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TLS brake cam orientation

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Just finished servicing the TLS   , looking at an online  vid  it appears that the shoe cams  (which are not symetrical)  can be fitted two ways.   Cam nose inwards or outwards ,  Mine are out , the opposite of the Video !!.    Can't see any helpfull drawings  ,  Think mine are right   ?.

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Hi David, Thats true if you just remove the shoes ,can't go wrong, However I don't work that way. It comes ALL to bits  ,then I can't remember what went where. I keep forgetting that I can't remember stuff like I used to do. !!. They can work with the  cams at 180 from  where they should be ,but the leverage is less and the  shoe  travel greater. Think I have it right but the Vid got me worried.   Its the Kiddies bike. The brake was grabbing badly ,so all  has to be safe.

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I hope someone comes back...no pictures of mine and as you've no doubt pictures all show it covered with the retaining discs.

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I suspect there is a picture in the Condom notes somewhere.  Never owned one,  Doubt I ever will.  Got enough  wobbly old bikes to fix. 

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It must be the high lift end to operate the brake. If the cam turns too far  there's a risk it will turn right round through a right angle before operating the brake...and either jam or fail. 

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You have picked the oposite option to me,   Just shows  a confirmation picture would be good . I must be missing something obvious,  seems to happen a lot lately !.

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That looks conclusive, cam lobes towards the drum,  Now on to the 99 brake   which will get some VS  linings and I am going to attempt to  reduce drum ovality by playing with spoke tension. I will let you know how that plays out !!.

Robert does that just mean very soft? Best choice for low mileage bikes that will never get hot enough brakes to fade.

Can you let us know where you get them from?

I have been reading Haynes manuals for 50 years and their grave warnings of grabby brakes and how to cure them. However I have never had a bike with the slightest tendency to grab! 

Bevelling the leading edge just looks like a way to defeat the self-servo action that TLS brakes seek to maximise.

 

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Hi Steve,  VS       Villiers Services,  They do  a gold woven looking lining  which is the right thickness to suit the drum  and it STOPS !!.  Not dear either. A good service.  Bought some spare shoes off E_bay so I can have a ready set in the workshop.  The Atlas really did grab  on the first application. A bit of an issue if you forget to try them before riding off in the wet. I found a really sharp wood chisel perfect for cutting the chamfer on the leading edges. Dommie is having a new air filter made from a BMC  mini one.Hope it will cure the rich running.

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From Access NortonRobert - thanks for the info. My half century dream of owning grabby brakes might be getting closer to coming true! I will do it.

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Hi Steve ,  That pic  is helpfull  but does not really make it clear. But I know now that the  lumpy bit goes towards the drum. I suppose that a really sticky front tyre would cope with a grabby brake on tarmac, but I would not want to touch the brake on grass or gravel !!. I will let you know how I get on with the Gold linings on my SLS brake. I have not yet tried out the TLS with its newly chamfered  shoes either.

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My tls is excellent. But if it's spent a long time in the garage I've learned to test it first on the dead straight road as I leave home. It threw me off once when I inadvisably touched the brake lever on the bend at the end of the road, at low speed. It's not done it on the road once the dust and rust has been polished away by a few applications.

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Robert I didn't mean literally grabby, but it should be obvious that the brake is TLS rather than SLS due to the self servo action obviously working in tandem.

The coefficient of friction is key. Sounds like the VS linings or the ticket. But soft linings wear more quickly and fade more quickly. Not an issue for me really.

I used to work at a Belaco workshop, and one of the guys frequently relined his mini disc pads with MK12, the softest material we had. There was a Ferodo equivalent (the same company) but I can't remember it. I expect he got asbestosis in the end from spending all day linishing bonded on linings. I seem to have escaped.

 

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Keep  having those annual  health checks, I worked around asbestos  for many years and have had workmates die from it,    Am expecting it to catch up with me sometime  . Hopefully  not soon.

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And people complain about "health and safety". Without it many more people would be dying of industrial injuries / illnesses.

My grandad died of lung disease in his mid 50s after working down the pit all his life.

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I moved on from linishing brake linings (sometimes, mostly I was in the warehouse) to working in a copper mine. You had to go for an annual X-Ray. Out of the frying pan...

It used to be routine practice to blow the asbestos dust out of brakes with an air hose before working on them.

 

 


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