Safety COASTER BRAKE horror stories, please add your experience

[Wolfie65]

In potentially dangerous situations, I would never rely on anything that says 'Huffy' or 'made in China' on it.

 

[KCvale]

I would never rely on anything that says 'Huffy' on it.

I don't build on anything Huffy, and been warning people against building on anything Huffy for years.

 

[Frankenstein]

I don't build on anything Huffy, and been warning people against building on anything Huffy for years.

The only problem is that doesn't let you pick the exact frame you want, people really dig the Nel lusso look and want THAT look for their bike and that makes them happy. You as a business man should understand that perfectly, the people want what they want, not what you tell them they can have.

Lusso bike frame for itself is a good enough frame for the good old fashion cruising around, to make it very clear when my friend rode with them on his jackshaft equipped bike he had to stay in second gear basically the whole time just so they could keep up. The whole intention of a beach cruiser is to take it slow, that's what they do.

Yes, definitely upgrades are required out of the box, but 2 v brakes and a duel pull lever cost next to nothing. The fender reinforcements, hub laying around in the corner of the basement, and my time, all came free to me. It's a basic huffy bike, with basic features and basic level power and speed. All it needed was at most 60 dollars in parts to make it sturdy and safe. Being that I can break wheels down and rebuild them from other bicycle parts gives me an unfair advantage over most people who would otherwise have to buy a wheel or get one made professionally, so that does affect cost.

However no matter how you look at it you're going to either spend money wisely on safety, or stupidly on things that add no value other than how it looks or how well it rides. Since darwinism is so effective we can sit back building motorized huffy bikes and upgrading for safety features while we watch other people who don't put safety first get turned into road waffles or giant looking scabs.

Now if I wouldn't let a family member ride it because of a concern of the actual safety of the bike then I obviously would not let it leave my porch into a client or friend's hands either. If I don't feel safe I'm probably right and that gets fixed. Doesn't matter if it's a 100 dollar Walmart bike or a 2 thousand dollar high end racing bike or a rather expensive recumbent. That's just the rules, it's not what you're riding, it's if what you're riding will kill you or not, and could it have been prevented.

Stop being stuck up about huffys, you can use them but be smart about it, like you would anything you're about to motorize, or even take out on the road for that matter. Same reason why you don't use beach cruisers for epic downhill mountain racing, it's just not safe enough until you add enough upgrades, once you have safety in check, then move onto power.

 

[KCvale]

I don't build on anything Huffy, and been warning people against building on anything Huffy for years.

Stop being stuck up about huffys.

I will do that when Huffy makes better bikes, or motorized bike builders stop shopping the toy isle for a bike.

 

[Joshbus]

You mean like this? View attachment 77494 yes exactly like that total junk...




Yeah that's a huffy wheel. Obvious because the wheel falls apart just by taking the spokes out, and that's with barely any motorized action, the spokes must pull out on the rings radially with just enough force to expand the ring till its ready to quite litteraly slip off. It wouldn't take too much with a hard enough turn to simply pop the hub out of that flange.

Yes, that was also a coaster brake wheel and had failed 2 times (both were new factory wheels right from huffy themselves) on the same left side bearing before I replaced it with a real hub, now the guy can't be found he's riding something like 24/7, with real brakes too on both wheels.

 

[Patrick G.]

Since the beginning of the forum, I've tried to recommend NOT to motorize single speed coaster models. Every day 5-10 new members join us, and I'd guess 20% of the first timers are going to try that single speed combo.

The ONLY place it might work is the beach area, flat roads where the label Beach Cruiser really applies. If you are 60 miles from the coast, hills begin to appear, and that is where trouble begins. If you are going to piddle around at 10-13 miles per hour in really low traffic areas, fine.

But most folks are itching to hit wide open throttle.

Your life is worth more than a $100 bike, and I thought maybe we could get a thread devoted to bashing this type bike once and for all. Then, if a new MBer joins with photo's of his/her shiny Schwinn with coaster brakes, we could point them to this thread.

Just yesterday:





In 2005 I got a Grampa bike for $30, a '70's model Western Flyer. It was motorized for maybe 2 weeks when a local bike collector bought it, without the engine, just because he needed the leather seat.

Then I found a bikeshop, he only had ONE Sun Cruiser in the rows of bikes, I was more interested in the handlebars and tires than the speeds. ( I've mentioned how I spent $700 on bikes before I found the combo I liked.)

I bought it, motorized it, then ordered a 7 speed from the bike shop catalog. Sales picked up pretty quick, and the single speed basically sat there doing nothing.

That winter, I put another engine on it, and while coming to a stop sign on a wet road, I hit the brakes and slid sideways.

Whooooooa, I'm NOT going to sell something that even I couldn't control.

That bike was stripped of parts (I sold the frame later).

You can "think" nothing will happen, but if you haven't bought a bicycle yet, maybe reading some MBincidents, you will splurge on something with multi-speeds and handbrakes. Makes about a $50 difference on new models in the big box stores.

If you don't see a multi-speed cassette in the Wal Mart racks? Keep on walking, in other words.

I guess my question is what does the coaster brake do? (Not the litteral meaning).Does it cause quick stopping/skidding? I just picked up a cruiser and installed an engine on it, I guess im not quite sure the issue. I read something about not being able to back peddle to avoid roads while turning THAT never crossed my mind and actually makes me want to start over with a new bike.

Sorry if this is covered somewhere I'm new to this thread and motorized bicycles.

Thanks, Patrick G.

 

[PATRICK GARON]

Is the main reason to not use coaster brakes due to turning? Im just trying to figure this out, I NEVER thought about that. I have a cruiser with coaster brakes and am now going to buy one without. Was just looking for what other safety issues it causes. I'm new to this all together just put my bike together last week.

Thanks.

 

[Timbone]

The coaster brake is a very simple kind of drum brake. When you pedal backwards, a thick screw thread forces a few flaps of abrasive material to squeeze against the inside of the hub and slow it via friction.

These coaster brake hubs are designed for low speeds. Imagine the force on the brake flaps when the hub spins at 30 mph - they can break free of their retainers and lock up the wheel. Not gonna be fun!

 

[PATRICK GARON]

Thanks for that info Timbone.

 

[KCvale]

You don't have to worry about a coaster brake as long it's not not your only brake.
No MB is safe with just 1 brake!

I like to put a pair of C-brakes on this coaster brake bike that made for a great MB.

That's 3 brakes ;}