Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Coaster Brake on Road Bike??

Hey All!

An odd question spawned from a seemingly logical thought process!
I converted an old(ish) bianchi road bike with gears into a single speed with a freewheel. Nothing was added to make the conversion, just a lot removed, including a little bit of the frame to get the chain taught. I would like to replace the rear hub with a coaster brake, so that I can brake without a lever (and i don't especially want a fixed gear). ive looked without success for infomation on road bikes with caster brakes but to no avail. any info out there amongst anyone? anything would be appreciated, or leads to any information, as i'm just beginning the process....

thanks!

NYC bikes sells a coaster brake road wheel. I don't know how good they are but the price is right.

Here's a link to their ebay sale
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=58099&item=7150286890&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

Gosh you might lose some l337ness but here is a nice, nice, 3 speed hub for cheap

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=7295&item=7150184865&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

ive looked without success for infomation on road bikes with caster [sic] brakes but to no avail. any info out there amongst anyone? anything would be appreciated, or leads to any information, as i'm just beginning the process....

With older road frames this is a quick and easy process. The only challenge can be making sure your chain doesn't stray too far out of alignment. If it is, it can be a matter of adding washers and/or flipping your bottom bracket. Other than that, it is relatively painless and self-explanatory.

Both of the other posters were dead-on correct.

NYC has a wheel on eBay that is cheap and looks good.

Coaster brakes are 110mm spacing, but washers from your local hardware store will help get a good fit.

I rode a road frame w/ a coaster brake for YEARS. Just play it smart and get a front brake just in case.

Matthew

guys be careful with the coaster hubs though. There isn't one on the market that is "GOOD". None of them will last you more than 1 or 2 winters if you ride year round. They are tough to service too...FUN though.

guys be careful with the coaster hubs though. There isn't one on the market that is "GOOD". None of them will last you more than 1 or 2 winters if you ride year round. They are tough to service too...FUN though.

Hi....

While I agree that there are no "GOOD" coaster brakes (as compared to yesteryear) in production today, there are lot's of older coaster brakes that are quite nice. I've found some real treasures in the back of local bike shops or at swap meets. And yes, I agree that a modern production coaster brake (eg shimano/KT) will last only a year or two ... if it's never serviced. If a person is mechanically inclined, and can exercise a modicum of patience, servicing a coaster brake is not tough. It varies a bit from brake to brake (read: don't screw with a real Morrow unless you REALLY know what you're doing) but 99% of the CB's out there work the same way.

Awhile ago I put together some photos for servicing a Bendix redline. A shimano brake differs only in the addition of a small spring assembly attached to the end of the clutch. I have a very large collection of coaster brakes with samples of just about every brake manufactured. If someone needs a photo set showing the assembly/disassembly of any coaster brake, let me know.

One thing we can all agree on is the need for a front brake .... not because a well-maintained coaster brake is unreliable, but because they will get real HOT if used as the only brake during long-ish descents.

Take care...

Jim

PS: Here are the Bendix photos:
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=57248

great pics Jim! thanks for linking to them!!

great pics Jim! thanks for linking to them!!

Thanks.... Unfortunately, I was still having troubles with close-up photography with my non-SLR Canon Powershot G5.
But I think I found the trick ... and others may find this useful. I made a small piece of paper with closely-spaced lines which I place on the object to be photographed. The lines cause "aliasing" in the low-res LCD screen on the back of the camera that manifest themselves as broad, curved rainbow-like bands. These bands are easily focused, and as long as I remember to remove the slip of paper before I take the shot, all is well.

Anyway, future photo-sets should be a little clearer. Sadly, I end up with lots of shots like this in my camera ... doh!

Take care...

Jim

Hey there all! and thanks a lot for all the replies! They are in the process of proving helpful. I am in coaster brake market at the moment, with nothing bought yet, although Sheldon Brown thought I ought to lean towards A shimano hub. (If you havent checked out his page than google it- good stuff).
Does anyone ride a coaster brake with SPD pedals? I think I've only seen straps or regular platform pedals, never clips.

Thanks again for the info.

tighe

Hey there all! and thanks a lot for all the replies! They are in the process of proving helpful. I am in coaster brake market at the moment, with nothing bought yet, although Sheldon Brown thought I ought to lean towards A shimano hub. (If you havent checked out his page than google it- good stuff).
Does anyone ride a coaster brake with SPD pedals? I think I've only seen straps or regular platform pedals, never clips.

Thanks again for the info.

tighe

Sadly, in today's market, there aren't many real choices in coaster brakes. I know of only two: KT/Histop/Shimano and Joytech/Novatech. I'm not a big fan of either but if I had to choose, I'd probably go with KT/Histop/Shimano but it's really like looking for a good meal when your only choices are Burger King and McDonald's. My recommendation would be to grab the Shimano and have some fun BUT keep looking for a nice older hub for the future.

As far as the clipless thing, I ride clips and straps but I don't see why you couldn't ride coaster brake clipless.

Take care

Jim

I bought one of those coaster brake wheels from NYCbikes on ebay a few days ago. My wife called me at work to say it just arrived today! I'm hopefully going to bolt it onto my fixie (in effect, "breaking" it?), ride it this weekend and re-live those fun coaster-bike-days of my childhood.

I live in Oregon,and I had an old raleigh sports 3 spd.I installed a set of 27" rims with a suntour coaster on the back,flipped the north road bars,removed the fenders,ow I have a very cool looking single speed.The coaster brake rocks,and it is a very fast reliable bike.give it a shot.PEAZ

ffs

I live in Oregon,and I had an old raleigh sports 3 spd.I installed a set of 27" rims with a suntour coaster on the back,flipped the north road bars,removed the fenders,ow I have a very cool looking single speed.The coaster brake rocks,and it is a very fast reliable bike.give it a shot.PEAZ

2005 called, they want their thread closed.