Brakes Coaster Brakes - New Build at a loss on what to do.

[PhoobarID]

Came back from the maiden ride a couple of days ago of getting the tank filled up with $1.00 worth of gas. Everything was going great until it threw the drive chain from being too loose. Pedaled home and moved the tensioner down the frame to give me more room to take the slack out of the chain.

Took it for a ride in the parking lot of the apartment & when I try to use the coaster brake with the engine running...I have no brake and it feels like the engine is grabbing the pedals to keep them from going backwards. I can almost stand on the pedals trying to use the brake...but it feels like the engine is kicking the pedals forward with about the same force as a mule kicking you. With the engine off...there is a coaster brake.

Checked the arm...still attached. The bike chain is still there and attached.

Before the drive chain flew off...I had a coaster brake...but not now. Any suggestions and/or fixes???? Have never had this happen before and the guy who usually would be able to help me locally moved away.

NOTE: I do have a set of side pull brakes installed on the front and back...but can't seem to get the dual handle I bought to work. Am going to use the two handles until I can find a way to make this dual handle work. Either way...I will have some brakes once I get the shoes replaced with better ones from the bike shop.

 

[Big Red]

Coaster Brakes

Hey phoobarID,
Coaster brakes are not a very good idea at anything over 15mph anyway. You have the right idea about the dual pull brake, it's just a touchy thing to set up.
First, Just get the rear brake and cable set up so it works perfect. You want most of the braking power applied to the rear wheel. The other way around and you'll wind up over the bars in a hard braking situation.
Next, simply adjust the front so it grabs well but not TOO well. Again, you don't want to go over the bars. The front brake only helps out the rear brake in your stopping power.
I've set up about 30 of the dual pulls and when set up right they are really the only way to roll. Well, except for disc brakes.
Thanks,
Big Red.

 

[PhoobarID]

Hey phoobarID,
Coaster brakes are not a very good idea at anything over 15mph anyway. You have the right idea about the dual pull brake, it's just a touchy thing to set up.

Tried to get both sets set up with the new lever...but either it too tight and neither would do anything or too loose and same thing.

First, Just get the rear brake and cable set up so it works perfect. You want most of the braking power applied to the rear wheel. The other way around and you'll wind up over the bars in a hard braking situation.

Not much chance of that happening...since these current shoes seem like they are made of wood being applied to metal.

Next, simply adjust the front so it grabs well but not TOO well. Again, you don't want to go over the bars. The front brake only helps out the rear brake in your stopping power.
I've set up about 30 of the dual pulls and when set up right they are really the only way to roll. Well, except for disc brakes.
Thanks,
Big Red.

Will be heading out to the bike shop in about an hour to get some new shoes and will get them setup. Will see what happens.

Any idea on what happened to the rear wheel?

 

[Big Red]

Coaster Brake

Not a clue about the coaster brake. I never fool around with them. If a bike I'm putting together has them I'll leave them, but always set up better brakes on it also.
Big Red.

 

[PhoobarID]

Not a clue about the coaster brake. I never fool around with them. If a bike I'm putting together has them I'll leave them, but always set up better brakes on it also.
Big Red.

Ended up getting a set of BMX shoes for the rear and pulling the ones from the old Schwinn to use on the front.

Bought an 8" bolt cutter yesterday from Harbor Freight and cut my cables to the correct length. From there...was a simple matter to hook each up.

The worst part is that I lost 1 of the adjusters on the dual pull some place in the trunk of my car...so ended up using it for the rear and the old handle for the front. As soon as I find it...will take off the old handle and hook in the front to the dual pull handle.

Going for a mile or so ride down some side streets...was able to stop with the aid of both handles being used at the same time. Will be nice to have just one handle...but until that happens...this will do.

As for the old brakes...I think the coaster brake pads are stuck in the axle...so will have to get them out and go with a free wheel set up. That will be until I can afford the HD setup.

