Originally Posted by
Jax Rhapsody
Both of you.make riding a cruiser down a hill sound complicated and dangerous. I just rode mine hill or not with the same laxidaisical thinking of any other bike, I didn't treat it like some special needs kid because of a hill. I don't even use those horrid things anymore, my cruisers end up single speeds with a front brake.
Jax in my case I was racing in what was called the Ironman class at most races because it only allowed one speed bikes. If you have ever raced off road you know what a beat down that is on equipment and man. The speeds downhill were ridiculously fast. On the old solid bikes the jarring would blur your vision so bad that you really couldn't pick the best line. The coaster brakes could not take coming off a hill at high speed unless you employed a strategy like mine. They would stop being a brake and just become something about to catch on fire. I tried racing a derailleur bike one year and spent all my time stopped putting the chain back on the sprockets. Over the years lots of things have changed. I only ride in the mountains with derailleur equipped bikes with either V brakes front and rear or disc brakes. I love full suspended bikes for off road. But when I'm just riding off road for pleasure I don't even get close to the speeds I did when I raced. If things get a little dicey I can stop and figure it out, or cool down the brakes or take a drink of water. Two different types of riding. I agree with you about the coaster brakes for casual off road cycling. If you notice that the brake has gotten too hot to work properly you can stop and cool it off. You can plan your downhills so they don't burn up your brake. However the advice I have offered for safe off road operation of a bicycle with a coaster brake still stands. Good luck with your off road riding.