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Am I crazy to think about the idea of a decent frame with a coaster brake on the rear wheel? Just as a 3-5 mile get around town bike that isn't a bore to ride.
I'm lucky enough to have a Lotus Sprint that came with mounted brakes, so about it's not beating a road bike into a fixie, as much as just having a very simple, but easy rider.

I am not about performing any amputations, so no need to rant about that here.

nlerner

I've done it, most recently with a Raleigh Pro track frame. Relying on just the coaster brake was a bit terrifying on long downhills, but I made do.

Last ride 76 

What did you use for the rear wheel, and do you have any pics of the wheel? Thanks for your response.

Yeah, this is a hop on, hop off bike with toe clips idea. Just to get around sometimes. I don't see a huge hills in it's future, but you never know, I might get stronger and more ambitious.

What did you use for the rear wheel? Do you have a picture of the wheel?

SquidPuppet

DO IT!

I have a bunch of coaster brake bikes. The type of use that you describe the bike will see begs for a simple coaster brake bike.

There is plenty of hate for coaster brakes, but I have found that the Shimano CB-E110 functions extremely well in stock trim. No drag, dead silent, no biting or unwanted lockups, fantastic modulation. And even better with a couple simple modifications. A slight chamfering of the leading edge of both shoes and replace the retainer bearings with loose balls. Voila, wonderfulness.

When purchasing, be aware that the hub is available with two different sized drillings in the flanges. One is meant for 12 gauge spokes and the other for 14 gauge. There is still a bit of slop, so I used some washers to eliminate most of it.

Here is a video of the hub mods if you chose to do them. Kinda belabors a simple task, but the info is good to have.

https://www.coasterculture.com/COAST...IFIED_HUB.html

Here is a pic of one wheel. I laced it to an H Plus Son Todestreib rim to fit fatty tires.





My coasters are for relaxed sightseeing, cruising, and runs to the Caffeinated Beverage Salon, so I went with an upright riding position. Heavy and slow, but street shoe friendly and comfy.

David Newton

Here is a Miyata 710 for my college-going son who wanted a coaster instead of cable actuated brakes.
It is dead flat here in Texas.
Bought a built wheel from Velomine in 26x1-3/8" since I had a front wheel already in the pile.
I used a combination of spacers and cold setting to get a nice chain line.

Lascauxcaveman 

I've often thoght of doing this too, but my fixie gets what little flatland riding I can find, so a coastie would be pretty redundant.

Still, filed in the back of the brain if an appropriate, super cool frame that I can't live without comes along.

nlerner

I built it with a SunTour single-speed, coaster-brake hub that I got in a box of various hubs a few years ago. Rim was a Super Champion.



I ended up selling the frameset and hanging that wheel on another frame, which I also sold.

vtchuck 

BITD, we built up bikes with coaster brakes & front calipers.... called them "super trashmos". I wrote an article for "Bike World" describing
the bikes and it was published! I think I got a free years subscription as payment. Geared them in the upper 60's and used them for training
in the spring when I didn't want to get my "good" bike dirty. This would have been 75-77.

John E

I did something similar as a UCLA grad student in the 1970s. I converted my old bottom-of-the-line Bianchi Corsa road bike, which came with 26" tires, to a coaster 3-speed. I kept the front handbrake for safety (emphatically recommended) and the drop bars, and friction-shifted with one of the original Huret downtube levers. It was a fun bike for the 2-mile commute up the hill to campus and for knocking around campus without too much concern about theft. I had the earlier version of the AWC hub, which drove the coaster brake through the planetary gearset, which in turn provided approximately twice (16/9) as much braking force in 1st gear as in 3rd, but since the front brake provided most of my braking force, this was not that big a deal.

Commando

I've got a bit of a coaster brake fetish, there's just something so fun and childish about them. Sure, you can do sick skids with regular brakes, but there's nothing like getting your legs in the right position and then hammering back on the pedals. Combine that with a nice lightweight frame, and you've got yourself a damn cool bike. Just be careful, you'll find yourself becoming a hooligan in no time. We've resorted to using using cheap tyres because we just keep wearing 'em out.

I use Shimano CBD110 hubs but they're out of production. I just happen to have some and have found a bunch of NOS rebuild kits so I've got plenty of spares to last me a while. The Coaster Culture link in the previous reply is excellent and they're enthusiastic and a lot of help if you have questions.

There's now 2 in my fleet, and I've built another for a friend. Here's a couple pics of my Malvern Star and his Ricardo (both Aussie brands). Though not great frames, still heaps of fun, we ride all over the city and we do lots of gravel and light trail riding with them too. I've also got a decent Tange Champion 2 frame that I'm tossing up between a SA 3 speed build or coaster..... Hmmm, why not both?

styggno1

You already know what I think of the idea (yesterdays one part wonder thread). It is a wonderful thing! As a run-around-bike it is perfect. Yes - the brake is not very effective but it works well enough for the intended use.

As I wrote earlier I do like the vintage 2-speed "automatic" Torpedo/Sachs Duomatic. A slight back pedal gives you the second gear. It takes some getting use to - if being in low gear and then stopping - remembering to brake two times to be able to start in low gear again. When I used my set up on a good frame and with good rims and tires (these hubs were to 99% put on clunkers here) as a pub-bike I could scare some guys at dragraces between lights. They thought I would spin out on my only gear... Surprise..!

https://hubstripping.wordpress.com/2...uomatic-story/
It says in the article that the 36 spoke is rare. Not here. I guess I could buy ten in a day if I wanted to.

I built my mom a coaster brake for her 65th birthday. It is actually a Torpedo 3-speed but locked in one gear. She loved it and still does but has quit biking since some years (now 83).

A Miata One Ten which got the handpainted flower power treatment. And very tight fitting fenders...

John E

For safety, I strongly recommend keeping -- or installing -- a front brake.

John E

My first bicycle was a Schwinn "middleweight" with 26x1.75 tires and a 2-speed Bendix coaster hub which was shifted by a handlebar mounted lever which resembled a handbrake lever. The automatics undeniably had their cool factor, but I liked being able to select my gear unambiguously and being able to access the neutral / freewheeling position between high and low gear.

Last ride 76 

And now I have an excuse (like I needed one) to build more bikes. One at my folks house on Cape Cod and one here in NY. More for guests on the Cape, wheee! Thanks for info all!