3

I have a city bike and it started doing some weird noises when brake.

I talked to my local bike shop and they said I should use some specific grease.

Unfortunately in the place where I am currently these brakes are not common at all and I will have to buy it in the Internet. I find several types though and I am not sure what I should use.

Which type of grease should I use for drum brakes?

Improve this question
4
  • 1
    What brand/model of brake do you have? What does the manufacturer's maintenance manual suggest?
    – Daniel R Hicks
    Commented Jun 12, 2017 at 0:36
  • Look whats in the manual for the brake you have and buy that. Cheaping out in a brake system is not a good idea.
    – Batman
    Commented Jun 12, 2017 at 3:21
  • @DanielRHicks I no longer have the manual, but I will check the brand.
    – nsn
    Commented Jun 12, 2017 at 9:24
  • @Batman it's not about cheaping out.. I really want to buy the right product. Just have to know which.
    – nsn
    Commented Jun 12, 2017 at 9:24

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
1

Are you sure you have a drum brake? A "drum brake" is external to the rear hub and would normally be actuated by a hand-lever (rather than pedaling backwards).

Drum brakes (hand actuated types) themselves don't need grease. If there's contaminants on the drum or shoe, you should just get some "drum brake cleaner" from your auto supply shop. However, more than likely the 'noise' you're experience may be from the wear indicator on your drum brake, indicating you need a new brake shoe. Given that you don't know the manufacturer of your brake, this replacement may be hard to obtain but a new drum brake itself is cheap.

Panasonic Drum Brake Rear

I wouldn't use any 'grease' on a hand-actuated drum brake unless I saw something from the manufacturer. Instead, for noise I'd first try drum brake cleaner from the auto-shop -- and if that doesn't work, maybe use some sandpaper on the drum shoes to deglaze them and take off any leading edges.

Related: When do I know the drum brake is at the end of life and needs replacement?

Coaster brakes on the other hand are actuated by pedaling backwards. You'll note that the mechanism is internal to the hub. Some use a variant of a drum and shoe; some use roller clutches - but even the ones that use drums aren't called "drum brakes" by most folks as that refers to the external drum-brake design above. In either case, Sheldon Brown notes:

Single-speed coaster brakes are intended to be pretty much packed with grease. There is no part of a coaster brake that can be harmed by grease, so be generous in applying it. You should use a grease with tolerance for high temperatures, such as automotive brake grease, but even so, coaster brakes used in mountainous terrain can "cook" any common grease.

An internal-gear hub with a coaster brake may need more than one type of lubricant. Follow manufacturer's recommendations.

Shimano Coaster Brake

Improve this answer
3
  • I have drum breaks, both in front and back. They work with an hand lever as you describe. According to the local bike shop these can do more than 300.000km Unfortunatly they didnt see the bycicle since I don't have it where I bought it. They suggest this "solid grease"
    – nsn
    Commented Jun 13, 2017 at 7:45
  • 1
    I wouldn't use any 'grease' on a hand-actuated drum brake unless I saw something from the manufacturer. Instead, for noise I'd first try drum brake cleaner from the auto-shop -- and if that doesn't work, maybe use some sandpaper on the drum shoes to deglaze them and take off any leading edges.
    – RoboKaren
    Commented Jun 13, 2017 at 15:03
  • Because your bike shop did not see your actual bike, I wouldn't take their recommendation seriously. You really need to bring it in (or upload photos if here) for an authoritative answer.
    – RoboKaren
    Commented Jul 13, 2017 at 15:31

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.