Laïti Mono, aka the brainbreaker

[Raging_Bulls]

It's an Excelioo drum with 95x20mm shoes.

The outer diameter of those new pads is perfect. With a hinge point of the right diameter (the original is too big), they fit the drum with 2 or 3mm to spare.
The original pads are 95x20 as well, but they're completely different at the ends. The contact points (hinge and lever) are closer together than on regular pads.

I've contacted EBC to ask if they had anything that would fit, and they didn't.
I have 90x20 and 85x20 here too, and both don't fit. The 90mm ones won't fit the hinge and the 85mm ones barely touch the drum.

The pads I currently have are also used by the Honda PX, so they'll have to keep making those until the end of time. It's going to be easier to have new drum covers made to suit those shoes. When these pads are worn, at least that'll allow me to get some new off-the-shelf items without having to wory about availability.

 

[NeilM]

It's never as simple as we thought it would be is it?

But then, I guess that's why we do it in the first place.

 

[bren]

Check out eBay user ' globalbikeonline ' they have a pile of 95x20 shoes of varying types.
I'd be amazed if one of them can't at least be adapted.
I don't mind offering my services, I have use of CNC milling machines but I'm a bit far away?

 

[Synthesis]

May be a dumb question, but here I go... If you flip the brake shoes (the original ones) 180 degrees so front is back shoe, and back is front shoe, will that not reverse where the shoes is worn, and make the unworn part of the shoes touch on the drum?

 

[Raging_Bulls]

The ends that are flat are the ones going outwards. Rotating them won't help. I know that in the pic on page 1 it shows wear on opposite ends of the shoes, but that was due to bad alignment.
Even if it did help, it would only be a temporary solution as the pads would still be half-worn. The bike will be ridden a lot, so I need a permanent one.

To make matters worse, Kampos somehow put me in "brainstorm mode" while we were in chat yesterday, which means I'm currently thinking about a hydraulic 2WD system for the Laïti. In fact I have most of it figured out already.
It will probably never happen, but then again it just might. It'd be good to add a little weirdness to the bike, to make it stand out from the crowd a bit.

 

[SchwinnStraight8]

So would double weird make it normal?

Nice ride BTW!

 

[jimo746]

Re:

Did you ever figure the brakes out?

Very interesting bike, if you ever decide to sell let me know

 

[Raging_Bulls]

Re:

I gave up on finding replacements. However some fiddling did manage to make it doable. A set of V-brake levers sorted out the spongy feeling and a set of friction thumbies sorted out the stupid spacing on the Suntour cassette.
Adjusting the pivot point mostly stopped the sticking of the pads. Still, they're worn way past the limit.

I haven't ridden it in close to 2 years TBH.
The main issue for me is the alignment of the entire rear end. The front of the rear wheel is pointing slightly to the left, possibly a result of chain pull over the years. Also, both wheels are slightly out of center too, so they either need re-dishing or could benefit from rims with out-of-center holes. The combination of those issues means it's not really tracking straight.

 

[itscervo]

If jimo746 passes on it can I be considered next in line please, I've been after one of these for years.

 

[Raging_Bulls]

Curse you all ... now I'm interested in it again and throwing money at it ...

I did some more searching and EBC has a model of brake shoes that might fit, so I just ordered a pair of those. Fingers crossed.

Also, after a long conversation with one of the mechanics at my nearest LBS (to decide if it's worth keeping or if I should just sell it), he and his boss had a look at it and decided that the problem isn't as much in the rear as I thought it was. Of the 4cm misalignment, they reckon 3cm is in the front.

They may be right ...

- -

The above pics don't reveal much IMO. However the one below does.



It's clear that the front wheel and seat tube are not at the same angle. Not even close in fact.
According to my mechanic, the bend in the fork is the culprit here. it's too weak to take the stress of serious off-roading. A few hard landings will make it bend inwards, which is exactly how it's pointing.

I think I'm going to try the bike with a regular fork first, to see just how much that improves things. Then I can make up my mind on how to proceed.
I could sell it, put a regular fork on it or get this one straightened out and hope for the best. Perhaps I could bring it into the 21st century by putting a Lefty on it.
Or maybe I could trick my mind into remembering which of our French members knew Michel Laïti himself and perhaps get in touch with him to try and score a new fork.

So all in all, it's not for sale just yet.
First task is to find a cheap threaded 1" fork with a 135mm steerer length (thread included). That's going to be a fun task. threadless won't do, I'm not going to be buying and swapping headsets just for a quick test.

So here we go again ...