I just picked up a used Schwinn cruiser off craigslist. It's a standard single speed with a rear coaster brake. At some point, the front wheel was replaced with a rim brake ready wheel, so I was thinking of adding a BMX sidepull brake on the front for some extra stopping power around the city. Will this work? Also, it looks like single BMX levers are sold as the right hand lever only. I assume there would be no issues in using a right hand lever on a front sidepull brake, no? Also, is the cruiser bar diameter the same as BMX?

*Project completed. Update on post #5.

-you can probably find a bmx caliper that will clear the balloon tires, but you are likely to find the performance underwhelming
-The right hand lever can operate either brake. In the UK and many other places, the majority of bikes are set up right/front and left/rear. In the states, some folks call this set-up "moto". I think i'd prefer moto if i wasn't so accustomed to the USA standard.
-The bmx diameter for controls tends to be the same as the diameter of cruiser bars, so *most* bmx brake levers and grips work fine on *most* cruiser bars. However, the diameter of the bars where the stem clamps to the bars is different between BMX(7/8" is standard) and *most* cruisers(1" is standard.)


-rob

having a backup of a coaster brake is beneficial.. go for both hands..

Interesting, since I was already thinking my proposed braking setup would have my right hand operating the front brake, and my foot (feet) operating the rear brake, as on a motorcycle.

Thanks for the info.

So, I thought I would post an update. I went with a Tektro BMX sidepull brake, and it does clear the tire and even the fender. As surreal predicted, the performance of the front brake alone is not great, but it definitely provides more stopping power when combined with the coaster brake. The Tektro BMX lever fit on the cruiser bar as well.