Atom drum brake hubs

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Unchained

Unchained

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Does anyone know if there is such a thing as an atom front wheel hub (with 36 spoke holes) ? I have a rear wheel with an atom five speed drum, and I was wondering if it would be possible to match it... I don't know if I've ever seen an atom hub intended for the front wheel, other than on a krate, and that is no help to me as I need 36 holes. I figured that if they could make a rear, why wouldn't they have made a front? Hopefully someone can help me out. Better yet, does anyone know if they were ever laced into chromed, steel Araya 26x2.125 HE rims..? :mrgreen: Maybe a long shot. Here's the wheel I would like to match eventually.




 
I don't know about Atom hubs or not, but I have a pair of moped 36-hole drum hubs that look pretty close. Only issue would probably be the 1/2" dia. axles...
 
i'm just meddling. i have that same rear wheel on my main cruiser, but it's matched to a cobbled up disc in front. i'd bet they make or made a matching front but i've never come across one.

side note. can you still get brake pads for these?
 
gowjobs said:
I don't know about Atom hubs or not, but I have a pair of moped 36-hole drum hubs that look pretty close. Only issue would probably be the 1/2" dia. axles...
Click to expand...

I thought about moped hubs, but I really want to match this atom if possible, I really like it.

Philphine said:
i'm just meddling. i have that same rear wheel on my main cruiser, but it's matched to a cobbled up disc in front. i'd bet they make or made a matching front but i've never come across one.

side note. can you still get brake pads for these?
Click to expand...

That's interesting. Does the front wheel have the same rim as the rear? I'm pretty sure the brake pads pop up on eBay from time to time, but only as NOS as far I've known. I don't think you can buy them new/repro, at least not for these hubs specifically. I think it would probably be possible to adapt pads from other more common hubs though (Worksman?) but I've never looked into/ and or tried it. I got lucky, because my pads are pretty well new still.

So, my next question is, what did mid '50's Schwinn drum braked cruisers have for hubs? I thought some of the higher end Schwinn cruisers from that time had drums in the front... I didn't think they were SA, I thought they were atom, but now I don't know. Hopefully someone can shed some light on that too! Thanks guys.

EDIT: My idea to match my hub for the moment was to lace a rim with a Worksman front drum hub, hopefully it's a temporary solution.
 
My moped has atom hubs front and back in 36 spoke so they did make them. You could probably take another rear drum, machine off the freewheel threads and use it as a front.
 
Here is a front drum off of a Worksman. The red stripes were added to match my kickback.
ThuFeb18141219CST2010.jpg
 
They do make Atom 36 spoke drum front drum hubs. I have one, and am I looking for a rear like yours!
 
I just pulled the drum brake hubs off a 79 AMF Roadmaster scooter and they're both 36h. The freewheel on the rear one was made by Atom so I'm assuming they made the hubs as well. The holes on the hubs are small enough that a 14g spoke head won't slip all the way through but it's still a bit loose, I imagine a heavier gauge would be best on them.


AMF Roadmaster scooter.... ugly sucker, and mine was a lot dirtier and rusted before I broke it all down. :|
AMF_Roadmaster.JPG
 
YES! They are extremely hard to find, but I have one 36 hole ATOM front drum brake hub. I found it in a wheel at a LBS, and the seller said he thought that it came on a Specialized mountain bike. I don't know if that is true or not. It has the very same backing plate as the Schwinn "Krate" versions, but the hub shell is drilled with 18 evenly spaced holes per flange. I also have one with 14 evenly spaced holes per flange (28 spoke). My 36 hole Atom hub is on a Schwinn tandem, and I would attach a photo if I could figure out how with this forum. None of the buttons above seemed to help.
 
I know they're newer, but have you tried the Sturmey-Archer drum brake hubs that are currently available. I've used a front and rear S/A hubset, with a 7-speed freewheel, on a mountain bike that I built in 1992 from scratch. I like them very much, and they perform well. The top end hubs have sealed bearings. I recently purchased their newer front hub with a 90mm drum (older ones had 70mm drums)
 

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