Brakes Braking with the cruiser wheel brake almost killed me!

[lucianomi]

First of all sorry for my english, im trying to do my best! Anyway, iv just came in five minutes ago from a little ride on my beach cruiser,when i tried to brake with the rear brakes, the cruiser ones, you know, when you turn your peddal backwards and suddenly my backwheel became al crazy,blocking and hitting the sides of the frame, and all of that just heading to an intersection, iv managed to make a stop thanks to my front brakes and some balance, and when i get of it and start watching iv came to realize that the wheel AXIS WAS COMPLETELLY SEVERED? (CUTTED) it was like torn metal and it just get cutted, of course my whell became lose on one side and thats why it was completly unstable and almost chrashed myself!!!!

this thing happened to me for the third time!!!!

1-Why did this happened? has anyone had this problem before?
2-i only manage to get chinese bike spare parts here,is it plausible to make a better one? what kind of metal would you recomend?
im posting the pics of it so its more interesting!!!

 

[bluegoatwoods]

Well this is a shame, Luciano. I could not see it perfectly clearly in your photos. But there's no doubt in my mind that what you have there is a ruined wheel bearing.

It is not uncommon. It's happened to me a few times and I know it's happened to others around here. There's just something about this particular application that seems to be hard on those single speed, coaster brake hubs.

So first you're going to need some replacement parts. They're not all that difficult to obtain. The good news is that it's a universal, or near-universal, design. Which means that you can get useful parts from, say, little children's bicycles that have been thrown away. Or found in second hand stores.

Perhaps you mentioned once some pretty severe import restrictions in Argentina. But can you get genuine Shimano parts? I would guess so. If so, then you might want to get parts for a Shimano CB-110 hub. They should be identical. And quality will be good.

It would be a good idea to get more parts than you actually need. The bearings, brake shoes and the parts that I'm unable to name inside there that push those shoes against the interior of the hub. While you're 'getting the feel' of keeping that hub in good working order, these spare parts could well come in handy.

When you've got a working hub in your hands, I'd practice taking it apart and putting it back together. It's not really very difficult. But it's something that won't be particularly easy the first time. Still, you want to be able to do it. Because you'll want to do it regularly as a form of routine maintenance. They should be cleaned up and re-greased fairly often. For that matter, you'll surely need to adjust those bearings frequently. But that can be done with the wheel installed on the bike. It's merely a matter of being familiar with it.

The single speed, coaster brake type of hub is certainly usable for a motor assisted bicycle. But it is one component that the operator wants to keep a close eye on.

 

[lucianomi]

Hey!!! Thanks for your concern blue, i'v allready done such things as practicing the assembly of the hub and the "hub brakes" ( now i know how its called, thanks!!!) and the maintenance of rhe ball bearings and such, iv been staring at it, and it seems that fue to the strenght of the engine, plus the brake forces involved, the ¿bearing? (screw thing, the axis) gets cutted, it turns itself over, like if it wasn't tempered, looks like some sort of bad alloy stuff, im gonna try to find some motorcicle "axis" (the screw thing that holds the wheel centered and screwed to the frame) and get it reduced so it will be harder and stronger than the bicycle stuff, or take your advice and find some used stuff on the junk sales, someone told me to find old bicycle ones, cause they made things stronger on the past! Thanks for your concern again, ill try to update the pics so the problemcould be seen clearly, oh yeah, and thanks for the advice on the spare "kit" iv was thinking on doing something like that, so i can take it on my bag and fix the problema on the road, today i was lucky to have this issue two blocks away from home but maybe next time i wont!!!

 

[bluegoatwoods]

Here's a link. This is probably how I would go about getting the parts I needed if I were in your position.

The same people actually do sell individual parts for these hubs. And I might just order, say, the bearing that I knew to be bad. But I might just order the whole hub in order to have some spare parts.

I don't know whether this particular vendor can ship something to Argentina. Or what sort of difficulties there might be with a cross-border sale.

But even if this particular outfit cant' help directly, you can probably find someone similar who is within your reach, right?

http://www.niagaracycle.com/categories/hub-cb-shimano-cb-e110-36h-105g-w-o-trim-kit

Once I had this hub in my hands, I'd practice taking it apart and putting it back together.

Once you've mastered that, then you'll be able to ride knowing that this issue probably will never bring you to a complete halt.

 

[lucianomi]

Oh i mayor add that the hub i'v got its a shimano, its pretty old tho, so i should get a new one, but it means that i have to re spoke the wheel?

 

[lucianomi]

I al really thankfull for your help! Ill run some research on the matter, i'll try to buy a complete hub as a spare, and take a really good look to it cause mine its probably too old and used, its probably ruined now

 

[bluegoatwoods]

I might have misunderstood the problem.

Maybe you've got a broken axle?

But even that wouldn't change much. You'll still need to replace a part or two.

There's no way to tell for certain, but I think I can guess what caused your trouble in the first place. Those wheel bearings probably loosened while riding. That brought 'slop' into your axle and hub.

It's hard to imagine just how those bearings might loosen while they, and the rest of those parts, are fastened tightly within that bicycle frame. Yet they seem to somehow loosen fairly regularly.

You mentioned that you've worked with these axles and hubs before. So you're probably familiar with this.

It's sort of mysterious. And it needs to be watched.

Best of luck.

 

[bluegoatwoods]

Oh i mayor add that the hub i'v got its a shimano, its pretty old tho, so i should get a new one, but it means that i have to re spoke the wheel?

I'd only do that if I absolutely must.

I'd be more inclined to leave the existing hub on the wheel and to replace only the internal parts. The axle, the bearings, the brake shoes plus the brake actuating mechanism.

If the existing hub is deeply 'scored' (scratched, grooved, damaged) by the broken parts inside, then I suppose you'll need to replace it.

But I've never seen that happen.

Wheel building is a desirable talent to have, of course. But I'll bet you know what I mean when I say that I'd rather not learn it under pressure. Using a wheel that I actually need. I'd rather just practice it on a spare wheel.

I've done just that a little bit. Haven't gotten very far with it, though.

 

[lucianomi]

thank you so very much bluegoatwoods!!!! i´v been searching the web for the spares i need.... it seems to me, that in order to get the shimano parts i need i will have to buy the entire hub, im gonna do just what you said and change all the inner stuff on it and then keep the rest as spare, i also will try to "template"? (as in tempered) heat treatment some spare axles i can buy on the bike shop to see if that way i can make them stronger but thats to make some experimentation, im lucky enough to have friends that work on car bodyshops or metal work related jobs so they can easily help me with that kind of subjects, i love this new world i´v find myself in! i love my MB and im looking forward to build some more!!! thanks for all the help and your time!
happy riding!

 

[bluegoatwoods]

thank you so very much bluegoatwoods!....

...... i also will try to "template"? (as in tempered) heat treatment some spare axles.....

It's my pleasure.

To temper. Verb. Definition: (My definition. Not Websters or Oxfords. But I'll bet I come close) To harden using heat.

"I also will try to temper some spare axles."

Not that I'm criticizing, mind you. I promise you that I'd do far, far worse if I were trying to speak or write Spanish.

Your English is actually pretty good. I've seen the equivalent of misspellings. But I find you to be entirely understandable.