OK
I am working on a Tern Link Uno
will put a automatic hub in the back

now the question .... I have coaster brake versions or freewheel versions wheels ready to plug in the new bike.

what you guys prefer ?

Plan is to have one front brake or maybe even none on the coaster version
or two brakes on the freewheel version
Also I am trying out a big phat 38 mm bullhorn handlebar on that bike ...

again
freewheel
or coaster

**********

Thor

I just made my spare Ti Swift with a SRAM Automatix with coaster brake. I am liking it much. Hardly using the front brake. On my other bikes I normally only use the front except in emergencies when I use both. So my choice would be coaster brake if I had to choose between the two at buying time.

I could get away without any brake lever and have a super clean looking bike that way ... ( if it would sell than I will add a second brake of course, but for myself I am not that picky )
tempting

any other opinions ?

When I did an R20 build, I did coaster in the back and drum up front. Liked the setup a lot, especially after jumping off freewheel bikes where I was used to brakes at hand -- kickback shifting and getting used to a coaster brake again was a very short learning curve, but not what I'd come to consider natural.

Today, I just rode in on my lockup beater, which stays in a rack at the bus/work end of a bike-bus-bike commute -- an old, rusty Schwinn Super LeTour with a S2C wheel out back, no front brake. It's a fairly upright bike; gearing is medium and low; I only use it for the three mile, regular commute. Coaster brake is fine, don't miss having a front brake, and since it stays locked up through nasty New England weather in a coastal town where they salt the roads, I'm not sure I could get away with zero maintenance and hand/rim brakes.

Your setup would depend on your use. Casual bike with upright ergos and fatter tires, I'd go with just the coaster brake. If all the other bikes your ride have hand brakes and this will be the only one with a coaster brake, I'd consider a front brake -- also, the skinnier the tires, the more you should consider a front brake. If this will be geared high with a more aggressive, forward posture (bullhorn bars?), and especially if you will be running skinnier tires, I'd be thinking freewheel setup with rim brakes at both ends.

Coaster brake means if you drop your chain or break your chain, you have no brake, right?

If so, I'll take a freewheel on mine please.

Not being a cyclist, one of the things that I find relaxing while bike riding is pedaling backwards. I put a 2-speed coaster on a Dahon Speed Uno a few years ago. I road it enough to decide that I personally prefer a hand brake over a coaster brake.

-HANK RYAN-
Norman, Oklahoma USA

IMO, fortunately 1/8" chains of decent quality and given regular service, oiling the chain , are pretty unlikely to come apart.

...also there are other creative ways to stop a bike in an emergency. We used to put our heel on the back tyre at the area of the bridge.

Yah, I've never had a chain break on me, but I have dropped chains many times while riding, and I've dropped them all four possible ways

I made my own chain-guides on rear of my R'off bike friday P. Llama and added a chainminder around the frame
to stop the chain from coming off the chainring towards the inside..

Before there was a tendency to have the chain come off , backpedalling to oil the chain.. ( P.Llama needs the chain tensioner)

On topic, which hub makers ? do people have a few years of reliable service out of their 2 speed IGH?

Its too hilly here to consider one for myself.. unless I stick to just the river shore MUP.

I've always found rotating the crank backward helpful when folding or storing a bike. (I think a lever+brake is typically lighter than a coaster brake but I've never checked carefully) I weakly prefer that compared to having the convenience of a coaster brake without the extra cables+lever.

Freewheel with hand brakes please. I'm personally not too fond of a coaster brake.

hmm? Kojak tires, and freewheel, 2 brakes....

if I have time nextweek I ll put it together that way I am thinking

The only thing I hate more than the Sram Automatix is that hub with a coaster brake. Freewheeling Uno would be lovely. All the same, looking forward to your final build up. Kojaks... yes!

looks nice and rides nice too...

3 d cnc T handlepost, big diameter Fat clamps and Bar... kojak tires
and yes its freewheel :-)

That look SOOOOOO EEEEEEVVVVVEEEEELLLLL! I LUV IT!

Nice job! You haven't lost your touch.

Looks like the FW version of the Automatix misses just the brake internals, externally it looks the same without the torque lever.

what is the weight of that entire bike setup Thor? it look very sweet. funny I still keep the coaster brake on cause I'm used to it now and just prefer less brake lines running around the bike.

25 1/2 real weight :-)

What's the mph/kph Automatix shift point?

That's very cool, Thor!

coaster for me with front caliper brakes