Balloonoob
I live for the CABE
I wonder if I am spinning 120 in the wrong direction LOL
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Poor braking with Morrow prewar hub
- Thread starter srfndoc
- Start date
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saladshooter
Cruisin' on my Bluebird
All of this is why I give the Morrow hub to the guy that swaps in the ND model D for me on my wheelsets. 
Balloonoob
I live for the CABE
I talked to an old dude at the local bike shop today. He says "oh yeah Morrow hubs are the best" LOL. I verified I am turning it in the right direction to compress the spring. It's just not compressing enough I'm sure.
saladshooter
Cruisin' on my Bluebird
I hear they are pretty good if you get em dialed in. Just difficult to dial in..
Obi-Wan Schwinnobi
Riding a '38 Autocycle Deluxe
You have to screw the axel through both parts .. compress it all together and then screw the axel in to hold it together
Autocycleplane
Cruisin' on my Bluebird
If you have an original axle I believe one side has more threads than the other, so you may be bottoming out if you had it all apart and are putting it together with the axle direction switched.
These hubs work very well, they just have tons of places to wear that start to add up and you have to throw a bunch of dough at them to correct. There is no way I could safely ride a ND on all of these hills around here, but it is a perfectly fine flatland coaster.
I should just make a youtube video about these hubs and how to fix/assemble them correctly. Feel free to PM me - happy to help.
Obi-Wan Schwinnobi
Riding a '38 Autocycle Deluxe
Here
Autocycleplane
Cruisin' on my Bluebird
And to the OP: your brake shoe does not look that worn to me. You are correct that they didn't start coming with the grooves until sometime around 1940/K production. Try adding grooves to yours, they don't need to be precise. Mine work great with grease, I only use oil on the occasional ND that passes through.
Autocycleplane
Cruisin' on my Bluebird
My post from another thread, since the search function is pretty worthless at the moment:
Here are my tips for engagement degree issues:
1. As mentioned in the other thread and the how-to above make sure the bushing/cone assembly is installed on the axle correctly. You only have 2 (180 degrees) ways to put them together, just use whichever combo results in those 2 parts fitting together the tightest when assembled on the axle. I've found that should give the proper clearance shown above without the need to measure. After you do it once correctly you get the hang of it.
1a. If you have everything cleaned up and nothing is broken you might as well quickly (see axle tip below) reassemble without grease (light oil OK) and check your drive/brake engagement angle. If acceptable then after step 2 it's usually fine to just reassemble with grease and new ball bearings in the bearing retainers and party on.
2. Inspect your clutch rings - are the knurls on the outside worn down? If so replace.
3. Inspect your expanders on either end of the brake sleeve. Are the "V" shaped areas where the surfaces mate to the sleeve or rings worn/grooved? If so replace.
4. Lastly inspect the brake sleeve, the big money item. Check the thickness of the brass shoe material against a NOS unit if possible or check interwebs for photos to compare. Check the inside areas where the expanders sit and work. I can get pretty good use out of these units as long as they don't overheat and crack in two, but super thin brass shoe material is obviously gonna cause some issues.
5. I've seen a few really worn hub shells. If a fresh sleeve, expanders, and clutch rings with proper assembly fixes some but not all of the problem then your shell is likely a bit toasty.
The point of all of this being that there are a bunch of places for wear that can all add up to a ton of pedal throw between go and no-go. Sometimes you have to replace more than one part to get things working better, or even all of it (brake sleeve, expanders, and clutch rings) to make it like new again.
Couple of other tips:
- Fresh ball bearings make a huge difference in ride quality. Clean up and reuse the old retainers, pop those new 1/4" balls in and feel the magic.
- Life is too short to fight a crappy axle more than once on disassembly. If the threads are shot or it is at all bent then just replace it. Better yet, buy 3 or 4 at a time so you can always use a fresh one whenever needed.
- Sometimes even NOS retarder washers and axle bushings don't really slide together that well and can bind a bit causing a "pop" between forward pedaling and braking. I like to file/emory the flats of the bushing just a bit to remove some of the machining ridges as well as any sharp edges of the washer to make sure they slide more smoothly. The retarder spring does wear out, if yours feels flimsy then replace.
Here are my tips for engagement degree issues:
1. As mentioned in the other thread and the how-to above make sure the bushing/cone assembly is installed on the axle correctly. You only have 2 (180 degrees) ways to put them together, just use whichever combo results in those 2 parts fitting together the tightest when assembled on the axle. I've found that should give the proper clearance shown above without the need to measure. After you do it once correctly you get the hang of it.
1a. If you have everything cleaned up and nothing is broken you might as well quickly (see axle tip below) reassemble without grease (light oil OK) and check your drive/brake engagement angle. If acceptable then after step 2 it's usually fine to just reassemble with grease and new ball bearings in the bearing retainers and party on.
2. Inspect your clutch rings - are the knurls on the outside worn down? If so replace.
3. Inspect your expanders on either end of the brake sleeve. Are the "V" shaped areas where the surfaces mate to the sleeve or rings worn/grooved? If so replace.
4. Lastly inspect the brake sleeve, the big money item. Check the thickness of the brass shoe material against a NOS unit if possible or check interwebs for photos to compare. Check the inside areas where the expanders sit and work. I can get pretty good use out of these units as long as they don't overheat and crack in two, but super thin brass shoe material is obviously gonna cause some issues.
5. I've seen a few really worn hub shells. If a fresh sleeve, expanders, and clutch rings with proper assembly fixes some but not all of the problem then your shell is likely a bit toasty.
The point of all of this being that there are a bunch of places for wear that can all add up to a ton of pedal throw between go and no-go. Sometimes you have to replace more than one part to get things working better, or even all of it (brake sleeve, expanders, and clutch rings) to make it like new again.
Couple of other tips:
- Fresh ball bearings make a huge difference in ride quality. Clean up and reuse the old retainers, pop those new 1/4" balls in and feel the magic.
- Life is too short to fight a crappy axle more than once on disassembly. If the threads are shot or it is at all bent then just replace it. Better yet, buy 3 or 4 at a time so you can always use a fresh one whenever needed.
- Sometimes even NOS retarder washers and axle bushings don't really slide together that well and can bind a bit causing a "pop" between forward pedaling and braking. I like to file/emory the flats of the bushing just a bit to remove some of the machining ridges as well as any sharp edges of the washer to make sure they slide more smoothly. The retarder spring does wear out, if yours feels flimsy then replace.
Obi-Wan Schwinnobi
Riding a '38 Autocycle Deluxe
Also, make sure these are not worn down to nothing.
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