Coaster brakes - good or bad idea?

Philip Davis · June 2007

I'm just looking at the new Swobo city bikes that are selling on www.stif.co.uk

http://www.stif.co.uk/shop/mb_bikes_pro ... urer=Swobo

I see they use rear coaster brakes - seems a good idea in theory, but anyone with real world experience? There must be some reason they are so rare.

I hate to advocate drugs, violence or insanity to anyone, but they've always worked for me.' Hunter S. Thompson

rustychisel · June 2007

great when you're kid and love wearing tyres through to the canvas in a matter of weeks.

AFAIK, or recall, they rather limit you to the one gear (without any of the perceived benefits of being 'fixed').

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I'm only escaping to here because the office is having a conniption

Mister Paul · June 2007

I don't know what it is about the UK and coaster brakes. Europe is awash with them. You'll struggle to find a city bike without one on over there, and all kids' bikes have them.

They're no-maintenance, no adjustment, and as fierce as you want them to be.

__________________________________________________________
What we need is a new, national White Bicycle Plan

onbike 1939 · June 2007

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Mister Paul

I don't know what it is about the UK and coaster brakes. Europe is awash with them. You'll struggle to find a city bike without one on over there, and all kids' bikes have them.

They're no-maintenance, no adjustment, and as fierce as you want them to be.

__________________________________________________________
What we need is a new, national White Bicycle Plan
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

+1

abm · June 2007

I know coaster brakes are pretty much de rigeur throughout the continent but I just cannot get on with them. I even had another go recently with a duomatic as I told myself that it made a very logical commuting setup - but I don't think so...

smiorgan · June 2007

Thought this was interesting

http://www.bicyclesource.com/bike/choos ... aper.shtml

I guess it depends on useage. Coaster brakes make for great utility bikes over short ranges on flat areas (e.g. chemical plants)

hubgearfreak · June 2007

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by rustychisel
AFAIK, or recall, they rather limit you to the one gear (without any of the perceived benefits of being 'fixed').
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

unless i'm imagining it, my sram 7 has around 7 gears and a coaster brake

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Mister Paul
They're no-maintenance, no adjustment, and as fierce as you want them to be.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

it's bloody brilliant.

it also means that the rim stays clean, and lasts forever.
i only use the front brake in the wet, or emergency now, the back brake is like second nature, and you can easily brake gently or strongly as you wish[:)] it is also totally unaffected by the wet

rustychisel · June 2007

Sorry HGF, I stand corrected.

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I'm only escaping to here because the office is having a conniption

rgisme · June 2007

A coaster brake is not and cannot be 'fierce'. Yes, no doubt you can lock up your rear with it - that doesn't take a lot of doing - but doing that will never stop you as quickly as using the front brake. Try using it to slow your descent on a long steep hill and you'll probably disintegrate it. Utterly worthless for anything except pootling about on the flat IMO, and hardly even that.

From http://bicyclesource.com/bike/choosing/ ... aper.shtml extracts from a paper that John Forester wrote on bicycle brake performance in 1973:

..The coaster brake was on the verge of catastrophic failure. The torque-transferring lugs of the bronze discs were collapsing, the process being nearly completed for the inner discs. Presumably when the disc loses its ears it will stop rotating with the hub shell and cease to operate as a braking member. This will, if the operator increases the actuating force to maintain the required braking effect, transfer the power from the inoperative disc to the remaining operating discs and transfer the failure the length of the multiple-disc stack. Assuming that the operator did not crash the bicycle, deliberately or inadvertently, the brake would cease being able to stop the bicycle and melt out the remaining brake discs, or it could jam and lock the wheel.

It is inadvisable to use coaster brakes for descents of more than a few hundred feet. The proper operation of coaster brakes is dependent upon proper lubrication of its working parts. Smoke was suspected before 700 feet of descent had been reached, and was obvious at that point. Frequent exposures to temperatures sufficient to make it smoke destroy the lubricating properties of the grease.

Any braking system that operates only on the rear wheel produces insufficient deceleration for adequate accident avoidance under common downhill conditions (and, it may be added, under common traffic conditions also). The test cyclist would not have attempted to descend the test hill with only a rear-wheel brake available, and, as was noted, he used the front-wheel brake twice on one descent to slow for corners, even though he was trying not to.

This was in the 70's, but I doubt that coaster brakes have improved that much since.

Rich Hcp · June 2007

The latest fad, too much money just for that.

Richard

Best thing I ever bought for a bike?
Padded shorts![:D]

hubgearfreak · June 2007

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by rgisme

Utterly worthless for anything except pootling about on the flat IMO, and hardly even that.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

i get your point, but you're going too far.
for a cummuter, they're ideal, for all the positives listed above, on the bikes above.
whether they'd be up to a cross alps tour with tent, trangia & etc. on board, i'll concede to your doubts..but they are exclusively fitted to commuters and cruisers, an application where they are ideal[:)]

Coaster brakes - good or bad idea?

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