# 1935 Ladies Monark Silver Wing - to drum brake or not?



## Lomilojoe (Jul 23, 2012)

*1935 Ladies Monark Silver King - to drum brake or not?*






Hi All,

My lady just fell in love with the above bike (not actual bike, pic used for reference), so I bought the frame and fork to start the build for her. Not looking to keep it original as that takes too long to acquire the parts, but I will keep the parts mostly prewar. I would like to put on a front drum brake that I have. Any pros or cons given the frame is aluminum? It will really be a Summer bike for her, not a lot of riding.

Thanks,

Joe


----------



## Ignaz Schwinn (Jul 26, 2012)

Devon will love it!  A girl's frame Joe? 
If it has the truss rods like in your photo, I think it would be beefy enough to handle a drum up front.
Cheers, Jamie.


----------



## Lawrence Ruskin (Jul 26, 2012)

Nice bike. 

Yeah stick a brake on it. Safety first.

You going on the ride Saturday?


----------



## BlueTarp (Jul 26, 2012)

I have the same bike shown in the photograph. When I purchased it I found that I could sit, stationary,  on the seat and twist the axis of the head tube 10 to 15 degrees from vertical by rocking the handlebars from side to side. That did not inspire the confidence that I would need to suggest the model is a good choice for a general adult rider. I’ve also seen enough broken, bent, or missing forks on these bikes to question building a brake into the front wheel.


----------



## Lomilojoe (Jul 26, 2012)

BlueTarp said:


> I have the same bike shown in the photograph. When I purchased it I found that I could sit, stationary,  on the seat and twist the axis of the head tube 10 to 15 degrees from vertical by rocking the handlebars from side to side. That did not inspire the confidence that I would need to suggest the model is a good choice for a general adult rider. I’ve also seen enough broken, bent, or missing forks on these bikes to question building a brake into the front wheel.




Thank you for your insight, as I was looking for answers from an actual owner. I will steer away from the front drum brake based on your comments.

Joe


----------



## BlueTarp (Jul 26, 2012)

I tend to error on the side of caution. I’d suggest you throw some wheels, and a seat and bars on your frame and test it as I did to form an opinion and to make a decision. I think that Aluminum Silver Kings are attractive and interesting bikes, I like them and I have known boy’s examples that were used by collectors as primary riders. I am just a bit more cautious about considering the un-triangulated women’s models for use by less experienced riders who might have trouble reacting if something gave way suddenly.


----------



## dogdart (Aug 8, 2012)

I am drum braking my Silver King ]


----------

