tcs

"I decided to test both rim brakes and coaster brakes under the same conditions to see what would happen.. I used a local hill of 2040 feet drop, 4.0 mile run, 9.6% average grade, run in 9.7 minutes at 24.8 mph. My weight was 170 pounds.

"I first instrumented the coaster brake hub to measure how hot it ran. When descending the hill I kept alert for changes in brake operation. Afterwards I examined the brake parts to see what had happened.

"The coaster brake was destroyed in one run. It started smoking a short distance down the hill. At 700 feet down the smoke was streaming behind. Several times during the run its effectiveness changed, sometimes more, sometimes less. About 1500 feet down the brake refused to release fully, and it dragged for the remainder of the run. At the bottom I found my heat-measuring instrumentation had been burned off and the chrome plate was a white powder. On examining the inside afterwards I had to pry apart the stack of brake discs because the steel discs had softened and jammed onto the stationary mandrel.

"The bronze discs that engage the hub shell had softened also and their engaging lugs were half torn off. If those had gone I would have had no brake at all.

"No grease was left anywhere except a thin film inside the sprocket cone bearing-the rest was either melted out or burned into a hard carbonized coating over the other parts. Laboratory examination of the used parts and comparison with new parts showed that the outside bearing balls had reached 600 F, the outer brake discs 800-900 F, the inner brake discs 900 F.

"There is every indication that the coaster brake was still getting hotter at the end of the run. In other words, even at that temperature it was not able to dissipate the heat produced. Another 500 feet or so and the brake lugs would have been all torn off, resulting either in complete freewheeling or complete lock-up, depending where the pieces went." - John Forester, Bike World magazine, March1974

cjenrick

good lordy, no more coaster brakes for me!

now all i have to worry about is tires exploding from rim heat raising pressure to failure mode.

disc brakes? those are for motorcycles. and automobiles. and 747 jets.

ever wedge your toes against the front wheel? or stuff your heel between the rear stays?

learned that trick from all the drug runner kids on their BMX bikes with backpacks a danglin.

i try not to mess with those punks because i know they are probably packin.

besides, the only reason people get drunk or high is to have a spirtual uplifting, can you blame them when the are depressed? so what if it is temporary and artificial and leads to more pain and heartache somewhere down the line.

Geepig

To bring the coaster brake back from the mountains, where apparently anyone who has a bike with such a brake is forced to go, here is the mountain-free zone where I ride.


No frozen brake cables or calipers here

Still looking for those mountains

At last, a slope, maybe I have now found the foothills, onwards and upwards!

Two of the great things about riding without lever operated brakes is that your hands can remain securely on the handlebars, and then on loose or slippery downhill sections going sideways is always an option. In terms of maintenance it is certainly no more than for servicing and adjusting rim/disk brakes and wheel bearings. I usually have a spare set of wheels hanging in my garage in case I want to switch between road and off-road tires, and while they are off I might spend an easy half hour or so cleaning the wheels and repacking bearings, at least annually.

cjenrick

another advantage would be the ability to brake after you hands become completely numb from an unexpected rainstorm on a cold day, which is what happened to me about a month ago. i could not squeeze the levers , so i had to use the whole hand out in front of the lever and pull back on it without touching the bars, just enough stopping power to keep me from going through the intersection and getting creamed by a logging truck.

how do they work in the rain? do they make a titanium version?

Sluggo

In my bike shop days in the 80's we occasionally saw a coaster hub in which the braking mechanism was just worn out. I have no ideas how many miles that required. I have rebuilt both Bendix- and New Departure-style hubs. A rebuild is pretty straighforward, but parts were readily available then.

Gresp15C

I remember rumors that the New Departure hubs were terrible. Was that true? I believe the post by tcs describes a New Departure hub.

seibaatgung

Or if you don't have arms

SkinGriz

I was hoping this was local!!

Would be a great last bash for our last 16” wheel bike I’m getting rid of.

SkinGriz

Better than hot piss.
Have a coworker who never put a camp fire out by peeing on it. Younger coworker.
I told him, “Wait till your parents are asleep...”

Sluggo

Yes, the New Departure hubs applied braking force by squeezing together a stack of alternating steel and bronze discs (as in the quote from tcs), whereas the Bendix hubs jammed brake shoes against the inside of the hub. From my limited experience, they performed equally. When new or refurbished, either could easily lock up the rear wheel. I don't have enough information to say that either one lasted better or handled long descents better