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Rod Brake
Roller-lever brake. Some rod brakes use the rods to operate a drum brake; this set-up is popular in the Netherlands.
Most rod brakes use a "stirrup" which holds brake shoes that pull against the inner circumference of the rim. These are usually used with Westwood or Raleigh pattern rims, which have a ridge where the spokes attach, so there is no risk of snagging a spoke nipple with the brake shoes. These brakes are relatively trouble-free, but slight irregularities in rim radius can cause a brake to grab. Unless a rim is dented, caliper brakes that bear on the rim sidewalls are, on the other hand, very tolerant, because the rim's width remains constant even if the wheel is out of true. This is especially so with rims that have parallel sidewalls, including the Westrick rims used on higher-end Raleigh Industries three-speeds for many decades, and most aluminum rims made since 1980.
