Coaster brake with cooling fins
#1
Thread Starter
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Joined: Oct 2007
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Coaster brake with cooling fins
What do you think of this taitanium coaster brake with cooling fins?
https://https://www.flickr.com/photos/...08/3278818934/
https://https://www.flickr.com/photos/...08/3278818934/
#2
Senior Member
Joined: Mar 2008
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1) that hub is going to be an absolute b*stard to keep clean
2) I think the fins would have done a better job if aligned in the plane of the wheel instead of perpendicular to the axle. As it is it's likely to set up a lot of turbulence around the hub, which won't be able to shift as much heat as a nice laminar flow would have been able to
3) why titanium? It's not that wear resistant, so you're likely to need a sleeve inside the hub. And it doesn't conduct heat as well as aluminum either.
4) coaster brakes are nice from a near-zero maintenance perspective, but hard braking has always been a weakness, both when it comes to modulation and heat build up.You're looking at a mighty narrow customer base if you're trying to find people who really love coaster brakes but whose favourite riding terrain is just a tad too hard for an ordinary coaster brake. In short, if you ride hard enough to need cooling fins on a coaster brake odds are really good that you're also riding hard enough to merit from a disc brake.
#3
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Joined: Jun 2007
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From: A Coffin Called Earth. or Toronto, ON
Bikes: Bianchi, Miyata, Dahon, Rossin
do you plan on going down mt. everest with that thing?
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Food for thought: if you aren't dead by 2050, you and your entire family will be within a few years from starvation. Now that is a cruel gift to leave for your offspring. ;)
https://sanfrancisco.ibtimes.com/arti...ger-photos.htm
#4
I use a coaster brake, and they're okay for what they are. But if you want better brakes, you just use a different established style, no reason to invent anything. That's like inventing a carbon-fiber horsecollar. Where can I buy it, by the way?
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#6
Palmer

Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 9,171
Likes: 2,275
From: Parts Unknown
Bikes: Mike Melton custom, Alex Moulton AM, Dahon Curl
Am I mistaken, or is that an image of a computer model? If it is just a computer model, claiming it's a real hub made from titanium is a wee bit of a stretch, don't you think?
tcs
tcs
#8
Elgin built some cooling fin coaster brakes back in the day but they went around the hub, not across.

