# Bikes with rod brakes



## Stinky_Sullivan

Can someone show me good close up pics of a bike with a rod type brake system? I've searched the web and can't find any detailed pictures. I know what it looks like at the front wheel. I'd like to see how the rods connect along the frame to the back wheel and detailed pics of the levers and brackets in the handlebars.


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## SirMike1983

From Back to front:






























General info:

http://bikeshedva.blogspot.com/2012/10/design-feature-rod-brakes.html


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## SirMike1983

The above are all Raleighs. They are the most common, especially in the US. The stirrup mounts are the same on Birmingham bicycles mostly. There are some subtle differences, but nothing very meaningful.

However, Birmingham production bicycles differ from Raleigh in mounting the bellcrank on the side of the frame rather than using a a C-shaped piece that mounts around and fastens to both sides of the frame:


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## OldRider

Mike, I can honestly tell you as many Raleighs as I've had come through my doors over the years I have never seen one with a rod brake, in fact I've never seen a rod brake on anything. One day hopefully


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## SirMike1983

OldRider said:


> Mike, I can honestly tell you as many Raleighs as I've had come through my doors over the years I have never seen one with a rod brake, in fact I've never seen a rod brake on anything. One day hopefully




They come up infrequently here. "In the wild" here in the Wash. DC. area, I see one perhaps once or twice a year. The reason is  the Raleigh 3 speeds have become popular with college students and hipsters here. This is within the past 5 years or so. Before that, you wouldn't really see them at all. I have a 1978 DL-1 I bought in 2004 that was the only one I'd see in the wild ever to that point. Starting in about 2008 I began to see more and more college students and hipsters on old bikes here. The Raleigh 3 speed was a big deal to them, along with fixed gear bikes built from vintage machines.


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## OldRider

I'm beginning to think it must have been a different Raleigh market in the USA, because its mostly Raleigh 3 speeds I've had, and yet no rod brake. I just picked up a 1959 Raleigh the other night, standard brakes on it.


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## Stinky_Sullivan

Great pics. Got any of the levers on the handle bars?


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## SirMike1983

Stinky_Sullivan said:


> Great pics. Got any of the levers on the handle bars?




Raleigh Type (center rods

















Phillips/Hercules/BCC Type (side rods)


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## Stinky_Sullivan

Do Duck Brakes use a similar setup?


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## SirMike1983

Stinky_Sullivan said:


> Do Duck Brakes use a similar setup?




Yes- though the linkages and handles vary a bit usually.


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