Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Swap Meet Coaster Brake

Went to Seattle Old Bike Swap Meet today and found some treasures (at least they're treasures to me).

I decided to annotate it. Actually one of the Sachs and one of the Musselmann hubs is already apart fo refurb.
Some of them are pretty dirty but they're all complete and will clean up well (maybe I'll post an after picture when they're done).

Jim

Here are some of the boxes of parts I found there as well. Lot's of sorting, cleaning and bagging here.

Jim

I've actually had this Two-speed Automatic (kickback hub) for awhile and put it here JUST to tease 'Legalize-It' (I think it's got your name on it ). ;-)

Jim

Ok, first, I gotta ask: will you lace any of them up and use them? Do you just have the one bike, or do you have another frame laying around just waiting for one of them beauties? Well, you just said you spoke to them at MLC, was it a man or woman? Just curious, they're all nice like you said (Larry, Harv and Lisa)

I'm SO jealous of that parts box!!! Looks yummy! I CAN'T WAIT for our swap meet here.

Don't worry, you didn't lose one, two of my three bikes are coaster (you know, the other fixed). I brought them all outside today for a picture together... :D

I had a yellow band kickback, mine always ran a bit rough, especially in the lower gear. Hmmm...

The hubs I have, I'm not sure what they are. My shop that laced it up didn't know, either. Nothing too extravagant, maybe low end Shimano? Probably nothing too exciting compared to your picture.

So, on your Steamroller, you adjusted the BB spindle for chainline, as opposed to dishing the rear wheel, etc. How did you get the brake arm to meet the frame? My rear wheel is negative dished, so that the drive side is closer to the frame than the non-drive, which means there are spacers (naturally) on the other side of the axle, and the brake arm bracket is bent because the arm comes nowhere near close to the chainstay. This is what my LBS did when I brought them the bike and hub, sans a rear rim. I wanted to squeeze my frame together instead of having a dished wheel (I wanted coaster in part, so it wouldn't be dished), but they freaked out. It probably is a little too sketchy. I wonder if I could have them do something different, because it is my main bike. They aren't too concerned with me bending the axle (I only weigh maybe 130?) but I do load the back up quite a bit with gear...

Wow, I've been rambling!

First is my three bikes, second is one of the hub.

Ok, first, I gotta ask: will you lace any of them up and use them? Do you just have the one bike, or do you have another frame laying around just waiting for one of them beauties?

That's a fair question. At present, I only have room for two bikes. My Surly naturally has a coaster. My other bike was made by a local builder and has a single-speed freewheel (White Ind.). I spoke to the builder about respacing that bike to 120mm so I could mount a Morrow onto it.....I thought he was going to have a stroke....."but....but...you have a Phil Wood hub on there now.....why?" I told him that coasters from the old days were art. So eventually, one of my hubs will end up there. I also plan to lace up several different hubs to get a feel for how they work. I'm going to test the New Departure hub first as I've heard everything from "They're the best coaster brake ever!" to "Calling it a brake is being too kind". Looking at the design I would be surprised if they work well, but who knows? 'Anyway the 'master plan' doesn't end with that.

First I'm collecting as many different hubs as I can, dissecting them (nondestructively of course) to determin which ones are suitable for hard everyday riding. Then I'll collect more of that subset. Ultimately, I want to hook up with a decent (but inexpensive) frame house (IRO might be a good choice) and open a shop that sells ONLY single-speed road bikes with a heavy emphasis on coaster brakes, though fixies and freewheels are fine too.

In the meantime I've been researching everything I can about coasters and am planning to write a book (probably self-published as this area is so niche) about the history, care and feeding thereof. Now, there is a book called "The Big Book of Vintage Coaster Brake Hubs" (of which I have a copy). It's really just a collection of manufacturers maintenence sheets that have been xeroxed and bound together. Sadly, many of the pages are unreadable, being copies of copies of copies. OK so none of this might happen and it certainly would represent a career shift for me but it's a journey that I'm enjoying. If things don't turn out well then keep an eye out for one hell of a coaster brake sale 8-)


Well, you just said you spoke to them at MLC, was it a man or woman? Just curious, they're all nice like you said (Larry, Harv and Lisa)

I spoke with a guy but I don't remember his name...I may have been asking about some old coaster parts.


I'm SO jealous of that parts box!!! Looks yummy! I CAN'T WAIT for our swap meet here.

I love boxes of bike parts too. I enjoy going through them and cleaning them up and sorting things out which is funny because I am not a particularly organized person in other parts of my life.....but the bike parts....yeah.


Don't worry, you didn't lose one, two of my three bikes are coaster (you know, the other fixed). I brought them all outside today for a picture together... :D

Beautiful family you have there. I've never been a fan of straight bars but after seeing your pic I think they look really great on your bike.....hmmm I might have to rethink that myself....love the grips too.


