After doing some thinking post-this thread I have decided that I want to swap out the rear coaster brake hub on my son's bike (Islabike CNOC 14) for a freewheel hub. I've read various posts on converting a coaster brake hub to a 'freecoaster' hub but I'm not convinced that's going to be the choice for my son. The 1/4-1/2 turn to get pedal engagement seems far too clumsy but I could possibly be convinced, especially if the freewheel hub conversion turns into a true pain.

I am hoping I can find a cheap freewheel hub that can be a direct swap for the current hub, although worst case I'll just buy new spokes, too. The current hub dimensions are:

110mm OLD
16 holes (likely going to buy a 32 or 48 hole hub and just skip holes)
47.5mm center to center of the flanges (need to measure offset, if any)
diameter 51mm centerline of spoke holes

Any thoughts on a suitable replacement for this hub? Barring a direct swap, which hubs would be a good candidate for this conversion? Most hubs I'm finding have fairly wide spaced flanges which I'd like to avoid given the tiny wheels on this bike (14" wheels which measure slightly over 12" over the 1.5" tires). The spokes already enter the rim at a decent angle so any wider or taller on the flanges will only make the issue worse. If I can remove spacers from a wider OLD hub to make it work that'll do, too.

Thanks for the help!

All you would need is a freewheel hub and maybe new spokes . re-lace it to the rim you have . as far as I know there isn't a pre built wheel in the size you looking . Now if the wheel was a 20 " you would have more choices to pick from . One way to make the coaster brake to become a freewheel you need to open it up and remove the brake shoes . If your son is growing like any other boy you will needing to replace the bike in a year or 2 anyway .

In the narrow hub world you have to be creative, now ..

buy a freewheel hub regular 36 hole is common. 24 spoke?

and replace the axle with a shorter one You can cut them shorter but put the Nuts on first

so unscrewing the nut after the cut restores the thread on ability when you're done

and You probably dont need any spacers other than the cone and Locknuts on the axle...


if well Off (one of the Delaware duPont family ) Brompton makes a 28 hole Hub for 1 or 2 cogs .. they fit in a 117 frame so pretty close .


[Update] I just got a Bike Friday Tikit, they buy 24 hole rims, this a 16"-349, and used a 36 hole IGH on this,

2 cross, quite large flange....







...

I assume your avatar is the kid. How old is he? 16" wheels? Oh, 12: or 14"? Can the kid even effectively use rim brakes?

I'd just tune up the bike you have, then start looking for a freewheeling 20" bike complete with brakes. Or, perhaps 18"?

The oddball wheel size makes it hard. So does the fact that it is apparently law in the US that 'sidewalk' bikes (under 20" wheels or something) have to be sold with a coaster brake. Europe has no such law which is why the Euro version of my kid's bike has two hand brakes.

I have already started down the path of building a freewheeling wheel for him. I bought a BMX 110mm rear hub tonight which can fit a 14T cog like he currently has (glad I researched that). I have a caliper brake and freewheel picked out and will be ordering a spare brake lever from Islabikes. They have special brake levers for little hands which work amazingly well for my kid. My LBS has a spoke cutter so I'll likely be visiting them once I figure out spoke length for the new wheel. Assuming I don't do something stupid, it should be pretty painless.

I also spent some time tonight adjusting the cones and adding some Triflow to the coaster brake. The wheel will now easily spin at least a few turns after a good crank by hand whereas it used to stop in less than a half turn. That should be a massive improvement for him getting started (assuming it stays free in the cold).

No, not a Dupont, though my dad worked for the company. He had five kids so he was far from well off

I am working with a 16 hole rim so I ordered a 32 hole hub. I'll lace the wheel using every other hole, or so that's my plan. Did you miss the drilling in my first post or was there a better reason why you suggested a 28 or 36 hole hub?

He is four riding a 14" wheeled bike (actual wheel diameter is about 12" but the tires say 14 x 1.5" and so does the literature for the bike). He learned on a Strider and then used the CNOC 14 without pedals for a while, too. With no pedals he only had the front handbrake to use to stop and he got quite good at it. Now, even with pedals he never uses the coaster brake to stop. It really just seems to get in the way hence my desire to remove it and get him used to a freewheel. I am hoping to get at least another year out of this bike so I don't mind the small expense of the freewheel conversion. I hate wasting money and until today knew very little about single speed wheels hence my post in this forum.

The conversion kit so far:

32H 110mm BMX hub: Sun Ringle Sun Light BMX Flip Flop Rear Hub 32H 112mm Black | Bikewagon
14T freewheel: https://www.universalcycles.com/shop...s.php?id=44097
BMX caliper brake: https://www.universalcycles.com/shop...s.php?id=17857

Still need the mini-brake lever from Islabikes and some spokes. I remembered that I have a bag of 2mm black spokes from a tacoed MTB wheel so I'll have those cut down to size (once I figure that out). Should be ~$60 all in.

