Brake pads in gear drive or against motor?

I was thinking about building a push-rod activated backup braking system by adding bike brake pads to my gear drive design. The concept might also work as part of a motor mount with the pads contacting the motors.

Has it been done?

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Brakes that don’t rely on motor resistance are rare on esk8s. I think this is the best option available today: 15006 - MBS Brake System - SOLD OUT - ETA Late October / Early November — MBS.COM

I’d be curious to see what you come up with. Redundant brake systems would be cool. Thankfully we’re about to get some reliable remotes (like from derelict robot), so electronic braking should be easier to trust as the sole option.

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On a side note, opening up gear drives just to replace brake pads wouldn’t be fun. I’d also suggest you check out some standard pad options in use for bikes/ebikes so you can stick with disposables that are easy to get.

Good point, for me personally I doubt I’d have to replace the pads before the pom gear, but other people might use them as more than just backup.

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Possibly, but keep in mind that they also generate brake dust, which you’d want to keep out of the gears. You’ll probably want to use some kind of disc and standard bike calipers. You could use the gear drives to mount calipers since you need something rigid to handle the stopping forces.

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I just remembered something — heat dissipation. Discs that get used to stop fast faster and heavier bikes are large — think 203mm+

You’ll need to consider how big and how many discs you’ll need to stop a heavy and fast board. That’s going to limit your options for wheels, so it won’t be compatible with every board.

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since it’s a backup, i don’t think heat will be a problem for the hopefully rare case of a break failure.

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Yeah, your dust comment made me think it’s better to build breaks into the motor mount than in the gear box. A mounting hole for a bike break set like these (https://www.amazon.com/Sunlite-MX-Side-Pull-Set/dp/B000AO9NYA/) would suffice.

However I have an idea for doing it cheaper and lighter, by integrating the mechanism with the motor mount. Maybe I’ll prototype my idea, and post again.

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Yeah, maybe… I’d at least do a lot of testing to make sure. My bike (non-electrified) has dual piston calipers (meaning one on each side) with a 180mm disc up front and 160mm on the back… I think. Though there are multiple factors that contribute to stopping power, slowing it down from ~30mph (~48kmh) takes some effort and distance, and the bike is only around 22lbs (10kg). That’s with two master cylinders that wouldn’t be super easy to hide in a small single handed package. Still, it’s just an anecdote.

I’m also a bit suspicious of using brakes in emergencies only. I feel like remembering to do something different in rare circumstances is a recipe for disaster. Brakes can help people to faster in races too. Shave as much speed as quickly as possible to get back on the throttle as soon as possible.

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I do kinda like the against the motor idea as that gets the system farther from the ground and it takes whatever the reduction less in force.

I would try like using a longboard wheel with no spacer and overtightened bearings, then a spring loaded lever presses that onto the motor.

The easiest thing to make I could think of.

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Break = when something fails

Brake = use to stop motion

Ok I’m done

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Lol this always bothers me too

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Fixed

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Just poking fun @ you bruh.

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