Triumph - New front brake

When I got the bike it had the standard single lead front brake on a 19" rim with a pretty manky tyre. Whilst the whole system functioned it didn't actually seem to do anything, least of all actually stop the bike! Seeing as that is pretty much a pre-requisite of a brake, it had to be changed! Coupled with that the old brake was hardly a thing of beauty...





Having picked a twin lead hub a while ago, I cleaned it up, fitted new bearings and brake shoes so that it could be fitted. The biggest issue was that the twin lead hub is wider than the single lead hub, so whilst the forks could be reused - I refurbished these first - the old yokes would have to be changed for later yokes that could take the wider brake. I sourced a set of upper and lower yokes from Burton Bike bits (http://www.burtonbikebits.net/) along with new races. The result was a set of forks that would could take the new brake.



The new brake has been laced into an 18" wheel, which matches the rear wheel, and actually was the size that the bike would have been made with. Over time most old Triumphs will have been converted to a 19" front rim, but 18" was the original. It'll be interesting to see how it handles, but it certainly looks better!! An Avon Road Runner has been fitted to match the tyre that has been put on the rear, the 100 width is fatter than the tyre that came off, but it still fits nicely in the forks.





Next steps are to cable the brake so that it works and then to set it up, could be a bit fiddly... Then I need to find and fit a mudguard. I actually think it looks pretty cool without one, but with the British weather a dry ride can never be fully assured and without a guard, if it does rain, I'll be getting facefull of rain water and maybe more... The old guard is a bit too long and obviously fits a 19" wheel...

I'm coming towards the end of the re-furb of this bike, just the last few jobs to be completed, although they are always the ones that take the longest...