Bicycle brake shoe with heat dissipating means

A brake means comprising a brake shoe which includes a backing plate having a flat central portion with a plurality of cooling fins on one side thereof and integral extension portions extending outwardly from opposite edges of said central portion and being angled toward said one side for dissipating heat generated in the brake shoe by a braking action to the atmosphere, an elongate parallelepiped pad of friction material having only one face bonded on the other side of the shoe backing plate in thermal contact therewith, all of the other faces of said pad being free of contact with said backing plate with one free face oriented for engagement with a rim of a wheel and the like during the braking action and being longitudinally curved to approximate the radius of curvature of the wheel rim, said friction material having heat transfer means dispersed therein for transferring heat therethrough and said pad having a transverse dimension substantially smaller than that of said backing plate so that the backing plate extension portions extend outwardly of said pad on both sides thereof, said heat transfer means, said thermal bonding, said fins and said backing plate cooperating to transfer heat away from said one free face during the braking action.