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I have city bike with Sturmey-Archer X-FDD front hub with drum brake.

Last week, after cold and wet days (drizzle, 2 C), the temperature dropped below -10 C. I store this bike outdoors, I ride it every day 10-30 km. Because of u-lock malfunction it was grounded for 3 days. When I eventually managed to free it, I observed very poor front brake operation. I suppose it is about 30% usual effectiveness. I ruled out the cable - braking cord is moving back and forth with no problem.

Has something wrong happened to the brake linning? What could cause such behaviour?

Edit: As I'm lazy person, I didn't want to disassembly the hub and see what's wrong. I supposed there is some ice on the surface of the lining, but after few dozens of hard brakings thing went even worse, ie. brake was less and less effective.

What I eventually did was riding for some not so long distance, using brake when pedalling with mudulate force. After that brake suddenly gain it full effectiveness.

@Emyr is probably right. There sholud be a lot of ice. Long braking melted it and let the brake dry.

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    Something you observe in automobiles is that rust/corrosion may build up between the drum and the shoes, and the first several braking operations after several days standing in wet weather may be rough and less effective.
    – Daniel R Hicks
    Jan 9, 2017 at 19:52

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Moisture may have collected on the friction surfaces and frozen.

Warm the bike up and re-test.

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    You can store the bike inside to reduce moisture issues. And some gentle heat from a hairdryer played over the front hub should help remove the water. However if the water has mixed with grease then you're best doing an overhaul on the drum brake.
    – Criggie ♦
    Jan 9, 2017 at 19:24
  • Edited my question. Dried it by long braking.
    – krzyski
    Jan 10, 2017 at 15:38

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