 

[Big Red]

Dual Pull

Hey phoobar, Sounds like you're on the right track. Sorry about your adjuster, I'll say a prayer for it's safe return.
About those adjusters, You don't want to use them as adjusters. They are made of soft metal or plastic and will strip IN. Screw them all the way in and just use them for cable retainers. A hard pull on those things will pull them in, stripping the threads and you lose adjustment, and BRAKES. The first time it happend to me I almost p**ped my drawers coming up to an intersection with no brakes. Hey, What don't kill ya.........Is gonna leave a scar.
A heavy duty rear wheel is a GREAT idea. I put one on my last personal build and never had a lick of trouble after that. I found an adapter for the rear sprocket that you might also want to check out. The guy calls it a Clamshell Sprocket Adapter and is the one of the best sprocket mounts I've ever seen. It takes all the tork off the spokes and puts it on the hub. At $65.00 it's a little rich for me, but It's a very cool thing. Check it out at LiveFastMotors.com.
Keep the rubber side down and yer knees in the breeze.
Big Red.

 

[PhoobarID]

Hey phoobar, Sounds like you're on the right track. Sorry about your adjuster, I'll say a prayer for it's safe return.

It's in the boot of my car where I keep my tools in the parking lot. To find it...gotta take a tool box down and go thru everything in that trunk. Not only will that keep everything together...but keep it from walking off.

If I find I can't find it...off to the bike shop to get another one. Will teach me to keep everything together.

About those adjusters, You don't want to use them as adjusters. They are made of soft metal or plastic and will strip IN. Screw them all the way in and just use them for cable retainers. A hard pull on those things will pull them in, stripping the threads and you lose adjustment, and BRAKES. The first time it happend to me I almost p**ped my drawers coming up to an intersection with no brakes. Hey, What don't kill ya.........Is gonna leave a scar.

The thing I found which made the most difference was getting rid of the idiotic ends these vendors put on their cables. Once I figured out that there were extra ends for the cable sleeves and used them...not only did they fit better...but looked 1 million times better.

A heavy duty rear wheel is a GREAT idea. I put one on my last personal build and never had a lick of trouble after that. I found an adapter for the rear sprocket that you might also want to check out. The guy calls it a Clamshell Sprocket Adapter and is the one of the best sprocket mounts I've ever seen. It takes all the tork off the spokes and puts it on the hub. At $65.00 it's a little rich for me, but It's a very cool thing. Check it out at LiveFastMotors.com.
Keep the rubber side down and yer knees in the breeze.
Big Red.

Never seen a clamshell like that 1. Very interesting and looks like it would do the job. The only bad thing is no 56 or higher sprockets.

 

[BentTooner]

Hi,
I found a 2 part video on YouTube for tearing down a coaster brake:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utwJl5Yb3t8

It might help you figure out what's wrong with yours...

Good luck!

 

[PhoobarID]

Hi,
I found a 2 part video on YouTube for tearing down a coaster brake:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utwJl5Yb3t8

It might help you figure out what's wrong with yours...

Got back from the drive-in about 2 AM and started to look around for videos...but Google was pulling up forum listings...but nothing else. Am going to look at it and try to get to it in the next day or so.

Of course...at that time...was doing a quick search and heading to bed.

Good luck!

Thank you so much for the link!

 

[Chalo]

Next, simply adjust the front so it grabs well but not TOO well. Again, you don't want to go over the bars. The front brake only helps out the rear brake in your stopping power.

This is absolutely untrue. The front brake can deliver about three times as much stopping power as the rear. If you fail to use it, or neuter its effectiveness, you lose that much of your bike's ability.

With good front brakes, you will go over the bars if you don't push against the handlebars when you stop hard, the same way you might wind up with your belly against the steering wheel of a car if you aren't wearing your seat belt in a hard stop, and if you don't push hard on the wheel. But that's simply user error, not a fault of the brakes.

In a hard stop, weight is transferred to the front wheel, making the front brake more effective if it has enough power to use the additional traction. The rear wheel has weight shifted away from it, which makes it easier to skid the harder you decelerate.

The front brake of a bike should be stronger than the rear, and it should be the brake of first resort on a dry paved surface. Many seasoned cyclists only touch the rear brake when they are concerned about available traction because of surface moisture or loose material.

That said, you should teach yourself proper operation of the front brake in a safe low-traffic environment, so you know what to expect in an emergency stop. You can't just sit there like a sack of taters (though that does seem to be a popular MB approach) or you will slop forward onto the handlebars and take the rest of the bike with you. You have to hold yourself back by force. The reward is discovering that your bike has far better stopping power than you are probably aware of.

Chalo