from First Flight Bikes.
Coaster brakes don't fade just because the outside of the hub gets hot but because the brake shoes also get hot. Unless you plan on reinventing the guts, I don't see how a titanium hub shell would help this.
As for the fin's, have those been tested for effectivness? I see they might create more turbulance. Also are they tall enough to be effective. Looks like you have just increased the hub shell thickness with some bumps.
If you need testers, let me know. My friends and I do a Cruiser ride with Coasterbrakes down this 16 mile road.
from First Flight Bikes.
Coaster brakes don't fade just because the outside of the hub gets hot but because the brake shoes also get hot. Unless you plan on reinventing the guts, I don't see how a titanium hub shell would help this.
As for the fin's, have those been tested for effectivness? I see they might create more turbulance. Also are they tall enough to be effective. Looks like you have just increased the hub shell thickness with some bumps.
If you need testers, let me know. My friends and I do a Cruiser ride with Coasterbrakes down this 16 mile road.
#9
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 67
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Am I mistaken, or is that an image of a computer model? If it is just a computer model, claiming it's a real hub made from titanium is a wee bit of a stretch, don't you think?
tcs
Yes it is a computer generated image. In other words, CAD drawing.
tcs
Yes it is a computer generated image. In other words, CAD drawing.
Last edited by laredoshane; 02-23-09 at 06:00 AM.
#10
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Joined: Oct 2007
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#11
Thread Starter
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Joined: Oct 2007
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Elgin built some cooling fin coaster brakes back in the day but they went around the hub, not across.
from First Flight Bikes.
Coaster brakes don't fade just because the outside of the hub gets hot but because the brake shoes also get hot. Unless you plan on reinventing the guts, I don't see how a titanium hub shell would help this.
As for the fin's, have those been tested for effectivness? I see they might create more turbulance. Also are they tall enough to be effective. Looks like you have just increased the hub shell thickness with some bumps.
If you need testers, let me know. My friends and I do a Cruiser ride with Coasterbrakes down this 16 mile road.
from First Flight Bikes.
Coaster brakes don't fade just because the outside of the hub gets hot but because the brake shoes also get hot. Unless you plan on reinventing the guts, I don't see how a titanium hub shell would help this.
As for the fin's, have those been tested for effectivness? I see they might create more turbulance. Also are they tall enough to be effective. Looks like you have just increased the hub shell thickness with some bumps.
If you need testers, let me know. My friends and I do a Cruiser ride with Coasterbrakes down this 16 mile road.
Cool pics!
#12
Call me The Breeze
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 3,702
Likes: 8
From: Cooper Ontario
Bikes: 2004 Litespeed Siena, 1996 Litespeed Obed, 1992 Miele (unknown model), 1982 Meile Uno LS.
Well, what IS there to think?
1) that hub is going to be an absolute b*stard to keep clean
2) I think the fins would have done a better job if aligned in the plane of the wheel instead of perpendicular to the axle. As it is it's likely to set up a lot of turbulence around the hub, which won't be able to shift as much heat as a nice laminar flow would have been able to
3) why titanium? It's not that wear resistant, so you're likely to need a sleeve inside the hub. And it doesn't conduct heat as well as aluminum either.
4) coaster brakes are nice from a near-zero maintenance perspective, but hard braking has always been a weakness, both when it comes to modulation and heat build up.You're looking at a mighty narrow customer base if you're trying to find people who really love coaster brakes but whose favourite riding terrain is just a tad too hard for an ordinary coaster brake. In short, if you ride hard enough to need cooling fins on a coaster brake odds are really good that you're also riding hard enough to merit from a disc brake.
1) that hub is going to be an absolute b*stard to keep clean
2) I think the fins would have done a better job if aligned in the plane of the wheel instead of perpendicular to the axle. As it is it's likely to set up a lot of turbulence around the hub, which won't be able to shift as much heat as a nice laminar flow would have been able to
3) why titanium? It's not that wear resistant, so you're likely to need a sleeve inside the hub. And it doesn't conduct heat as well as aluminum either.
4) coaster brakes are nice from a near-zero maintenance perspective, but hard braking has always been a weakness, both when it comes to modulation and heat build up.You're looking at a mighty narrow customer base if you're trying to find people who really love coaster brakes but whose favourite riding terrain is just a tad too hard for an ordinary coaster brake. In short, if you ride hard enough to need cooling fins on a coaster brake odds are really good that you're also riding hard enough to merit from a disc brake.
It is a CAD model, and a poor one at that. Perhaps a 1st year design student? That's a 10min model for anyone with any proficiency. I bet there aren't even any guts in that model.
#15
Senior Member

Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 610
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From: Home of the Homeless
Bikes: Rustbuckets, the lot of them.
I've wondered how much of a problem this really is. I do a fair amount of riding on a coaster brake and have never experienced fading or any kind of failure attributable to overheating.
This isn't to say that it cannot happen. Just that it would be a rarity that could easily be mitigated by perhaps using a front brake in addition to a coaster brake.
If overheating is an issue, it may be easier to manufacture some finned aluminum extrusions similar to semiconductor heat sinks, designed to attach to the generic steel coaster brake hub shell that would allow more efficient cooling.
This isn't to say that it cannot happen. Just that it would be a rarity that could easily be mitigated by perhaps using a front brake in addition to a coaster brake.
If overheating is an issue, it may be easier to manufacture some finned aluminum extrusions similar to semiconductor heat sinks, designed to attach to the generic steel coaster brake hub shell that would allow more efficient cooling.
#17
Senior Member
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 2,335
Likes: 133
From: SFBay
Bikes: n, I would like n+1
#18
Old fart



Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 26,411
Likes: 5,350
From: Appleton WI
Bikes: Several, mostly not name brands.
What do you think of this taitanium coaster brake with cooling fins?
https://https://www.flickr.com/photos/...08/3278818934/
https://https://www.flickr.com/photos/...08/3278818934/





