I originally wanted to put a brake on the front of my cruiser incase my coaster brake failed on me but I was talking to a friend about the front and having it lock up and going over the handlebars with the sidepull front brake.It would be nice to have the front so I can stop fast but what if I run into the coaster failing and I need to stop going 30 with the front? Can someone chime in and throw suggestions out if I should put it on the front and not have issues with eating it ?
where to put brake? Front or back?
- Thread starter N8dogg
- Start date
The brakes wont throw you over the handle bars unless you are trying to make that happen (leaning way forward). Front brakes are mandatory on MB's as, just like cars, 75% of the stopping comes from the front brakes. Just get some good bmx caliper brakes for the front and be on your way.
Pat
So you don't think there is any way I would go over the bars with a front brake alone?
Not unless you were trying to by lunging your weight and leaning way forward while heavy braking. When you put your brake on, try it and see how hard to do it really is.
Not to worry you, but I have heard of guys having problems with the front fenders breaking and jamming up in the forks as they roll forward. Just check your fender weekly for any signs of trouble. The main place to look is at the little tab or tabs where the front fender mounts to the fork. If your front fender has front and rear supports along with that tab there isnt much to worry about. Its only if it has one support and the tab that there might be issues.
Pat
"Throwing your self over the handlebars with front brakes" is like "hitting yourself over the head with a hammer"- You have to want to do it pretty bad to try hard enough to do it.
The results are about the same.
The results are about the same.
I have installed front brakes on my cruiser and there is no way I can throw myself over the handlebars. Way too heavy for that. If you are lucky you maybe able to slow down a little bit with them, but throwing over the bars, impossible.
If you're really worried about the coaster brake failing (less likely since you are aware of it and will be looking at the pedal chain, checking the brake arm bolt, etc.) why not put bmx caliper brakes front and rear, keep the coaster brake and get a double pull lever adjusted so that most of the caliper braking up front, but still some from the back? No, I don't know of anybody with three brakes, either, so be the first.
SB
SB
One of my bikes is a single speed cruiser with a coaster brake. You could replace your front forks with a set that has V style linear brakes on them. Mine also had front suspension as well, so I gained both. I used a fork set from a department store grade used bike. However you do it, adding front brakes is a plus!
