Fixed gear with a coaster brake
 

I just scored a Cycle Pro Regent. The components are cheap Suntour so I'm thinking about making it a mutant single speed. I would like to use a coaster brake, but I'm unsure if a coaster brake hub will A) lace into the existing wheel and B) fit on the frame. Can anyone help me with this before I go and buy a hub?

Fixed gear and coaster brake are mutually exclusive.

If you are talking about a single speed with a coaster brake, then as long as the number of spoke holes match any hub should lace to any rim, though you may need to buy new spokes unless the old ones just randomly happen to be the right size.

Ummm...correct me if I am wrong but doesn't "fixed" mean that the crank is perpetually in forward motion when the bike is? And a coaster brake requires the ability to apply torque in a rearward direction?

Or am I (once again) confused?

If you want a fixed gear you need a fixed hub... a coaster hub does what it's name says... it coasts.

Sorry allow me to correct myself my initial post was a bit hasty and worded incorrectly. A single speed bike. The Cycle Pro Regent has a 5 speed freewheel hub which I would like to replace with a coaster brake hub. I'm just curious really if the coaster brake hub will ultimately fit the 12cm distance between the dropouts. The coaster brake I am looking to purchase has a 160mm Axel length but has no dimensions for the actual hub. Also, any other issues that may develope from this conversion would be handy (chain alignment, etc.).

The dropout spacing on the old bike is probably 125mm... older coaster hubs are designed for a narrower 110 mm spacing .

The axle length of the hub is not as important as the over locknut measurement which is the outside distance between the hubs locknuts... I am going to guess that if it is a new hub then the oln spacing will be 125 mm as well.

With that being said, the chainline with a modern coaster hub and older 10 speed should be pretty good although you may have to change your bottom bracket to a narrower one to get a better chainline.

I dont know why this is ever attempted outside of sheer "tinkering" with leftovers--
get serious and get a goood set of flip flops maybe a front brake and leave your effort
for paint and other upgrades..... my 2$

My old fixed gear (a 70s Motobecane) was resurrected into an upright coaster brake equipped cruiser with skinny 27" tires. Assuming the axle on the coaster brake is long enough, you shouldn't have too many problems. I used some washers as spacers to compensate for the wider dropouts. They also helped with the chainline. Extra axle nuts might be a better choice if the spacing is too wide. You will want a CB hub with the same number of spokes as your rim, obviously. Keep in mind that 32 hole CB hubs, however, don't seem to exist. You might even be able to reuse the spokes if they are in decent condition.

My bike ran with a Velosteel coaster brake hub for a while, but it's since been changed with a cheaper Shimano since it just works better. It's a joy to ride and by far the easiest pedaling "cruiser" I've ever come across.

Now, if you want to turn that coaster brake hub into a fixed gear, I can help you there, but that's a whole 'nuther topic.

The typical coaster hub comes with an axle that is so long that OLD has little bearing, one need simply add the appropriate number of washers to get the proper spacing.

You really don't want a coaster brake on that bike; it's easy to heat them up so much that you have brake fade. Put real brakes on it, and convert the coaster brake hub to a single-speed freewheel hub.

Normally, you would do that by opening it up, removing the two brake shoes inside, putting a couple washers in there for spacing, and then use cone wrenches to put it back together. There's a video that shows how somewhere on the internet that I watched last week; I just did this to make a simple single-speed bike for my son.

Hundreds of millions of cyclists would disagree. Coaster brake bikes have been the norm round the world. Not everybody is riding along at TdF speeds.

If the OP wants a coaster, let him have one.

Hundreds of millions who don't know better yes. Nobody should go seeking a coaster hub unless they really know that is exactly what they want.

A coaster brake in conjunction with a front brake of some sort would be fine. I've often thought that a coaster on a single speed commuter would be a superb back end drive and brake setup. From riding in all the rain I have I've always found that the rear end gets far more grungy far more quickly then the front. Also rim brake bikes wear out the rim a lot faster as well. A coaster rear and some sort of front would do away with that.

You're making a lot of work for yourself. It's unlikely that the coast break hub would be the same diameter as your freewheel hub - so you're going to need new spokes too.

Your best bet, if you're insisting on a coaster break rear wheel, is to just buy one pre-built. 700c coaster brake wheelsets are not unheard of.

