ModeratedUser

Hello all,

I'm looking for a 700c wheelset setup that has a coaster brake hub. I can go either route. One that's built up or build one up. I'm alot more interested in having something that would last. Being "fast" is really not that important. It needs to be strong cause I'm ~250# and this is for a cyclocross bike.

BTW, I want to go coaster setup cause there is a group riding that way and it will just be one of several wheelsets I will eventually have for the bike. I'm thinking also of eventually having a road wheelset for it too.

Anyone have any suggestions or something they like?

hueyhoolihan

i've have had two coaster brake setups in the past few years. one was with the Sturmey-Archer single speed hub. the other was with the Velosteel single speed hub.

IMO the velosteel is superior in that it is entirely free of drag when coasting and creates less noise. it also has a threaded track style cog attachment with lockring.

it's a bit heavier and is more expensive.

i should also mention that my Sturmey-Archer had a very sensitive brake and would easily skid the tire if not careful. once aware of it, it was easily manageable. the Velosteel was not so easy to lock up. almost to the point, at first, of feeling the braking was inadequate. BTW, the coaster brake on my setups was the ONLY brake. if you plan to use i a front brake too, it probably doesn't matter much either way.

why not ask the members of the "group riding that way"? i'm sure they are just chock full of opinions on the subject.

mconlonx

I have a 700c wheelset with a Sturmey Archer S2C rear hub, which is coaster brake. It's fun on a bike dedicated to it, but there's more to it than just adding a coaster brake. Like, you lose all your gears and are just riding a singlespeed, and you better find a magic ratio if it doesn't have either horizontal dropouts or tension adjusting mechanisms, because a tensioner won't work with a coaster brake.

More trouble than it's worth -- get a second set of wheels set up with road tires and a more road friendly cassette if you just don't want to swap your tires over for road rides.

fietsbob

Sturmey Archer 'Coaster brake for Adults' is being Promoted in advertising in, like, Urban Velo. but where you find them is your job.

Why not just build a 2 or 3 speed coaster brake wheel? those are not hard to find...

5 speed too .. Sturmey Archer 5 Speed Hub with Coaster Brake S5C - £139.99

Wilfred Laurier

I don't know what other wheelsets or gear systems you will be using, but I hope you know that coaster brakes are not compatible with derailleurs.

If your other wheelsets are IGH based wheels then please ignore this..

ModeratedUser

Well the thing is that they just allow coaster brake bikes on their ride. They're kinda elitist I know, but that's how it goes. From what I've seen in videos, looks like everyone is going with 26" wheels and are mostly going with an old MTB frame. Some are using 20" setups, but I didn't see anyone with something like a 700c setup.

A couple things I neglected to state was that they don't want anything that has gears. You're stuck changing the gear on the hub. I have a 3 ring crank and I'm pretty sure I can use that. I'm thinking I could use a non-moving derailleur and setup the gearing by selecting one of the three rings. Also the only brakes one can use is the coaster brake. No other brake is allowed.

mconlonx

Nope.

For the money involved, go to a dept store and get a cruiser...

Wilfred Laurier

You cannot use a coaster brake with a derailleur, even if the derailleur is fixed in one position. They are designed to limit chain tension in the reverse direction, so as the brakes are applied, you would go from very little or no braking power, to a small zone where you get proper braking, then the derailleur or chain tensioner will snap in half and dangle from the bottom run of the chain. Also, while all this is happening, the top run of chain will go completely slack and probably get caught in the tire.

Slash5

Sta-Tru 700X20-25 Rear Ucp Coaster Brk, Alloy Silver Alex Rp15 36H Rim
Dimension Coaster Brake Rear Wheel 700c Shimano DC19 36h
Origin8 Replacement Rear Wheel for Cutler - 700c, Coaster Hub, 36H, Gloss Black
Wheel Master Alloy 700C Urban Rear Wheel, Bolt On, 36H, Silver

You can see if you can come up with a magic gear but as posted, can't use a tensioner. Also, trying to use normal chainrings has a tendancy to drop chains.

ModeratedUser

Oh yeah, you're right! I can't use a coaster brake with a derailleur. I want to give it a shot though on putting together *some kind* of setup. It's kinda looking like finding something cheap and/or used on CL or something along those lines. Then get a feel how everything is and go from there.

ModeratedUser

You don't have any knowledge on the ones shown here do you? I'm more interested in a stronger wheel.

Wilfred Laurier

You can easily make a coaster brake bike, just not with a derailleur.

If you want to have a bike that can 'easily' be converted between geared and single speed, get an internally geared hub from Sram, Sturmey-Archer, or Shimano. Then you need a frame with some type of built-in chain tensioner (horizontal dropouts are the most common, where you adjust chain tension by sliding the rear wheel backwards or forwards), and you can likely make it work with both a coaster brake and an IGH.

There are also IGHs that already have a coaster brake:
SG-8C31
But if your riding partners don't want you to use gears, this violates the spirit of the rule (as would multiple front rings and a derailleur).

ModeratedUser

Well yeah I was thinking I could use a 3 ring crank but I planned to not have it where I could shift. It would be set up on one of the rings before a race. This would keep with their requirements but allow me a little flexibility. But as it was already pointed out, not a good idea to incorporate a derailleur with a coaster brake setup. Further more I don't have any play using the rear dropouts. They are pretty much set-it and forget-it. No sliding it back or anything.

Wilfred Laurier

Luckily, bikes with horizontal dropouts tend to be older or less expensive, meaning a coaster brake compatible frame might be an easy thing to add to your stable.

Curtis Odom

I just built up this set of 700c coaster brake wheels.

Dan Burkhart 

Curtis, that's beautiful like all your work. Do you make the coaster brake internals too?

Curtis Odom

Dan, the internals are VeloSteel.

Dan Burkhart 

Oh, well that's probably as good as it gets in the world of present day coaster brake single speed.
Looking closer at the picture it looks like you rivet your custom flanges to the original hub?

Curtis Odom

Dan, yes. I rivet to the original Velosteel shells. The Velosteel has the right chrome plated look. I do like the roller clutch. If the hubs are properly overhauled with heavy grease on the bearings to hold in very light oil for the clutch and brake shoes, and not to mention getting rid of the crap caged bearings they come with you have a very fine hub.

SquidPuppet

Shimano CB-E110. Bullet proof, silent, no drag, simple, inexpensive, holds bearing adjustment well, strong and easily modulated braking. I have four bikes with this hub, two are 700c and two are 26 inchers. The 26 inchers are 12 years old with TONS of maniacal abuse and no rebuilds, original clutches and shoes, just cleaning and fresh grease.

Pick a rim that suits your needs and lace 'em up.

spdracr39

With no tensioner you will not be able to change the front chainrings without changing the chain length also. There isn't going to be enough takeup in the dropouts.

StephenH

The original post is a couple of months old, so it may all be moot now.
I remember several years ago, a guy in south Texas that was building up coast-brake road bikes. He had a brand name for them, I forget what it was- seems like it started with an O.
One of the issues/criticisms is that I think normal 700-wheel bikes have wider hub spacing than coaster-brake hubs, so buying a stock coaster-brake hub, it may not fit a given frame. I recall, on the guy selling the bikes there, that one criticism of them was the chainline wasn't straight.