Kryten41

I've noticed a number of adult trikes have a coaster brake that only operates on one of the back wheels. Doesn't this cause the trike to make a sudden turn when the brake is applied?

fietsbob

Your question... test one and find out?
if going geriatric slow it probably does not matter..

If it's yours , add a front brake.
NB: levers made for for trikes have a parking brake function.






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Litespud

Not really - the front wheel/tire will resist any tendency for the trike to rotate as a result of one wheel braking. In any case, trike rear wheels are usually linked by a live axle, so a single (usually centrally located) drivetrain drives both wheels. Since the wheels are linked, braking one wheel will also brake the other wheel.

Kryten41

Actually I am shopping for a chopper style trike, South Coast Cruzers makes one (Slingshot) and Trailmate makes one (Low Rider). A dealer for the South Coast Cruzers trike says only the right wheel is driven on the Slingshot and the coaster brake only works on the drive wheel, it also has no front brake. There is no place near where I live to test drive either of these. It occurred to me that regular adult tricycles might have the same setup, and that someone might be able to explain why you don't get a sudden right turn when you have a sudden stop, or at least a strong pull to the right with leisurely stopping.

fietsbob

the ones my local sells all have a front wheel brake..
the button on the lever keeps it from rolling away when no one is riding it..


axle has a flange with 3 pins , hubs have bearings and 3 holes
the one on the left rolls on the bearing, the right one is turned by the axle

at a much greater expense there are some rear assemblies with a differential
because going around a corner the outside arc is longer than the inside one



why order a bike with just a coasterbrake? a front drum or roller brake can be in the front wheel hub..

studied any physics in school?





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rollagain

Kryten41, both the trikes you've linked to have really long wheelbases, so, as Litespud described, brake-steer should be a non-issue.

Have you ridden anything like this before? If not, I strongly suggest finding one to try out before you buy it, just to make sure it meets your expectations. These are both very heavy and aren't geared for much beyond a relaxed pace on smooth level surfaces. If that's the only kind of riding you'd do with it, they'd be very comfortable, and they're low-maintenance.

Kryten41

Thanks for the info. My plan is to just ride around my flat residential neighborhood about 30 to 60 minutes per day. I am looking to replace my single speed beach cruiser due to issues with my knees and lower back. Also, I always wanted a chopper. My only physics classes were astronomy, and that was a few decades ago. I recall ads for a Big Wheel type thing many years ago which had a feature that allowed the child to spin out by slamming on the brake on one wheel. I also had a car that jerked to the right due to an imbalance in braking power between the two front brakes when I applied the brakes. Those examples were the source of my concern.

rollagain

Further comment on front brakes--I agree with fietsbob that you should have one, but I don't see any way to put one on the Slingshot at all, and the band brake on the Trailmate should really be replaced with something else--see here: Bicycle band brakes -- Design, Applications, Installation, Maintenance

You might get a good drum brake on the front of the Trailmate, but it would mean replacing the whole front wheel. The expense wouldn't be worth it.

It doesn't seem unreasonable to me to assume that the designers of these machines only intended them to be ridden slowly.