As for spacing, at worse you'll need to spread the frame a little, which shouldn't be a problem on a steel frame, at best all you'll need are some axle spacers to make up the difference.

Given your initial confusion over fixed gear / single speed / coaster break, etc... I suggest you do as much research as possible before buying anything. Break the bike down and start measuring...

I've been thinking about a coaster/3-speed for winter riding. I'll have a front if I do it, but the coaster brake isn't subject to icing over the way rim brakes are.

It just has to be a good one. Apparently, the Shimano coaster/3-speed breaks down; the shoes just can't take it. Sturmey-Archer's is putatively much better.

The old S/A's coaster brake was pretty weak. I can't remember ever getting one to lock up reliably on dry pavement. It'd be a nice, sealed unit, though.

How 'bout a new 3-speed with drum brake?
http://www.biketoolsetc.com/index.cg...tem_id=SU-XRD3
Or an 8-speed internal hub with a disk brake mount?
http://www.biketoolsetc.com/index.cg...tem_id=SU-XRK8

Here's the conversion video http://www.pinkbike.com/video/18327/

It's a little hard to see in the video, but once you take it apart, it's obvious. The washer size isn't critical; they just have to loosely fit to add space.

On it's own a coaster brake does not provide adequate stopping power and at best, will only allow you to lock up the rear wheel to skid the bike.

There's a thread I started in ss/fg on this very topic...

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=473376

I have two vintage coaster bikes and one has a modern front fork and a very decent brake to offset the speed attenuator that is the Perry rear coaster brake... the bike is fast and I use it for commuting.

The CCM/Hercules coaster brake on my other bike works as well as a coaster brake can and this bike gets used for more leisurely riding... they seem to be able to withstand some pretty hard use and they do not seem to have the same problems / failures I see in Shimano coaster brakes.

I am presently doing a 700c conversion on an old cruiser for a client and he is using a new SA 3 speed / coaster brake and will be running a front brake... this will be his winter bike and all weather commuter and the brake set up should be fine for this application.

This concern is pretty overblown. It takes LOTS of heavy braking to cause such problems. Most mere mortals are really not up to the task. How did I determine this? By riding down a long hill using the CB hub all the way (Mandeville Canyon Rd, for those familiar with West Los Angeles). The hub did:

• Get hot

The hub did not:

• Cook out the grease
• Turn the steel blue
• Exhibit fading or any braking problems.

Go figure. Problems with extreme braking are not impossible. Just rather unlikely with the type of person who uses a coaster brake.

This is odd. What makes you think the OP, or anyone else, doesn't know exactly what they want? I'd like to think I know what makes a perfectly functioning bike. And IMO, a coaster brake is a reasonable solution for such an application. Being a condescending prick who is better able to determine what's good for hundreds of millions must carry it's own heavy burdens. My sympathies.

FWIW, I've found this to not really be true, after converting several old MTBs and 70s 10 speeds to SS coaster brakes. Assuming the original freewheel hub was a small flange, the spokes seem to generally work fine on the generic Shimano/KT CB hubs. YMMV. Perhaps I've just been lucky.

Modern 3sp CB hubs all should work pretty well. Older 3sp hubs, both Shimano and SA often had weird and sometimes dangerous quirks. But those made in the last 10-15 years have had those problems pretty much all ironed out.

I remember turning my old BMX bike with a Bendix 76 CB hub into a freecoaster. This must have been back around m'79 or maybe '80, pretty much the same way shown in the video. It did work perfectly if one is determined to get freecoaster-like performance. For most folks, it just adds complexity to something that already works.

A front brake always works better than a rear only. That being said, I have no qualms using a coaster brake-only bike. The setup is popular for good reason. They're simple and reliable.

modern sturmey coasters are superbe

We sold several dozen single speed coaster brake conversions this past season. They make great city commuters. On most of them we also put on a front caliper brake, but some riders just want the clean cable-free look.

Coaster brakes are bomb-proof. They don't fade. Ever. They are great in rain and winter.
Certainly go for it.
The only possible problem will be the chainline, which you have to get right.
If your chain drops off, you lose your brakes.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y4/...a/PICT0733.jpg


my coaster SS





nevermind the idiots who say it won't work


that's why we call them idiots


http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y4/...d1e43887_o.jpg

Kinda digging that machine....

Uhhh... you know that you're replying to a thread that's 12 years old, don't you?