Braking by back-pedaling

[swansonj]

I had one for many years (SRAM 7 speed hub plus coaster brake). Advantages: no wet weather degradation; good modulation; good max braking power (at first). Disadvantages: push off at a junction, have to do an emergency stop, find yourself marooned in the middle of the junction with pedals at 12/6 o'clock and no way of back-pedalling; and I cooked it on a long off-road downhill and it was never as good again despite trying various different greases and none.

I still have the hub in the garage if anyone wants it for spares..,

 

[Specialeyes]

Until recently I had a lovely Swedish bike with a coaster back brake and the funky SRAM automagic 2-speed hub gears, so it looked to all the world like a singlespeed with one brake but actually had 2 of each. Only drawback was the inability to hoik the pedals back up to a good starting position when stopped at lights.

I hadn't ridden a coaster brake since this funny American-style paperboy bike that briefly passed through our house when I was a kid, around 1980 but they were cool then and still pretty cool now.

 

[alicat]

Only drawback was the inability to hoik the pedals back up to a good starting position when stopped at lights.

I had that problem when I hired a bike in Copenhagen. I also never realised that when I thought I was freewheeling I was leaning on the back pedal a little.

 

[MikeG]

I'm guessing you didn't ride it down too many steep hills then!

No, just round and round in circles in the factory yard.

 

[tyred]

Coaster brakes work well enough (but definitely use a normal front brake as well as the front brake will always stop a bike in a shorter space) and I have two ancient ones in my stable. They would have been an optional extra at one point on most British roadsters and anyone who has ever attempted to stop a rod-braked roadster from speed in heavy rain or snow would appreciate it's all weather capabilities.

The trick is to become good at keeping the pedals in the right position when freewheeling as the brake can only be applied forcefully from certain positions and also when coming to a complete stop as you can't spin the cranks backwards to get the right starting position when stopped.

The OP is probably referring to something like my late 1930s single speed Humber with an Eadie Coaster Hub (these hubs were made between about 1895-1940 when the BSA hub factory was bombed. Geared versions were also available). The Eadie was one of the first of it's kind and works slightly differently to more familiar ones like the Sachs Torpedo - there is a clutching mechanism which engages when you back-pedal and a reverse thread activates a cam which engages the brake shoes on a small drum on the left side of the hub shell. It's not much different to typical drum brakes still found on the back of small cars except that the brake shoe is brass and is supposed to be oiled (oil port provided but oil never stays in it for long - hence the oily mess). My brake drum is worn out of spec but I got it working again by soldering pieces of steel on to the cam actuator and filing it to suit so the shoes engage more. There is still a lot of metal on the drums so I don't think it will crack and anyway, it doesn't do many miles in an average year. God knows where I'd find a replacement brake drum.

You can see the single front rod brake. The axle was actually bent but one from an old MTB wheel had the right thread which is why it's so long. I should really cut the excess off I suppose.





The Sachs Torpedo on my 1960s Batavus is typical (I think) of all modern ones which uses a split tapered cone which slides along the axle on the reverse thread and clamps the inside of the hub shell and it is important to use high melting point grease when rebuilding these as they can get very hot.

 

[MikeG]

........The OP is probably referring to something like my late 1930s single speed Humber with an Eadie Coaster Hub (these hubs were made between about 1895-1940 when the BSA hub factory was bombed. ............

I have no idea what it was I was riding. It wasn't my bike (it was just lying around the factory). Bear in mind this was Australia, in the 1960s.

 

[mickle]

I bloody loves coaster brakes. At one point 80% of my bikes had coasters, now only 75% of them are so equipped. Got a fresh 2 speed auto on my Electra.

 

[mickle]

And any excuse to post my pride and joy.

 

[tyred]

View attachment 406149 And any excuse to post my pride and joy.

What's it like in a headwind?

 

[mickle]

What's it like in a headwind?

Aerodynamic drag increases exponentially with speed. The faster you go the greater the resistance. Therefore travelling slowly minimises the forces slowing me down. The slower I go the more efficient I become. Also 2.5" industrial tyres are not the fastest.

 

[marzjennings]

My cruiser has a coaster brake, works just fine though you do have to plan your foot position before entering corners.

 

[Randy Butternubs]

You lot have some really weird bikes.

 

[raleighnut]

My first ever bike had a coaster brake back in 1980-something.
I soon worked out that I could do massive rear wheel skids on it which was great fun until I shredded the tyre, blew the inner tube and fell off in spectacular style

I soon upgraded to a Chopper though and that was the end of that.
.

I had a similar thing when I'd 'dinged' the rear rim (on a normally braked bike though) after I'd worked out that the wheel only ever stopped in one place I used to rotate the tyre on the rim so a 'new' patch got worn out.

 

[matiz]

I put a coaster brake on a tandem I built
and doubled it up with rim brake on the rear as well,it was a heavy machine fully loaded but the downhill braking worked a treat.

 

[Leaway2]

I have ridden 2 recently, 1 in Los Angeles and 1 in Norway. What I found that when setting off, after the initial pedalling, I ease off and it is very easy to slightly back pedal which applies the brake. Other than that I got used to it fairly quickly.