Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

How bicycle coaster brakes work (2018)

dougbarnesauthor.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

31–40 of 95 posts

Re: How bicycle coaster brakes work (2018)

#31

Post by andrewshadura »

Hobadee wrote: post #15

Where is all this love for coaster brakes coming from?! They are, IMHO, one of the worst brakes ever. They have caused me numerous spills and scraped knees (due to the rear wheel locking up and skidding out from under me) and have done the same to my kids. There is virtually no control over them, and they don't allow you to shift your weight around when standing on the pedals to go around sharp corners or off-road. (…

Incorrect. They're perfect for everyday utility cycling. You just need to learn to use them properly.

Re: How bicycle coaster brakes work (2018)

#32

Post by brikym »

Hobadee wrote: post #15

Where is all this love for coaster brakes coming from?! They are, IMHO, one of the worst brakes ever. They have caused me numerous spills and scraped knees (due to the rear wheel locking up and skidding out from under me) and have done the same to my kids. There is virtually no control over them, and they don't allow you to shift your weight around when standing on the pedals to go around sharp corners or off-road. (…

They're legally required in a lot of countries on small kids bikes and not easy to disable. I think the argument is that kids lack the strength to operate a hand brake effectively. Experts all seem to say that coaster brakes are terrible for safety and learning though.

Re: How bicycle coaster brakes work (2018)

#33

Post by Kaliboy »

perrygeo wrote: post #25
Hobadee wrote: post #15

Where is all this love for coaster brakes coming from?! They are, IMHO, one of the worst brakes ever. They have caused me numerous spills and scraped knees (due to the rear wheel locking up and skidding out from under me) and have done the same to my kids. There is virtually no control over them, and they don't allow you to shift your weight around when standing on the pedals to go around sharp corners or off-road. (…

> Where is all this love for coaster brakes coming from?! Childhood nostalgia? They are indeed terrible brakes from a riding perspective. But a) no cables or pads to mess up, b) beginner friendly and c) skidding. Great for kids riding around the neighborhood, the only real purpose.

The average bike in the Netherlands has coaster brakes.

It's also great for getting on tall bikes at a standstill, since you can lock the pedal and use it to step up, you do need to quickly start cycling though.

Re: How bicycle coaster brakes work (2018)

#34

Post by Kaliboy »

willismichael wrote: post #10
pak9rabid wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Probably had to unbolt the brake bar to get it to spin freely backwards?

Either that or unbolt the kick stand.

My friends. The kick stand stows by moving towards the back, making it possible to push it in during the normal cycling motion.

So if its in the way, they're backpedaling.

The way to solve it is to lift the bike's rear wheel and pedal like normal. That's it. No unbolting needed.

Re: How bicycle coaster brakes work (2018)

#35

Post by dnemmers »

"The coaster brake also can be prone to locking up the wheels and causing the tire to skid. For kids this is an advantage, since they enjoy putting bikes into a sideways skid. This seemingly is a one of the requisite skills for youthful riders, especially but not exclusively boys."

Very accurate.

Re: How bicycle coaster brakes work (2018)

#36

Post by andrew_lettuce »

rconti wrote: post #28
Gualdrapo wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In my experience hydraulic disc brakes require less maintenance than rim brakes. Living on a hill (like I had to go up a ~150m 23% wall to get home, and go braking down it to go places) meant I had to spend frequently on rim brake shoes and, eventually, rims. The frequent rain and mud makes it to the rim brake shoes and diminish braking power if you don't keep them clean. That doesn't happen with hydraulics - clean t…

I've only once in my life worn out a set of rim brake pads I wore out the thin, small disc brake pads on my gravel bike in the first ~2000 miles. It didn't even _occur_ to me that the sound I was hearing was my brake pads being completely gone on what was a basically-new bike.

