Odd Rear Drum Brake Operation

After I reassembled my rear suspension I have an odd response from the rear brake when the pedal is depressed.

Everything feels right when it's standing still (i.e. not rolling) but when riding there is a definite and noticeable hesitation between when the pedal is depressed and the brake reacts. I have adapted to riding it this way, but this is obviously not correct.

I'm not very familiar with drum brake operation and am looking for some pointers on what to start looking at. As I stated, the pedal operation feels correct, so I'm guessing it is something internal to the drum brake itself that is causing this.

Any suggestions?

Been a while since I've had a drum braked bike, and I just picked one up a few weekends ago but haven't riden her yet.
What I have read though is that if the shoes are original, or even old, the lining can separate and even cause the rear wheel to lock up.
Yours may be coming loose. I'd be opening her up to have a look.

F. That blows. Thanks, I'll take the wheel back off - it's not going to fix itself anyhow...

Before removing rear wheel, double check the bolts to the brake stay arm. the rear bolt is usually a shoulder'd bolt, & failure to get arm located upon shoulder would cause your' prob. luck G

That'll learn me to post before examining anything. The bolt at the rear of the stabilizer wasn't tight. I could wiggle the hub enough that it was obvious. Now I just need to buy a new cotter pin as it disintegrated while removing. Guess it was time anyways

Thanks again Gane!

Por, Nada.. Hope any future probs are as quck & easy. G

rstnick wrote:

.... the lining can separate and even cause the rear wheel to lock up.....

To reiterate.... If the age of the rear brake shoes cannot be positively identified, then it would be a good idea to replace them. The glue that binds the lining to the shoe can fail over time. When it happens, the lining gets jammed between the shoe & drum, locking the rear wheel. It happened to me when rolling the bike off the centerstand. Very lucky... I'd hate to have it happen at speed. I was also lucky in that it happened in front of the garage; so I slipped a piece of cardboard under the rear wheel & slid the bike back into the garage. It would be a real drag to have it happen miles from home.