purbrookian

Found the nearly perfect bike to replace my ancient Schwinn, but this new one has coaster brakes, which I have never used and don't trust. If this feature goes wrong, is it possible to repair and adjust it? And surely they can't stop as well as regular cable-type ones?

Comments will be welcomed. Thanks.

hueyhoolihan

they are designed to work on the rear and can lock a wheel as well as anything else. i've got a couple of them that i ride on occasion. don't think i'd look forward to an eight mile, seven percent decent though.

some of the less expensive hubs are designed for children and consequently are designed with more leverage than those designed for adults, like the velosteel coaster brake hub.

MR BIG STUFF

Those are fantastic for children, you can get a nice controlled skid.

I'd recommend another direction if skidding is not a priority.

habilis

Don't know how DIY you are, but you could drill the fork for a front caliper brake.

Gresp15C

I rode a coaster brake bike for many years. Two problems:

1. The brake can fade on a long downhill, as the hub heats up and the grease film between the brake pads and the hubshell boils away. So you have to get in the habit of pumping the brake.

2. On a steep down slope, you have virtually no braking action without a front brake. I once skidded into traffic because of this. Fortunately the car driver had good reflexes.

At the very least I'd install a front brake.

ThermionicScott 

If "ancient" means the old Schwinn had steel rims, I'd say a coaster brake would be an improvement.

hueyhoolihan

good point.

veganbikes

Look into the old Repack races and you will find out more about Coaster Brakes and why they called it Repack!

ThermonicScott makes a good point if that is your case. However if not I would at least get a front brake installed (Their are fork tube mounted brakes for track bikes if you don't have mounting) Coaster brakes are fine for kids and maybe more flat riding but hills and prolonged braking is not their thing.

purbrookian

Thanks to Huey, BigStuff, Habilis, Gresp, et al. Good to have expert opinions in the decision-making process. Appreciated.

rydabent

Over the last hundred years coaster brake have worked fine on hundreds of millions of bikes. They are simple to clean and repack with grease.

I-Like-To-Bike

Exactly correct. Note that most coaster brakes work fine for decades in all weather/road conditions without ever requiring a repack or any maintenance at all, given that most of the hundreds of millions of bicycle riders don't spend their time racing down mountain sides, nor spend their time worrying about what "experts" claim on the Internet.

hig4s

Coaster brakes work great and I have used them on large hills with no issue. The biggest caveat is that it is operated by the chain, if the chain comes off you have no brakes. That is an issue.

I-Like-To-Bike

An issue once in a blue moon and far less frequent than cables snapping or rim brakes, as well as cable mechanisms being frozen or made inoperable by ice.

SpikedLemon

My daughter highly recommends coaster brakes. At 3y/o she had me swap the white tires on her bike to black so she could leave skid marks on the sidewalk.

hig4s

Three times in my life I have had the chain come off on a coaster brake bike, I have never had a cable snap or get frozen, but twice in panic stops I have had the rubber pads from the rim brakes just rip off. Either can fail.. A good option might be run coaster brake on the rear and add a front rim brake just for back up.

SloButWide 

You should have told her the white tires were an eraser!

hoodat

The problem comes when you have more than one bike, some with coaster brakes and some with handgrips. It's easy to get confused in an emergency.

I-Like-To-Bike

Frozen inoperable equipment may not be a problem in Florida but it can be in chillier locations
Coaster and front brake is a good option.

I recommend most bicyclists pay little attention to so-called experts/advisers who expound on the disadvantage of using a coaster brake and the theoretical advantage of using front brakes for stopping a bicycle; in real life stopping situations, the theoretical advantage doesn't mean a darn thing, and even less if/when the front brake is crippled or unreliable due to wet/frozen conditions.

rdtindsm

I was goin' downhill doing ninety miles an hour
When the chain on my bicycle broke
I was skinned all over by the rocks and the gravel
And was punctured to death by the spokes

'm not braggin I'm not lyin, I'm just layin here a dyin
With these handlesbars sticking down my throat
I've got the front wheel for a necktie, a backwheel for a belt
And I'm wearing the fenders for a coat

Parady of the "Wreck of 97". On Youtube and lyrics can be found under "bicycle wreck"

yooperbiker

This summer was on my old coaster brake beach cruiser. Riding with flip flops on. Going down a hill the old chain came off of the chain ring. Had to put my foot down (again, wearing just flip flops) sliding to a stop. Not fun.

My Stingray, when I was a kid, worked with coaster brake for years just fine. And that was with kid abuse.

AlmostTrick

With minimal maintenance, (clean, inspect, adjust and lube) it is extremely unlikely to have a chain fall off or break.

Even so, a rear brake is less efficient than a front brake. As long as you adjust your riding accordingly nothing bad will happen.

Retro Grouch 

White tires only last for about 1/3 as long as black tires so I suspect that change was forthcoming anyway.

Retro Grouch 

Yup. There are no "bad bicycles" there is only "use other than intended".

Homebrew01

For any amount of "real" riding, I suggest 2 brakes. A coaster in back is fine, and add a caliper to the front if possible.

wahoonc

My recommendation too. I have ridden coaster brakes on upright style bikes and cruisers for years. For low speed cruising a coaster brake by itself may be fine. I have a Schwinn Cruiser 3 that did not come with a front brake. I am adding a front dyno/drum brake for extra all weather stopping power.

Aaron