Question about using a coaster brake hub...
 

I know there are those of you ss riders out ther using a coaster brake hub. I think I'm going to have to modify "The Princess" (my gf's ss that I built for her) so that she's more...shall we say...accomodating for my gf. I see there are some coaster brake hubs for cheap on ebay, is there a certain one you all recommed, or a model I should definitly not use?

Thanks for your input.

In a way I think this Forum should be modified into an 'anything but mainstream' forum.
We have periodic questions about coaster hubs. I have yet to post pics of my AW hub'd 531 frame bike here, despite an underlying interest because of the title of the forum.

you might want to go with shimano, since they are still made. the old suntour is imo the best coasterbrake ever made. r.i.p. i run a suntour on one of my bikes. i know a guy who thrashes on a new shimano and i haven't heard any complaints from him.

The best ss coasterbrake hub is torpedo, but they dont produce it any more.
I have built lot of wheels whith Shimanos hub and it works fine.
Here are my own wheel with Shimanos ss hub. four cross on the drive side and radial on the other.
/Martin

1. If you must put together a wheel asap, then the easy choice is to use a Shimano (KT) hub. If you are able to wait and search a bit then I would hold out for a Sachs, or Fichtel & Sachs (F&S). Other reasonable choices include Bendix redline, New departure.

2. If you buy a used hub then you'll want to disassemble, clean and regrease (everything including the brake shoes/disks) before installing it.

3. If your girlfriend will be riding in hilly areas you should think about supplementing the coaster brake with a front brake. The coaster will get very hot if applied during long-ish descents.

4. Coaster brakes place a lot of strain/tension on spokes and rim. For a larger person and/or aggressive rider this can be a significant concern. I would recommend a profiled mavic, velocity, etc rim for strength and would suggest 3x lacing on both sides.

5. Don't use a kid's coasterbrake hub for an adult bike. Kid's brakes are smaller and usually have 18-24 spokes. The brake pads can be rediculously small in some of these. Stick with a 36 hole hub.

6. Finally I would stay away from Mexican-made Bendix hubs they are just too poor quality.

Good luck. I hope you give it a try. Coaster brakes rock.

Jim

Do you have a photo of your Suntour? While I was a huge fan of that company, the 2 Suntour coaster brakes that I have are 'rebadged' KT's (Kun Teng) like the Shimano hubs. Having said that, I do have an old Shimano hub (the origin of which is still a mystery) that is quite nice. The internals are almost a clone of the Sachs cone-clutch design with nice beefy shoes. The outside, unlike the Sachs, uses pressed-on flanges but the entire hub is definitely stronger (and heavier) than their current KT offering. Now I'm wondering if Suntour offered such a hub.

Have you had your hub apart? Do you have photos of the guts? If so I would love to see them.

Thanks

Jim

Sweet, thanks everyone

sorry, the suntour i ride is somewhat unique. a bmx company called JAD pressed suntour hub shells with guts into a 48 hole aluminum shell and resold them. this was after suntour stopped making their 48 hole steel shells. i know that suntour made two different internals versions of their coaster hubs. there is something stamped on the "inside" side of the arm that cosmetically identifies the different hubs. if i remember correctly, and don't quote me on this, one says japan and the other one maybe r.o.c. for taiwan. maybe tomorrow evening i'll dig out some extras from parts boxes i have and snap some pics...unless i end up drinking with some temptress.

Thanks for the info. The JAD sounds interesting and I've never seen one. I'd also like to get my hands on a Japanese Suntour .... If you come across one (and don't want it for yourself) please let me know, I'd like to grab it. Barring 'drinks with a temptress', I'd enjoy seeing any photos you would be willing to post.

Thanks much

Jim

this is kinda off topic, but pgringo69 can u take a picture of just your hub? i think i have the same thing, but am not sure, pm it to me or post it here if u can

i found i have 6 suntour coasterbrake hubs. i'll get pics and descriptions in the daylight.

ok ... so i started a thread about this a few weeks ago. i got one of the NYC Bikes/Strings and Spokes coaster brake wheels a few weeks ago and i have to say i love it. i wouldn't want to do a century with it or use it for anything too difficult but it rides really well and it was less than $60. granted, i was able to pick it up at the shop while in town seeing friends but the folks there are super cool and the extra for shipping shouldn't discourage you. if you have the time/talent to build a wheel on a Sturmy Archer or some equally cool hub you get off the bay, then go for it but the NYC bikes option isn't a bad one.

let us know how it works out.

Dang, 6? Are they all being used right now? Hehehehehe...($$)

48 hole suntours were the stuff for BMX. I wish I had one so I could put an unbrake in it and use it as a freecoaster. I have a peregrine freecoaster that is identical to the 48 hole suntours. If the 6 metioned above are 48 holes or even 36 and you want to make some cash throw them up on a flatland website.

pics as promised...

http://home.austin.rr.com/pkstuff/images/P1010751.JPG
jad 48 hole coasterbrake hub

http://home.austin.rr.com/pkstuff/images/P1010752.JPG
the internal difference between the two suntour versions.

from looking at all of my suntour hubs, i'm thinking they are all japan made, but some arms have nothing stamped on the inside of the arm and some have "japan XI" stamped on the inside of the arm. you can see that some use 4 shoes evenly spaced by wide spaces on the clutch thingy and the other type use 2 wide shoes evenly spaced, or maybe two next to each other and then spaced then two more next to each other. i'm not sure since i didn't see the shoes in the box with these internals i found.

Not sure if live auctions are allowed to be posted on here but I couldn't find any other picture. Anway I am just wondering if this would a good choice for my coaster brake conversion. Has anyone had an experience with these?


http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...:X:RTQ:US:1123

All good points except this one (with a caveat) - 18-24 spoke coaster hubs have been made from 36 and 48 hole hubs. These are rare and are treasure once found. Shimano is the brand.

And yes, Suntour made the baddest coaster but good luck finding service parts - the shoes. Bearings and cogs are easy as pie to service.

In my coaster days I welded the cog on, I welded the arm to the shoe race and I loose balled them. Loose balling a coaster is just buying some extra cage bearings and freeing them all up and greasing the races to hold them in place and delicately popping it all together. The hub is very smooth and rolls beautifully after that. I beat on my coaster in the old school bmx days and I never ever had a spoke or over heating issue. I did spin cogs and arms. Hence the welding of them.

We used to gravity race down parkades, coast down hills - and I always would catch and pass freewheelers. Loose ball is the shiz.

In today's climate of availability and servicability I would purchase a Shimano, loose ball it with good lithium grease and leave it unwelded on a SS non-bmx bike. Now if they only made a shell with 32 holes...I have used a Bendix and killed it within 2 days. New. I don't like building wheels with 2 days between lacing. Bendix can suck it.

Make sure when you get a coaster hub you nab a couple extra nuts.