Huffy Cranbrook first build...

The #41 chain worked well for me. Tractor supply has it as does amazon, and its a prime shipping item. Make sure to buy some master links if it doesn't come with it.

I too am in the big-boy club 6'5" >300 and have found it pretty reliable for my 1.5 mile commute uphill. I don't even fire the thing up on my ride home sometimes since I haven't added any brakes yet.

It's certainly true that you can't depend on just a coaster. But I don't see the need to do away with it completely.

I put rim brakes on front and rear. Between those two plus the coaster, I've got all the braking I need.

bluegoatwoods said:

It's certainly true that you can't depend on just a coaster. But I don't see the need to do away with it completely.

I put rim brakes on front and rear. Between those two plus the coaster, I've got all the braking I need.

Click to expand...

^^^ Very true. ^^^

I'm gonna be adding a rear caliper brake to my Huffy very soon......also gonna leave the coaster as is since I've finally got the cones adjusted to where there's no slop. If you add only one caliper brake, make sure it's on the front wheel.

Looks like you're mastering the learning curve on these unique machines!

Interesting......though not in any good way, I understand......

It's hard to imagine chain rub against the tires or chainstay doing this. And it's hard to imagine the rear sprocket doing this. Though maybe some kind of flaw in that sprocket could be doing it.....I'd have to give it some thought in order to form an opinion there.

But setting that aside, my suspicion lies with the cover over the engine drive sprocket.

And I'll try to mention my latest trouble with the stock hub. It left me high and dry again today. A new issue. But I'll wait until there's a bit of give and take over your chain issue first.

Forgive me for my NEWB search skills and for not reading all the posts on this thread but....

Has anyone mounted a front brake on a Huffy Cranbrook?

If so.... what type or brand brake should/could I buy?


I'm rather concerned about having only rear coaster brake on my upcoming Puerto Rico stock China Girl/Cranbrook build.

This may sound somewhat rude but is merely a suggestion.

Start with a "newport" frame instead. It looks basically the same as a cranbrook except it has a freewheel in the back. and comes with dual brakes from the factory. I reinforced the fenders with epoxy and that metal with the holes in it that comes in a roll.

I have noticed that at around 15-23 MPH the motor puts excessive strain on the front fender. I can actually look at it wobble back and forth about a 1/4 inch in each direction very quickly. After breaking the 23mph boundary the vibrations appear to go somewhere else or maybe they just go away entirely because the front fender will look still. I think that people riding must exclusively at 20 mph are in considerably more danger than those who just haul ass through the wobbles up to max speed where the vibrations seem non existent.

I heard these engines were not balanced for these mid RPM ranges. That could account for the excessive strain on the fenders.

TL: DR - Improve the front fender mounts or else risk serious injury or death.

Also I don't see any problem with the back mount really. People have said bad things about the back mount, but the only possible way for the back fender to fail involves TWO failures not one so it doesn't just happen, it happens because someone neglected to notice that one of the main supports in the rear fender came off. I find it highly unlikely that both would fail at the same time unless those mounts were never loc-tited