monoblade "fork." Disc brakes are eclipsing drums on trikes, though.

My trike has a pair of (pre-Sunrace) Sturmey drums up front. They require a fair bit of control
effort, but they can stop the trike in an amazingly short distance.

As far as I know, the Arai is strictly a drag brake for keeping a tandem's speed under control on
descents, and requires a tandem rear hub with threads for it.
--
Russ [email hidden] the wabbit to despam "Until you have had a case
of Hamm's, you can't understand what Americans do to beer." - "Yellowbeard," on kuro5hin.org