Worse, I've worn out a rim when the sidewall basically delaminated after a few thousand kms and gritty conditions. After the UCI allowed disc brakes on gravel racers and manufacturers switched it made a great style of bike just about perfect

Re: How bicycle coaster brakes work (2018)

#37

Post by andrew_lettuce »

brikym wrote: post #32
Hobadee wrote: post #15

Where is all this love for coaster brakes coming from?! They are, IMHO, one of the worst brakes ever. They have caused me numerous spills and scraped knees (due to the rear wheel locking up and skidding out from under me) and have done the same to my kids. There is virtually no control over them, and they don't allow you to shift your weight around when standing on the pedals to go around sharp corners or off-road. (…

They're legally required in a lot of countries on small kids bikes and not easy to disable. I think the argument is that kids lack the strength to operate a hand brake effectively. Experts all seem to say that coaster brakes are terrible for safety and learning though.

Hand strength is an issue with cheap, adult sized cable hand brakes but not an issue with smaller levers or even the cheapest hydraulic brakes.

The kids bikes that require them ate also made of mild steel and with more than my Enduro bike.

Don't buy a cheap, department store kids bike. You can get multiple kids through a quality bike and still sell it for like $100 less than you paid.

Re: How bicycle coaster brakes work (2018)

#38

Post by andrew_lettuce »

Hobadee wrote: post #15

Where is all this love for coaster brakes coming from?! They are, IMHO, one of the worst brakes ever. They have caused me numerous spills and scraped knees (due to the rear wheel locking up and skidding out from under me) and have done the same to my kids. There is virtually no control over them, and they don't allow you to shift your weight around when standing on the pedals to go around sharp corners or off-road. (…

I agree with you, coaster brakes suck. And losing your brakes if the chains drops is really serious, especially because it tends to happen when you need brakes the most.

Cable disc brakes have come a very long way and there are some decent models that require very little maintenance and work great.

Also for every skid you get on a coaster brake I'll raise you a nose Endo with the front disc brake!

Re: How bicycle coaster brakes work (2018)

#39

Post by toast0 »

tjoff wrote: post #29
MisterTea wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> They have caused me numerous spills and scraped knees (due to the rear wheel locking up and skidding out from under me) and have done the same to my kids. Skill issue ;-) My first bike I learned to ride on was a BMX with coaster brakes that was part of the fun! Rip down the street then slam the pedal back to leave skid marks. And who didn't love slowing down a bit, then slamming the coaster brake while turning the…

Sure but you can do it easier and with more control with any other type of brake,from the basic V-style rim brakes to hydraulic disc brakes.

At least on the bikes I had access to growing up, rim brakes were hard to adjust so you could easily lock up the wheels, but not drag when not applied... Especially if you had safety levers. V brakes hadn't been invented yet: we just had side pull or center pull.

Coaster brakes didn't tend to noticably drag and were easy to lock up.

When I got access to v-brakes, yeah you can lock those up no problem... Lots of fun. A little tricky to learn modulation with when you're coming from older style rim brakes though.

Re: How bicycle coaster brakes work (2018)

#40

Post by toast0 »

rconti wrote: post #28
Gualdrapo wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In my experience hydraulic disc brakes require less maintenance than rim brakes. Living on a hill (like I had to go up a ~150m 23% wall to get home, and go braking down it to go places) meant I had to spend frequently on rim brake shoes and, eventually, rims. The frequent rain and mud makes it to the rim brake shoes and diminish braking power if you don't keep them clean. That doesn't happen with hydraulics - clean t…

I've only once in my life worn out a set of rim brake pads I wore out the thin, small disc brake pads on my gravel bike in the first ~2000 miles. It didn't even _occur_ to me that the sound I was hearing was my brake pads being completely gone on what was a basically-new bike.

> I've only once in my life worn out a set of rim brake pads

I wore one set out... But I bought a new old stock bike that was made the same year as me... the tubes were ok and the tires are fine, but the brakes wore through very quickly. Probably 200 miles or less.

Post reply on HN