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

[Chalo]

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.

Are you talking about ferrules for cable housing? They can improve the look and fit of your cable housings, but they don't make much difference one way of the other to braking power or shift precision.

I use brass index-shift cable ferrules on both brakes and shifters. They are sturdier and truer to size than brake-only ferrules, and they hold up better in the long run.

But the more important thing is to grind or file the ends of your cable housings square and flat. This keeps them from tilting when the brakes are applied (which adds mush to the system) or chewing up the ferrules with their cut ends. It's this sort of subtle detail that distinguishes quality bike mechanics from pretenders.

Chalo

 

[PhoobarID]

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.

Since the coaster brake is useless with the engine running...I did the smart thing and put these aftermarket brakes put on.

 

[Big Red]

Brakes

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

And if the front brake locks and the rear don't? Sure you can still stop but it's not a lot of fun front brake only in a hard stop. I've been riding motorcycles my entire life and you NEVER want to hit the front brake harder than the rear. ANYTHING on the road, sand, oil,ect, and your bike is going down. You only make that mistake once. I did it at 14 years old on a gravel road and never, ever did it again.
You are right about learning front brake only stopping ability. You never know when you're going to need that knowlege. 35mph in traffic is Not the place to find out.
Thanks,
Big Red.

 

[ferball]

Having ridden both Bikes and Motorcycles they both brake differently. Bikes need/use the front brake for effective braking because as it was pointed out earlier in the post, the weight shift and what not. A Motorcycle can effectively rely on the rear brakes because the weight of a motorcycle keeps the rear wheel on the ground, not to mention that inertia of a motorcyle (again because it is much heavier than a bike) may be more apt to "jackknife" when only front brakes are applied at significant speeds. So front vs back on Motorcycles vs Bikes is the old apples to oranges cliche.

 

[Chalo]

And if the front brake locks and the rear don't? Sure you can still stop but it's not a lot of fun front brake only in a hard stop. I've been riding motorcycles my entire life and you NEVER want to hit the front brake harder than the rear. ANYTHING on the road, sand, oil,ect, and your bike is going down.

The weight distribution on a bicycle makes a front wheel skid all but impossible except on wet or loose surfaces. I have locked the front brake and recovered front wheel traction on my 1100cc motorcycle; that's a different game altogether. The moto has a longer wheelbase and a much lower center of gravity, as well as much higher mass. The rear brake becomes more important in those conditions.

On a bicycle with a significantly heavy trailer, or a chopper bicycle with long front forks, or a long wheelbase bicycle like a tandem, the rear brake also becomes more important than on a normal bike.

On a normal single bicycle on dry pavement, the choice is between pitching you over the bars (which most brakes do not have the power for if you put up a fight), and simply slowing down. You can't skid the front wheel because of the forward weight shift.

Chalo

 

[PhoobarID]

Since the coaster brake is useless with the engine running...I did the smart thing and put these aftermarket brakes put on.

Ended up pulling the rear axle apart and taking out the brake pads and putting the whole assembly back together without the pads.

What I found when I got into the axle was both pads were side-by-side on the same side. Ended up cleaning up everything and overgreasing the whole assembly before putting it back together. The good thing is that it went back together SO much easier than taking it apart.

Will be putting the rear wheel back on the bike tomorrow and seeing if I still get the same issue when I ride. Without the pads inside the hub...expect it to act the same as a multi-geared bike. Will let everyone know what happens.

 

[Chalo]

Ended up pulling the rear axle apart and taking out the brake pads and putting the whole assembly back together without the pads.

In the early days of freestyle bicycling, there were many kits available to convert coaster brakes into "freecoasters" which would not brake when pedaled backwards but would not carry the pedals in reverse when ridden backwards. None of these conversions worked by simply removing the brake shoes. Take this as a warning-- you may have made a hub that just backs the shuttle completely off of the driver and then will not engage in either direction.

Chalo

 

[Esteban]

Most all coaster brakes I have seen on cheap newer bikes did not have enough grease in them to operate correctly, much less at higher speeds & long periods. Look at the above mentioned videos & look online for rebuilding instructions. Then, you will have 3 braking options.

 

[BentTooner]

Hi, PhoobarID

You wrote that the coaster brake is useless 'with the engine running.'

I'm doing a MB build right now with a rear coaster brake and so I was interested in what you meant. Can you please tell me why the coaster brake is useless with the engine running?

Sorry to be dense, I just don't see the connection between the engine running and the usefulness of a coaster brake.

The only thing I could think of is that you're saying that the coaster brake ALWAYS works so poorly that, once the engine is driving the bicycle forward, the coaster brake has NO stopping power at all. Is that close?

Or, is there something about applying power to the rear wheel that renders the coaster brake useless even though the coaster brake works OK when there's no power?

Thanks!

 

[BentTooner]

HI, all

FWIW, here's a link that discusses how to use the brakes on a street motorcycle:

http://www.webbikeworld.com/Motorcycle-Safety/braking-tips.htm

And, this is the famous Sheldon Brown's advice on bicycle braking technique:

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/brakturn.html