mihlbach

Anybody out there using coaster brakes? I've been curious about using one for a long time. My old 26" singlespeed Monocog has been laying around collecting dust, so I built up a new coaster brake wheel for it, using a Shimano CB-e110 steel hub. I've been playing around with it offroad which is a lot of fun.


This shimano coaster brake itself, which set me back a whopping $25, seems durable enough, but its not exactly the best looking or most refined feeling piece of gear I've ever used.

But the experience with a coaster brake has been so fun, I'm considering replacing the fixed gear hub on my old Centurion road frame beater with a coaster brake and using it for an around town fun bike and occasional commuter.

The Sturmey Archer S1C looks like a more refined CB hub, but there is virtually no feedback about it online. Anybody using one of these? I'm not sure if I should go for another basic Shimano hub or take a chance on a more expensive, but better looking Sturmey Archer S1C.

Sturmey-Archer | S1C Red

TenSpeedV2

I was using one a few years ago on a pos BigShot that I wasted money on. It was pretty bad, although the quality of the wheel/hub might have had something to do with it. I wouldn't mind another one on an old steel beater bike that I was just cruising around on.

mihlbach

Here's my coaster brake bike. Its basically an oversize BMX bike. I've only had it set up with a coaster brake for two weeks. I've been pretty rough with it though, just to test it out and so far so good. I cleaned out the stock grease and repacked with very heavy duty grease. The hub works surprisingly well given that it looks like something from a Walmart bike.
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This is my first fixed gear conversion, which I built more than 10 years ago. I literally have no use for it anymore, so I'm thinking of putting a coaster brake on it, with flat pedals.
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Broctoon

I kind of want a beach cruiser bike with one speed and coaster brake. Long, lazy frame and handlebar, "balloon" tires, wide seat... something like an Electra Townie--they have aluminum frames so they don't weigh a ton. Okay, they still weigh nearly a ton.

That big boy's BMX-style bike you built looks fun. And I bet you didn't spend a fortune on it.

mihlbach

I've had that bike since 2004. It cost very little. It's been thru hell and back and also has been set up every way imaginable as a fixie and ss. It gets reconfigured almost every year with whatever I have laying around. Last year I was running it as a fixed gear with a 29er wheel up front and a 27.5 in the rear laced to a Surly front disk hub.

Broctoon

You used a cog that bolts on where the brake disk should be? Good idea.

mihlbach

Exactly. The original 26er Monocog frames were spaced in the rear for 110mm BMX hubs, so it's not much of a stretch to modify a 100mm front hub to work as a rear wheel.

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Here's where I got the idea.
https://www.fixedgeargallery.com/arti...mson/surlyhub/

Johnny Mullet

My coaster brake bike is my daily commuter and I love it. No gears, no cables, no messy handlebars, just clean and simple.....

Jixr

Love coaster brakes, had one for a tiny bit but sold it off, but ever since then I'd love to find a trashed to hell FG frame to put a coaster wheelset on.

its like siiik skidz on ez mode.

Commando

Coasters are so much fun! This is my klunker tribute, run it both on street slicks and knobbies for offroad fun



I'm just about to build up a Tange Champion 2 frame into a coaster for a friend so we can go skiddin' together

mihlbach

Nice klunkers...What coaster brake are you using?

bwilli88 

While not necessarily a single speed, it is a coaster brake. Nice big fat cruiser tires, 635 rims and a drum front brake.

loubapache

I love coaster brakes and have a total of 6 bikes/folding bikes/trike with them. The Shimano CBE110 seems to be smoother and tighter than the generic names.

Here are two with the Shimano CBE110's: a Fuji Grand Tour converter and 70's folder.

SquidPuppet

Ugly? OK, sure. But internally, they are precise. Made by the same folks that bring us Dura-Ace and super precise fishing gear. The shells themselves are well machined and very hard. The bearing race surfaces are well polished and HARD. They will last forever. The guts are super cheap IF they ever need replacing.

I have CB-E110s on five bikes. Two have been in service for 14 years. I wouldn't use any other brand, period. Dead silent while coasting, pedaling, and braking. No creaks, no rattles, no wobbles, coast forever, modulate extremely well, lots of braking power (for a rear brake).

I don't have the problems that some people experiences with pedal placement at stops. I don't really understand the negative opinions some people have regarding this "issue". I can brake at 12:00, 1:00, 2:00, etc., at any and all crank positions, with either my left or right foot. Easy. I just position the crank during braking to leave the pedals in a good position for starting from a stop. Seems like a no brainer to me.

SquidPuppet

Did someone say long lazy frame and handlebar? This bike takes "Sloth" to an expert level.

mihlbach

I agree...I can generate enough braking power from just about any pedal position. My CB-E110 was grabby and dry sounding at first, but after disassembling and repacking it, its smooth with good brake modulation.

SquidPuppet

Stay away from the SA unit. The shell is a multi-piece, aluminum "cage" with steel "liner", problem waiting to occur. The Shimano is one piece. The SA brake system is over complex and produces less braking power that the Shimano. It also modulates poorly, something the Shimano excels at. Plus it weighs 370 grams more than the Shimano.

Coaster brake trivia. The CB-E110 weighs less than a Dura-ace track hub+freewheel+lever+caliper.

SquidPuppet

This will only improve over time too. A lot. The inside of the shoes begin to mate with the clutch assembly and the outer braking surface begins to wear to match the internal surface of the shell. They will become stupid quiet after a while.

mihlbach

The SA unit, being heavier, can absorb more heat, which may be an advantage on a long descent, otherwise the weight seems excessive.

I've also heard bad things about the velosteel CB, though I've never tried one.

SquidPuppet

It can't be an advantage when they perform poorly even before you generate heat.

The aluminum body and steel liner will expand at different rates. That can't be a good thing either.

The Velosteels "appear" to be better made than all others. A quality external look and quality materials with nice flanges and a Euro origin are all headfakes. They just fail. Both accelerating and braking just stop functioning. Internals are soft and wear/break immediately from any hard use.

KT's look identical to Shimanos. The parts are even interchangeable. But the internals are crappy materials with poor tolerances. Noisy, brake poorly, wear out and brake rapidly.

nitroRoo

Okay, that is a thing of beauty! I want one.

chelvel

I like this thread! Everybody must have a wheel or two with a coaster brake hub.

Broctoon

Yeah, Squid. That's what I'm talking about. And a very tidy specimen you have there. Looks comfortable. What's the head tube angle, like 60 degrees? Lean it back any more and it would technically qualify as a recumbent! Still, the beater in bwilli's picture above is even lazier.

SquidPuppet

Recumbent. Almost. I think both the head and seat tubes are 70 degrees.