Safety COASTER BRAKE horror stories, please add your experience

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You don't need to replace the wheel at all. Just add rim brakes.
My 2cents- caliper brakes are very poor at stopping quickly. Better than nothing though.
I have a caliper brake on the rear of my bike and I extended the arms that the cable goes on to give the brake more leverage, it did help, but V brakes or maybe center pull brakes are the ticket.
I welded the posts for center pull brakes on another bike (same posts as for V brakes I think) and the centers stop good too.
 
I just got an inexpensive cruiser, complete with coaster brake, for my bike project. I hadn't ridden a bike with a coaster brake since I was a little kid, and upon riding this bike, I was instantly reminded how much I hate coaster brakes. The first thing I did was go buy a rim brake for that bike, it's a cheap one, but still better. I'm upgrading to a disc brake up front, I'm not going to take chances with a ****ty coaster brake when my goal is 50mph+ on this motorized bike!
 
Well I was going to stick with a coaster brake on the rear wheel rebuild on my bike, but the one point that made the most sense was being able to peddle in reverse and keep your pedals off the road/curb/grass. As much peddle cycling and tandem cycling as I have done, this is close to 2nd nature to prep for turns - but as pointed out it only takes once.

I actually like coaster brakes though (and keep my bicycles maintained). Unlike the instructions from kit sites that recommend leaving coaster brakes alone, I make it a point to take them apart, clean all parts (including individual bearings & bearing rings), put them back together and pack everything full of grease. Well maintained coaster brakes are great and it's not the chain that takes the force of braking (unless you are pushing down too hard) as it's the inside metal and spring acting like a drum brake. The grease acts as a lubricant letting the metal to metal action happen over time (vs instantly), keeps dirt/dust out, and reduces heat. The point is still valid that if you have not been keeping up your bicycle maintenance (and have a good chain) that once it's gone so is the braking from the coaster, though the one advantage of both coaster brakes as well as drum brakes is that if it's rainy and wet - you can still stop your bike.

Thanks for the thread! It has made me second guess my rear wheel rebuild. Guess I'm looking at an internally geared rear drum wheel.
 
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I am working on my 2nd bike for my self and the first one was a huffy i bought it at my local schwinn shop for 55 dollers used and all was well after i got my set up.... on the bike..... i was crusing down the highway on the side u know going to my unckels about a 100 miles away..... an this was a big hill the motor could not keep up so i had the cluch in and my back brake welded it self to the inside of the hub and the speedo said i was doing 53 mph and i dam near killed my self i could not turn cus of fear of the bike going out of control.... and the tire shreded.... but thinkfuly i did not get a scrach... i took it home put new wheels on and a coustom paint job and sold it for a 150 just to get it out of here........
 
Glad you survived, that must have been a terrible ordeal. Large down grades on a bicycle is a very treacherous thing to try. I have had that experience on a large down grade when I was about 15 years old. You are very fortunate you where not injured, I hope others will learn from your story.
 
Glad I came across this thread.

I'm almost done with my MB project (On a single speed cruiser with a coaster brake, and I'm putting on a front rim brake).

It's good to know I'm not the only one confused about how to reassemble the coaster brake mechanism, once taken off and the motor sprocket is put on. Anyone have pics they can share?

Keep in mind, this bike is only to ride around my neighborhood and truck it to the beach.

I'm not going to be doing any serious motorbiking (with cars)

You'll catch me gunning it full throttle on the sidewalk before you see me out with cars in traffic on a motorbike .... Not for me. :D
 
i never really trusted coaster brakes. I used to do a lot of xc mountain biking as well as some down hill, disc brakes are the way to go if your going faster than 40mph. imo, i wouldnt even trust a coaster brake at 30mph going down hill.

I was using avid bb7 mechanical brakes, 203mm rotor in the front and 160mm in the rear. one time me and my brother wanted to see how good disc brakes can handle the punishment of a massive down hill canyon road. he drove me to the top of coral canyon road in malibu, i was blazing down the road on the highest gear while he followed me, pedaling as fast as i can, he clocked me in at about 60mph, coming into turns, i was holding down these brakes hard for the whole 8 mile down hill trip, they sure do hold up! but even for that little stretch, i was getting brake fade in the rear since the rotor wasnt big enough like the front to cool down in time for the next turn. but in the end, they held up and i didnt fly off into the canyon below! my rotors were a super dark bronze and we had to wait a good five minutes to let them cool down before i was able to stuff my bike back into my brothers car.................might i mention, this was in the middle of the night, wasnt wearing a helmet, no lights besides the light coming from my brothers car, gusty winds out that was blowing me all over the place, and we got pulled over by the cops once we started driving down pch, the officer thought i was on something because my eyes were blood shot red from all the wind in my face. was one of the stupidest things iv ever done but it was rush! if your going to be doing some speed around your neighbor hood and traffic jammed places, gets some rotors dude, dont risk it
 
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