Roller Cam Brakes ?!

[velomaniac]

I have now been told by you good people :

That the U-brake mounts on a pair of forks I have could equally have been for Roller Cam Brakes.

I've never heard of this type of brake and thus would be interested to hear folks veiws of them and explanations of how they work.

Blimey the more you learn the less you know :roll:

 

[jlk]

U brakes were very common late 80's GT kept them on for 5 or 6 years, they clog up with mud easy though. They fit on the same mounts as Roller cam brakes.

 

[Carsten]

here's a pic of some WTB rollercams.

pull the lever and the cam will push the arms apart and thus force the pads against the rims. in the pic the cam is not perfectly positioned. in non operative mode the rollers should be on the flat part of the cam and when the pads just touch the rim they should be on or just behind the hump. that way the brake closes quickly and when the pads are on the rim you have really great modulation.

rollercams are lighter (at least the WTBs and early Suntours) than U-brakes and imho work better.

cool tuning project with more pics

http://www.bikeboosting.nl/index.php?wtb

Carsten

 

[terryhfs]

Rollercams were 'interesting' - they weren't as wide as u-brakes so could be used on chainstays without the risk of catching your ankles or calves on

Imagine a v-brake, but with the pivot above the brake block instead of below it. Now, where the cable comes in, instead of a hanger, there's a triangle shaped doo-dah (the cam). The tops of the brake arms have rollers on them.

As you pull the cable the triangle shape rises, and the rollers roll down the side and the arms are forced out as the point of contact widens. As the tops of the arms are forced out the pads are pushed onto the rim.

Voila! Les freins sont travailler.

 

[rumpfy]

When set up properly, roller cams put out a ton of stopping power. Arguably the best feeling brakes I've ever used.

Of course, they're difficult to find and expensive when they come around.

 

[scant]

a slight variation of the rollercam & even rarer, the wtb togglecam