scrub brakes

[manco804]

i got a manco thunderbird, and i was wondering what kind of effect the scrub brake has on tires. the brake seems underpowered compared to the wieght of the bike/momentum. it stops. just slowly. im guessing it would be a bad idea to jam really really hard on them. anyway to beef up a scrub? i "think" that return sprig tension has a effect on braking power (please correct me if im wrong.) not like super significantly or anything. i just dont wanna jam an blow a china tire to bits anyone know of any good brake setups i can get? am a welder/ "fabricator" with access to dang near anything. so nothin is really off the table.

 

[waynelass]

put a rear disc on it and do away with the scrub:smile:

 

[blownengine]

Yea scrub brakes are economical and simple. But have to be the slowest way of stopping

 

[Darvin Jahnke]

A properly designed and adjusted scrub brake is very effective. Back in the day the Rathman Exterminator was a very successful race kart designed and built by Indy car racer Jim Rathman. Most ran dual McCulloch engines and were quite fast. While other companies were running disc and drum brakes,the Rathman used scrub brakes. There must have been a reason for that and it wasn't price as the Rathman was a very expensive machine and I'm sure the price of the braking system wouldn't be a factor.

 

[manco804]

but will it have negative effects on the tire?

i rubbed a hole in one of mine an had to place one time

 

[blownengine]

The brake works by rubbing on the tire to creat friction to slow you down. So yes your tire will get worn down faster

 

[Strigoi]

the scrub brake on my Cat works great (it's much better with the rear slick). i prefer it to the band/drum brake on my one mini bike.

tires are cheap anyways. scrub brakes are fine unless the tire gets wet.