.. got 32hole one, fine..

there is piles of dead wheels in LBS if you were bargain hunting Vs buying new online.

the pile is rim damaged hubs could be re used..

I definitely noticed the abundance of 36 hole hubs but skipped them as I didn't feel like dealing with the weird lacing they'd present for a 16 hole rim.

Update: wheel is built, though not fully as intended. I got all 111mm spokes from my LBS as one would typically assume that a symmetrical hub would need all the same length spokes. What I hadn't accounted for was using a 32 hole hub laced to a 16 hole rim means that the flange holes aren't spaced evenly side to side. Instead of the NDS hub flange having a hole in between each DS hub flange there are two holes in between each hole used on the DS and I had to pick one of them to use. This resulted in what ideally would have been one ~112mm spoke and one ~108mm spoke per pair of spokes.

As a result of that, the wheel got laced with 8 111mm spokes and 8 106mm spokes (from the original wheel) as I ran out of threads where the short spokes were required. Truing was easy thanks to a very rigid rim and I tensioned using a rough estimate of torque from a torque screw driver I had. The Park Tool TM-1 is too big to fit those tiny spokes and plucking (or squeezing two) such a short spoke doesn't tell one much.

Haven't used the bike yet but the difference in rear wheel friction is staggering. One quick turn of the pedals used to yield one extra revolution of the wheel at best. Now it spins and spins. The steel coaster hub was also a brick at 810 grams. New hub and freewheel weigh a combined 390. I still need to add the new caliper brake, brake lever, and cable housing but the weight should still come out slightly ahead. Not that it matters in the least but I didn't want to do all this work and add weight to the bike either.

a) I don't know the OLD (and I'm not able to measure right now) and b) it's too late, but Woom sell a freewheel wheel for their 14" bike...

WOOM 2 Free Wheeling Kit | WOOMBIKES USA

I went with the Woom because of the option to switch out to a freewheel (they all come with two rim brakes, but they say they have to supply the bike with a coaster by law). I have the coaster wheel but have never used it. Basically on principle of primacy. I can't see the point in not learning hand braking from the get-go.

Thanks, Earl. That would have saved me some aggravation, and money, for sure. I likely would have still rebuilt the wheel so that it matched the bike (the CNOC 14 has black rims and spokes) but the 16 hole hub would have been clutch even if I had to fiddle with spacers to make it fit (assuming it is 16 holes, the pic shown looks to be a 32 spoke wheel but might not be correct). The hub I used is actually 112mm but it slid in with fairly little force.

I do wish that Islabikes had just included the rear handbrake alongsode the coaster as Woom did. I still love the bike but I'd be tempted to buy a Woom if I ever need another 14" wheel bike solely for that reason.

Sorry I missed the original thread... ...I will check the OLD at the weekend out of curiosity. It may be too wide anyway?

I'd appreciate you checking. If it is too wide with no easy way to remove spacers, I'll feel better about the path I took. If it would have fit, I'll have a better option next time.

Did you happen to measure the OLD of the Woom2 Kit? I am planning to get my son a 14" bike and was wondering if I could use the Woom2 kit to get it freewheeling.

As an update, my son has been loving the bike (even more) since the freewheel swap. No more accidental skidding from back-pedaling and so much easier for him to get the pedals set to start moving from a stop. As a testament to the well designed mini-V front brake from Islabikes, he doesn't really use the rear handbrake I added as he says it's too hard to squeeze. I may try tweaking the return spring to ease some of that tension.

5 speed wheels are 120, so any will work just need a spacer shuffling and build a wheel around that Hub and have it come out at 110

Old Track Bikes were 110, rear.. frames.

[my old Campag catalog lists the right BB that they made for them back then.]


Juvenile wanted a coaster brake Had rear rim brakes,

probably because he wanted to go thru tires skidding them (and have Mom Buy More)

I'd also love to hear about the woom 2 kit on the cnoc 14. We paid extra for this year's midle with rear hand brakes thinking it was a free wheel. Nope, and that coaster brake drags. Kind of wish I would have bought woom instead.

As an interim fix for the dragging coaster brake, open it up and spray some chain lube inside the hub to thin out the grease. That made a ~50% improvement in drag on my son's bike. No replacement for a freewheel but a lot easier.

One known benefit of the freewheel swap was having the option to adjust gearing a bit. My son started spinning out the 14T freewheel this spring so I swapped in a 13T to help slow his legs a bit. Got him 2mph more on the flats! Still spins it out with even the slightest downgrade so I'm looking forward to getting him some real gears on his next bike.

Great info about teeth!

I've read both threads and am just curious. What brand/model of coaster brake was on your son's bike before you replaced it?

Based on some quick research, it is a Kun Teng EN14764 similar to this: QL-307R-T-Hubs_Products_KUN TENG INDUSTRY CO., LTD. ********************

Islabikes must get them custom drilled with only 16 holes as that does not appear to be a standard option.

Thanks

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