Rear brake issue

I replaced my rear brake shoes because I was unaware of the previous ones conditions, but now I seem to have very little stopping power with the rear brake. I also removed all of the lever and brake mechanism last year to do some painting. Any suggestions on what the problem could be?

 

Is everything put together and adjusted properly?

 

Is the brake properly adjusted? Did you deglaze the drum before the new shoes?

 

Don't be surprised if, after the installation of new rear brake shoes, that your bike doesn't seem to stop much better (or even as well as) than before. Your brake drum----especially after all these years----is not perfectly round, and even if it was, the lever engagement action of the brake shoes does not produce a perfectly circumferential presentation of the brake shoes to the drum. So for the first few hundred miles, your new brake shoes will only be engaged against the brake drum on the "high spots" of the shoes; until those wear down----and thus more friction material actually makes contact with the drum----new brake shoes can result in less braking abilities than prior to replacement.

 

you can take them back off and hit the high spots with coarse sandpaper on a sanding block to speed up the brake in. just a little and don't make flat spots

 

Ok do not hit them with paper. they and that are the shoes I am talking about are meant to have a small initial contact patch when applying the brakes. The way drums work is that as you apply more and more pressure your shoes will actually flex and give move of their contact surface to slow you down. Otherwise if you had the full surface of the shoes contact at the first light application you would have an uneccessarily high amount of braking force added. I would bet you have your linkage off adjustment. For best braking force have your control linkage (the threaded rod from your brake pedal) and the arm from your brake should be at a 90 degree angle when fully applied For maximum brake torque.

Edit: yes when new brake shoes/pads are installed you will have somewhat lower braking power as the hew brakes break in.

 

flex........ok

 

Where did you get the shoes?