So, on your Steamroller, you adjusted the BB spindle for chainline, as opposed to dishing the rear wheel, etc. How did you get the brake arm to meet the frame? My rear wheel is negative dished, so that the drive side is closer to the frame than the non-drive, which means there are spacers (naturally) on the other side of the axle, and the brake arm bracket is bent because the arm comes nowhere near close to the chainstay. This is what my LBS did when I brought them the bike and hub, sans a rear rim. I wanted to squeeze my frame together instead of having a dished wheel (I wanted coaster in part, so it wouldn't be dished), but they freaked out. It probably is a little too sketchy. I wonder if I could have them do something different, because it is my main bike. They aren't too concerned with me bending the axle (I only weigh maybe 130?) but I do load the back up quite a bit with gear...

One thing that helps is that the steamroller is spaced at 120mm and the arm lined up under the chainstay pretty well....Surlys also have (as thay say) 'heavily-manipulated' chainstays as a part of their 'fatties-fit-fine' big tire thing. But that shaping does help. I'm alittle surprised that your LBS balked at the idea of respacing your frame. I don't think there's any big deal to pulling 3-4mm in per side. Maybe it had something to do with the alloy in that Schwinn model. As to the BB, is there much space between the drive-side crank arm (at the taper) and the side of the BB? You may be able to do alot with a shorter spindle. I had a single-speed Univega with 126mm spacing and the wheel was not dished.....hmmm.

You being 130 lbs (almost half my weight....oh my) I agree that axle bending is not an issue for you.


Wow, I've been rambling!

Well, I think I just out rambled you ;-)

take care...

Jim

I've actually had this Two-speed Automatic (kickback hub) for awhile and put it here JUST to tease 'Legalize-It' (I think it's got your name on it ). ;-)

Jim


thats so mean! :) does the offer still stand? bc i can afford it now maybe!

I've actually had this Two-speed Automatic (kickback hub) for awhile and put it here JUST to tease 'Legalize-It' (I think it's got your name on it ). ;-)

Jim

that is mean!! :) does the offer still stand? bc i may be able to afford it now.... ill send you a PM later 2day...

Hey Jim, is that sale a regular thing or just once a year or what? I'll be going to Seattle in August hopefully and I'd love to stock up on cool old bits (mostly from Recycled Cycles :) ). Not too much mind you, excess baggage charges aren't fun.

Hey Jim, is that sale a regular thing or just once a year or what? I'll be going to Seattle in August hopefully and I'd love to stock up on cool old bits (mostly from Recycled Cycles :) ). Not too much mind you, excess baggage charges aren't fun.

The old bike swap meet is once a year ... sadly, but there is another swap meet on the 28th- 29th of August but they haven't posted the details yet. It won't be old bike focused but there will no doubt be cool stuff. Of course Recycled Cycles will be here waiting for you. If you find something that's too big to carry back on the plane, I can ship it for you (I live across the street from a shipping place).

What brings you to town?

Jim

That's ANOTHER thing I have to do that weekend! So far I have a friend's wedding on the saturday, a two day bike race meet, a four day car show, a three day music festival, and now a two day swap meet on the other side of the planet.

wow. nice haul. can i have a skip tooth cog? i wanna wear it around my neck all pimp-like...

j-

wow. nice haul. can i have a skip tooth cog? i wanna wear it around my neck all pimp-like...

j-

Which one? They're both steel ... they'd look great chromed. The slot in the larger one was used to replace drive-side spokes without removing the cog. BTW that's a 6" scale.

Jim

that is mean!! :) does the offer still stand? bc i may be able to afford it now.... ill send you a PM later 2day...

Sure thing...wait until it's financially OK.. As far as I'm concerned it's yours when you want it....unless you say otherwise.

Jim

Which one? They're both steel ... they'd look great chromed. The slot in the larger one was used to replace drive-side spokes without removing the cog. BTW that's a 6" scale.

Jim

the big one would be hella cool. how much do you want for it?

j-

the big one would be hella cool. how much do you want for it?

j-

You can have it. PM me your address and I'll send it out. Do we get to see the finished piece??? ;-)

Jim

You can have it. PM me your address and I'll send it out. Do we get to see the finished piece??? ;-)

Jim

thanks a bunch... i'll take some pics when i get it done...

j-

You are going to be suprized on how heavy the big one is. Thick steel. I wouldnt want to wear it.

You are going to be suprized on how heavy the big one is. Thick steel. I wouldnt want to wear it.

Decapitation risks?

Jim, I bet you and Dopey (http://www.schwinnbike.com/heritage/showthread.php?threadid=9727&highlight=front+freewheel) would et along great! He's a real nice guy.

You are going to be suprized on how heavy the big one is. Thick steel. I wouldnt want to wear it.

If it's too heavy you can have the smaller one .. if you want.

Jim

Jim, I bet you and Dopey (http://www.schwinnbike.com/heritage/showthread.php?threadid=9727&highlight=front+freewheel) would et along great! He's a real nice guy.

Wow, thanks for the info. When I read his post it looked like something I would right....sometimes I just keep going and going and ......

I must confess that after cleaning the hubs I tag them and bag them too!!! Yike! We need a 12 step program!

Thanks again...

Jim

You are going to be suprized on how heavy the big one is. Thick steel. I wouldnt want to wear it.

well, i'm sure it weighs about as much as any other large, ostentatious & obnoxious piece of jewelry. besides, i'll save it just for formal occasions...

j--