Brakes coaster brakes

[RevolutionCycles]

Coaster brakes are simply dangerous on any bike. My 8 yearold fell on his shoulder after standing up to pedal and looking back at me... his weight shifted back on the brake and down he went. I spent the rest of the night lacing up a freewheel for his 16" Ever try to slide a locked coaster brake bike in a straight line on ice? The weight shift required to apply the brake is enough to send your rear tire out to the left. This is what occurs at 30mph. By the time you can say "oh snap" and let off the brake you are pointed right at the curb with misaligned tires. I would be interested to know how fast the human head is traveling when whipped to the pavement by a tall bicycle going 30mph... ouch.. Solutions for older coaster brake bikes are Band brakes attached to the sprocket. and using a BMX clamp brake just to keep the back tire behind the front..... The front brake provides most of the stopping power just be careful on dirt roads and gravel... Ouch again...

 

[HoughMade]

I have a quality coaster brake and it will stop me sufficiently...however, for safety sake, I have a caliper brake as well. I'm not going to bet it all on one brake no matter what that one brake is.

 

[KilroyCD]

You definitely need a front brake. Keep in mind that all coaster brakes are not created equal. Some are better quality and will have more stopping power than some others. Some you can service easily (New Departure, Bendix, Shimano), others have no virtually parts availability (Chinese ones in particular). But that's all academic when the vibration from your engine causes the nut and bolt to come off the brake arm and you suddenly have no brakes at 20mph. (That was before I realized you need to Lock-Tite EVERYTHING on the bike). I had a front drum brake laced in very shortly thereafter.

 

[Quenton Guenther]

80% of the stopping power is in the front brake. I am currently testing the new Ambassador model from Whizzer, and I can tell you it will stop faster & safer than any motorbike I have ever ridden, however the rear wheel will often slide in a panic stop, but the front will control the stopping power completely.
Of all the motorbikes I personally own [over 20] only one doesn't have a front brake [my 1950 Pacemaker], and only because it didn't have one when new.
Have fun
Whizzer OuterBanks,
Quenton

 

[jlebh1]

to stop the hassle with coaster brakes (had a motor on one with them and they locked up at 55kmph I just replaced the back wheel with a 26" mountain bike wheel and put a bmx single speed freewheel sproket on my giant brand 26" cruiser. still working on it im taking the motor to an engine reconditioner to drill out and thead it to 8mm bolts insted the 6mm ones sorry for all the metric.(im in australia)

 

[Irish John]

I wish those coaster brakes would just die out of fashion. They are a real pain and most cruisers just have one coaster brake. In Australia it is illegal to sell a bike without two independent brakes so I think a double pull lever wouldn't be legal but I use one. To comply with the law many cruisers are sold with a front caliper brake that screws into the head tube part of the forks. These brakes are not much better than useless and you need a good linear pull brake that screws into bosses on each side of the forks. Disc brake in the front is even better. There is a cheap cruiser bike available from China that is specially made for motored bikes and has 1 rear v-brake and a rear drum brake and a front disc on suspension forks. I like the 2 cruisers I know of that have 2 v-brakes - the Schwinn Alloy 7 and the Felt Heritage which also has springer forks. I've just bought 2 chinese cruisers with front discs, suspension forks and rear v-brake but they haven't arrived yet.
They look OK in the photos though.

 

[beach cruzin]

Shimano cb E110 12ga coaster, is about the best out there for the price.

And properly lubed and justed should not lock or skidd

 

[a4489@yahoo.com]

How do you make the rear sprocket work around the bendex on the coaster brake?

 

[Esteban]

If your riding was in the 12 -15 mph range, a coaster brake would do fairly well. BUT, it is much safer to have a front brake on the bike & if you can, add a rear hand brake as well.