from Rookie’s keyboard,
Hello, friends
The reality is that sometimes bike shop clients aren’t the only people with crazy ideas. Sometimes even experienced bike mechanics will have unexpected whims that could later be classified as shocking.
Today, I will expose one of them. Not that long ago, a guy in the shop (who btw is a better mechanic than me) contempleted the idea of installing a coaster brake on a fixie. I kid you not.
A bit crazy? Why?
In the name of truth, a coaster brake can be put on a fixie (after relacing the rear wheel, ofc)
But (and that’s a massive one), once the coaster brake is installed, the fixie will no longer be a fixed-gear machine because it will coast.
Coaster brakes are drum brakes activated by back-pedaling. When you spin/resist the pedals backward a clutch system in the hub pushes a set of brakes shoes against a drum. The axle has a harder time rotating, and the wheel slows down.
But if you stop back-pedaling, the bike starts to coast.
Hence this conversion could be seen as weird at best and “low IQ” at worst, but later down the article, you will see that it has some positives too.
But for the sake of weirdness, let’s continue…:)
Needed Parts
- 120mm O.L.D. Hub with a Coaster Brake
O.L.D. stands for over-locknut dimension and refers to a hub’s width between the two locknuts.
The O.L.D. of a rear hub has to match the spacing between the frame’s dropouts.
Fixies have 120mm dropout spacing, and therefore the free coaster hub will have to match it.
- New spokes
The wheel will have to be re-laced with new spokes because the hub will require a different spoke length.
- Work
Re-lacing a wheel is not the most difficult task in the world, and an average human can get it right with the help of online guides. (I know from experience.)
However, the process will take some time and patience. Some riders may prefer to pay a bike shop to do the re-lacing.
More often than not, this is the faster and better approach because most people do not have the needed equipment (truing stand, dishing tool, spoke wrench, spoke nipple driver) to re-build a wheel.
An Oxymoron
Sorry, but I have to repeat this point.
A fixed-gear bike does not offer a coasting option since there isn’t a freewheel mechanism. Therefore, if the bike is moving, the cranks and pedals are always turning.
A coaster brake, on the other hand, comes with a coasting ability.
If you install a coaster brake on a fixie, you will turn it into a single-speed machine with a coaster brake.
Some Advantages
Well, I have to admit that this mod actually has some pros:
1. Simple stopping
The standard way to slow down a fixed-gear “lion” without brakes is to resist the rotation of the pedals. Newbies find this technique a bit too complicated and uncomfortable.
A coaster brake, on the other hand, is simpler to use and doesn’t require as much strength.
Older people like me are familiar with it as it was present on children’s bikes back in the day.
2. Sweet Braking Modulation
The term modulation describes the control that you have over the braking force.
If a brake has too little modulation, it will operate in two modes – on/off. If it has excessive modulation, it will take too much time to fully grab the wheel.
Coaster brakes offer more natural modulation than standard fixed-gear braking.
3. Less Power Needed To Brake
When doing a basic fixed-gear stop via the pedals, you have a poor mechanical advantage.
Conversely, a coaster brake is engineered in a way that greatly increases the your leverage and thus makes stopping less strenuous.
5. Unaffected By Weather
The braking mechanism of a coaster brake is inside the hub, protected from rain, mud, and other road contaminations. This ensures smoother performance.
6. A Cheap Way To Add Gears
Rear hubs with internal gears are the quickest and most straightforward way to equip a single-speed bike with extra gears.
When making a purchase make sure that the hub has 120mm O.L.D.
And now some more downsides:
1. Heavy
Coaster hubs are more complicated and subsequently heavier than basic fixed-gear rear hubs.
2. The Front Brake Is Way More Important
If you want to increase the stopping power of a fixie, a coaster brake is not the best choice because it works on the rear wheel.
During braking, there’s a weight shift to the front which increases the friction between the front wheel and the ground while decreasing the friction of the rear wheel.
Hence it’s relatively easy for the rear wheel to get “locked” and skid.
The increased friction makes the front brakes more effective.
Therefore, if you want more braking power, it makes more sense to add a front brake rather than mess with the rear braking system.
3. Complex
Compared to a fixed-gear rear hub, a coaster hub is “airplane”
It needs more maintenance (cleaning, degreasing, replacement of the brake shoes…etc.) too.
5. No Chain, No Brake
If the chain brakes, the coaster brake can no longer operate. The same applies to regular fixies which is why it is of utmost importance to use strong quality chains.
Hand brakes do not have this problem because they operate independently of the drivetrain.
Should you do it?
I wouldn’t bother, but then again, there is nothing wrong with thinking outside of the box occasionally. Sometimes we find ourselves doing things we never thought we would.
Until next time,
Rookie
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