[singleminded]

One other thing to watch out for is the angle between the brake lever and cable when the brake is applied,ideally it should be less than 90 degrees to get best leverage..John

[Steve_M90]

Thanks for the comments. As reported below I have adjusted the settings to ensure I have the maximum leverage. I have also adopted a more defensive driving style and so far so good!!

Steve

[iansoady]

I use Villiers Services to reline mine. They specialise in trails bikes and use high friction linings. My Model 10 brakes are still fairly ineffective but do have a retarding effect.......

villiersservices.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=146

[singleminded]

I managed to get a woven material for my brakes. I can lock the rears and the front is pretty good for the year, but i did get oversized linings and turned them to fit the drum.john

[VicYouel]

You can spend a long time trying to get front brakes working and even then I have never had much satisfaction. Anticipation is  the style; before I think 1930 the speed limit was 20 mph (I stand to be corrected) and many cars (and buses were not even fitted with front brakes before  1928) . 

You can spend some time getting modern oversized linings fitted and then have them turned down to fit the drum. The brake arm position on the splines does need to be at an optimum  right angle as the brake is applied.

Just wondering whether the distance between the nipple and pivot on the brake lever is less or more than 1 inch..... a smaller dimension will give less movement but more leverage.

I did 30k miles over many years on my 1938 Tiger 90 nad no matter what I did the front brake (cast and finned drum) was never any good and brake  fade even on modern materials (going over the Alpes) was scary!  On my fifties Vincents I managed to get original asbestos loaded Ferodo racing  green linings which were good but then there were two front drums. 

Fortunately I have never experienced modern bikes and their brakes so have managed to stay out of trouble.  Defensive driving with all those idiots out there is a pre-requisite!!

[Steve_M90]

Here is a photo of the brake shoes:

Steve

[Steve_M90]

I've been out on the road for my first decent run. On one downhill section my ability to come to a controlled stop was somewhat in doubt!

I've had a look at the front brake and all seems in order. I have adjusted the brake cable so that the lever travel stops before the handle meets the rubber but it sounds like their might be a tiny rub in the drum at this setting. However, playing with the combination of the spline on the front wheel and the knurled adjuster, this seemed to be the only viable option.

The brake pad was grey with white flecks - is this asbestos embedded in some other material? Are there modern friction materials with a better efficiency?

I spoke to someone about this the other day and they said "So it has brakes does it?". Does this imply I've been conditioned by modern transport and I'm expecting too much?

Steve