Dutch single-speed bike
 

Someone came to me for some minor repairs today. I oiled the coaster brake hub, inflated the tires, oiled the chain, added a kickstand and bell.

Anyone recognize anything here?

The coaster brake isn't working so well. I told her to come back in a week. I'll probably want to overhaul it.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3504/...48d70b88_o.jpg

The full photo set is here.

Well, I recognize you from your avatar and other pics, what do I win?

Cute, Chris. I am hoping someone knows something about the bike or the rear hub.

It's possible the coaster brake wants grease, not oil. Wonder if that detail could impair braking? The only coasters I've dealt with were greased.

I have an old bike maintenance book from the 50's that devotes 5 or 6 pages to servicing and rebuilding coasters, but it doesn't include Torpedo. I've been meaning to scan it into .pdf format...

F&S Torpedo hub from the Reichenbach works, date F = 1963.

"Wettig gedep(oneerd) Handelsemerk" = Registered Trademark.

I could not read the name on the side of the frame, though.

I'll check my old copy of Glenn's tonight, and see if it has anything on Torpedo coaster brakes.

Here's some excellent reading on the Torpedo coaster brake hub.

I'm accustomed to greasing coaster brake hubs, and I'd prefer to do that, but since it has an oil hole, I thought I'd try oil first. I told her maybe it will start working better now that I've oiled it. But either way, I want her back in a week so I can evaluate it and overhaul it if needed. It's the bike's only brake, and it's not working adequately. She didn't even notice, which is why I don't trust her to evaluate it. And we have steep hills and the infamous Joizy drivers here.

Theoretical question: Does the size of the cog effect the power of the brake? It seems to me with a bigger cog, and a lower forward gear, you'd have a more powerful brake. What do you think?

Good point, and I'm sure it makes a difference. But I was pleased to see that the bike is geared well. A lot of old bikes were geared really high, but this one isn't. Maybe the Dutch had a different attitude towards single speeds than the French did. In 1981, on my long wandering tour, I saw old women in France riding single speeds with a very high ratio.

Is there a hole already in the front forks to mount a hand brake? I'm dong this to my wife's bike while also converting it to a 3-speed w/coaster brake. It's nice to have an option to stop if you drop your chain, although that's pretty unlikely going down hill.

No, there's no hole, so I would have to drill one. I told her I would like to do it for her.

By the way, she just read this thread and might come back.

A customer of mine had his chain fall off his balloon tire coaster-brake bike. He was going fast down a hill, so he crash-landed it. He gave me the bike, didn't want anything for it, and bought a modern mountain bike from me. So it can happen!

The foot-jam may not be an intuitive move, but it can save your skin in such instances if you can remember it!

Where do you jam your foot when your bike has fenders?

Probably in my mouth... :o

:lol:

I made the addition of a front brake to a Schwinn Racer single speed that originally had only a rear wheel coaster brake. This required finding a likely-looking brake and then marking and drilling the fork.

It was a pretty quick and effective modification that improved my confidence in the bike. I later learned that setups like this, with a footbrake in the back and handbrake in front, were sometimes offered on British bikes in the fifties and sixties.

Flushed with my success, I drilled the rear bridge and then added a hand brake for the BACK wheel. I now had a bicycle with three distinct and moderately spiffy brakes!

In its final evolution, the Racer lost its coaster brake due to the desire to convert to a 3-speed hub with non-Schwinn 26x1 3/8" wheel. The bike lost a third of its braking spiffitude cachet, but gained two-thirds in available forward speeds and overall spiff factor.

Glenn's has information on several hubs grouped together, including Komet, Pixie, and F&S Torpedo Boy. Not sure how close it is to your hub. I could scan the pages and email them to you, if you would like.

gna, thank you for your offer. I'll let you know if I need that. I've taken apart a few coaster brake hubs, so this may not be too hard. I used to have a Glenn's. I probably still have it somewhere, but my house is big enough for me to get super disorganized, and there are books I haven't spied in years.