New Coasting Bikes From Shimano

[scottogo]

Made by Trek, Raleigh, and Giant with automatic transmission.
http://www.coasting.com/

[pj7]

I read about these in Bicycling Magazine while at the market the other day. What really suprised me was that Sheldon Brown himself was quoted in the article... I can not remember his exact quote but he was in the "against" crowd for these things.
Personally, I think they have their place, and I'm sure my wife would enjoy one.

[Floyd]

I have ridden a bike in the past that was 'automatic' shift...had centrificul (sorry bout the spelling) weights on the wheel that did the shifting. If i remember it was even more than 3 speed. Anyway it was OK for a lazy evening ride when you did not care if you were biking or not. the shifting was pretty good but definately not ideal as it did not always shift when it was time to shift. In other words not for someone who knows gears and shifting.

[DieselDan]

As long as you are turning the cranks, you're riding a bike.

[slk]

I believe Sheldon's problem is that they have only one brake. This means that, if you snap the chain, you have no braking other than the 'fred flinstone' option.

Beyond that, I don't really have a problem with it. It's human powered and has at least one wheel; that's good enough for me.

[DieselDan]

I believe Sheldon's problem is that they have only one brake. This means that, if you snap the chain, you have no braking other than the 'fred flinstone' option.

Beyond that, I don't really have a problem with it. It's human powered and has at least one wheel; that's good enough for me.
I have 200 coaster brake bikes at work, and I've had two broken chains in seven years.

[kemmer]

I have 200 coaster brake bikes at work, and I've had two broken chains in seven years.

And let me guess, they were either way worn and stretched or they were damaged by an impact, right? Besides, it's easy to stop a bike without brakes. Don't believe me? Go to youtube or google and type in ted shred.

[Sci-Fi]

Personally I don't see a need for an automatic shifter on an internal hub. Is it so hard or difficult to use a grip or thumb shifter? Only thing I can see is that it is one way around the patents Landrider has on their automatic shifting system that uses a rear derailer and a regular cassette. Besides, most riders want to shift into whatever gear they want and the biggest complaint, at least with the Landrider setup, is that the automated gearing choice seemed to be one or two gears too low.

[Velo Dog]

I'm with SciFi--I just don't GET it. I don't scoff at what anybody rides--I do about 25 percent of my miles on a singlespeed I made from an old touring Trek and a BMX freewheel. But I run out of patience in about a second and a half with anybody who won't learn to shift. This is a marketing gimmick by Shimano, and I hope it works--if there are more people riding, we'll all get better treatment in the long run. But I wonder if they'd be smarter to emphasize how easy it is to shift a modern bike, either internal hub or indexed w/derailleur, than to dumb down and heavy up the bikes.

[DieselDan]

And let me guess, they were either way worn and stretched or they were damaged by an impact, right? Besides, it's easy to stop a bike without brakes. Don't believe me? Go to youtube or google and type in ted shred.
Actually, both were new bikes with a defect in the chain, probably form where it was cut at the factory. The replacements are KMC's 410 HD, the HD stands for Heavy Duty. While these are 1/8" x 1" chains, the plates are thicker then the OEM chain. As for stopping with a braking system, I just put a heel to the rear wheel.

[Lion Steve]

I believe Sheldon's problem is that they have only one brake. This means that, if you snap the chain, you have no braking other than the 'fred flinstone' option.


I think that another complaint that he had was that the bike's drivetrain was inclosed, and difficult to service.

[scottogo]

Article courtesy of BikePortland.org

A close-up look at a Coasting bike
Posted by Jonathan Maus on March 20th, 2007 at 1:21 pm

The bike for the other 161 million?Yesterday I got my first, hands-on look at the fruits of Shimano’s new Coasting product initiative.

Only three manufacturers (Raleigh, Trek and Giant) are licensed to make bikes with Coasting and I gave Trek’s offering, the “Lime Light” a closer look.

The bike I rode was a more manly-looking version of the green Lime model I’ve shown pictures of before. This one, a Lime Light model ($469), was black and gray and is a pared down (and $80 less) version of the Lime.

First thing I noticed were the bulbous, futuristic looking, Jetsons-inspired hubcaps.

Besides that, on the surface, the bike looks like a standard cruiser (albeit with a smaller frame). But once you start pedaling you notice something very different…it shifts for you!

With power generated from a front hub dynamo, the system smoothly changed gears as necessary. On a mild grade in front of the downtown Bike Gallery (going south on 10th Ave), I pedaled hard and cycled through all three gears. The shifting was quiet and smooth.

Here are the brains of the system:

Belying its cruiser appearance, the bike had a lively feel (my 18.5″ tester weighed in at just over 31 pounds). The seat tube is relaxed and the bike has a comfort feel, but the top tube is noticeably shorter than some of the more tankish cruiser/comfort/city bikes on the market.

The coaster brake left a bit to be desired, it seemed like too long before it engaged.

It was raining, so I kept my test ride short. Overall it was a solid, easy to ride, good looking bike. Will it (along with a massive marketing campaign) help get the 161 million non-cycling Americans back in the saddle? That remains to be seen, but after riding it, I think Shimano’s marketing push will be just as (if not more) important to its success.

Check out the complete gallery for more photos. And for more coverage, view my Shimano Coasting archives.

[Dahon.Steve]

The bike is about $400.00 dollars too expensive.

Why? Because they are looking for market share that considers an $89.00 dollar bicycle too expensive. Sad to say this but they will more than likely put Electra out of business before this bike sets a revolution.

The only company capable of changing the industry is Walmart. If they decided to stop selling cheap $89.00 dual suspension mountain bikes for three speed "Lime" type bikes with fenders (while keeping the price under $100.00), we might see a total change in cycling.

[Brian]

I did some writeups on these bikes on my blog. If anyone has any specific questions about any of them, let me know and I'll go right to my source.