Backwards front brake?

"renormalize" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

Front side-pull brakes on SWB recumbents can interfere
with the chain path. On a bike equipped with road
calipers, one might naively think this could be solved
simply by flipping the brake around and mounting it behind
the fork. (After all, the rear brake on a road bike is
mounted "backwards"!) But, to quote from an old Cyclo-
Pedia catalog, this could be dangerous:

"My first thought was to mount the brake to the back side
of the front fork, but I realized that if I applied the
front brake very hard the wheel might be pulled from the
front fork dropouts by the braking action. The front brake
must be mounted on the front of the front fork."

But how likely is this? Does moving the braking "grab
point" back on the rim a mere 3 or so inches really alter
the various braking torques enough to lead to dropout
disaster?

So my real question is: how much risk do I take by reverse-
mounting my front brake to improve cable routing?

Ron

No risk at all for caliper brakes, at least of the wheel
pulling out. You could have problems with the brake fouling
the down tube if the bars get turned right round, but this
isn't likely to happen whilst riding.

It is possible for disk brakes to pull the front wheel
out, as the normal mount position is the equivalent of
reverse mounting, but much further round the wheel. Lawyer
lips normally prevent this, although the movement of the
axle as the wheel is pulled against the lips, and then
pushed back, can cause the QR adjuster to loosen.
Alternatively the brake could be more safely mounted on
the front of the RH fork leg.

On a rim brake? Hardly. I've seen tandems with dual calipers
(one in front, one behind) a very beefy looking fork.

The issue of wheel expulsion is in regards to DISC brakes,
which put the brake pads almost directly behind the dropout.
ASA rim brakes are concerned, three inches further back
would not do this. The brake/rim interface would still be
above the dropout.

- - "May you have the wind at your back. And a really low
gear for the hills!"

Chris Zacho ~ "Your Friendly Neighborhood Wheelman"

Chris'Z Corner geocities.comczcornerOpen ↗