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Disliking my Coaster Brakes

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Disliking my Coaster Brakes

Old 08-06-18, 01:58 PM
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fastbeans
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Disliking my Coaster Brakes

I'm brand new to single speeds, I just bought a used one as a commuter to classes downtown. After spending my teens on a bmx, back pedaling to position my feet while coasting has been ingrained in me. This might sound silly/ridiculous to some more hardcore riders, but I'd like to just slap on some rear brakes and get rid of the coaster brake.

Since I'm a total newbie at this, I was hoping for some pointers on where to start. I think all I want (and need) is just a freewheel or cassette hub to replace the current one. Is it more worth it to swap out hubs, or should I be looking at a whole new wheel? I'm not looking to spend too much on this, I bought the bike itself for just $100.

Worst case scenario, I suck it up and adjust to the coaster brake, and accidentally slow my self down whenever I go to stand up in the mean time.

Last edited by fastbeans; 08-07-18 at 06:10 AM.
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Old 08-06-18, 03:12 PM
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Broctoon
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Your best bet is to buy a whole new wheel. Unless you can do the work yourself, it will probably cost more to have the wheel rebuilt with a new hub than to replace the whole thing. But you'll have to check the dimensions of your frame and be sure to get the right width of hub. Also, there's some work and/or expense involved in adding the caliper brake. You might be better off replacing the whole bike, unless you love that one.
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Old 08-06-18, 07:41 PM
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Gresp15C
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Indeed, replacing the bike might be the thing. Don't forget that in addition to a new hub plus wheel build, you're also in for new brakes, cables, and levers.

The first thing to look at is whether the bike will even accommodate brakes of reasonable quality. Think your way through how they would mount on the bike, and what the important dimensions are, for mounting new brakes.

Does it have aluminum rims? Steel rims have poor-to-nonexistent braking in wet weather.

As a potential alternative, getting used to a coaster brake took me a few rides, but now I'm OK with it. My only advice is that you should get a front brake. If you're going to be riding at a decent speed and mixing it up with traffic, having full brakes is at least a great improvement, if not vital.
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Old 08-06-18, 10:56 PM
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rumstove
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I remembered having coaster brakes on my bikes when I was a little kid. Then as I grew up I got freewheel bikes. Few years ago I wanted to try a coaster brake again and was lucky to see Raleigh was making a bike with one. It took a little bit to get used to again, but now I love it. As mentioned above, if you really don't like the coaster brake your best option will be a new wheel or even a different bike.
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Old 08-07-18, 06:15 AM
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Thanks, guys. For now I'll work on getting used to the coaster brake, it seems like a new wheel/bike is a bit more of an investment than I want to make right now.
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