Unsure about brake/bearing quality

GoldenMotor.com

Nashville Kat

Well-Known Member
Apr 20, 2009
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Jacksonville, Florida
You may or may not be aware- that most 26 inch forks in fact can take a 700c wheel-

and there are several advantages- first it's easier to fit a brake- and it can be a fairly short reach caliper- much lighter than a cantilever- and because it is short- there's not much flex and so it's a pretty good stopper- you may have to have a mismatched caliper on the back if you still run a 26" wheel there- but 700's usually fit there too- with not terribly large profile tires at least.

Secondly- it gives you more choices of tires and- if you want- a lighter weight narrower and faster rolling tire- a 32 mm (1 1/4") tire is a good choice if you and the bike aren't real heavy, but you can even go reasonably down to a 28mm tire {1 1/8 inch) I think if you stay on smooth pavement-

Third- it's just a bigger wheel- and rides over road bumps just a little easier- especially if you use a similar wide tire- 35mm is approx. 1.5, 38 mm = 1.75 etc.

A cruiser with a 700c on the front and a 26 still on the back, and that has riser bars gives the bike a slight motorcycle chipper look. You can ride around like a kid on a Big Wheel but watch out for those two shining sisters!

The blue bike is a micargi when I first put a 27" wheel on the front
The red build below is a Huffy frame with 700c wheels from a hybrid bicycle.

Happy motoring!
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CycleRyder

New Member
Jun 23, 2017
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I have an old GT Dyno Deuce that I'm fixing up for a 2 stroke project & after getting the rear wheel off for a 36 tooth motor sprocket install & re-greasing of the hub & bearings I noticed the bearing in the hub are coming loose on the coster brake side & for some reason the part the coaster brake arm sits on is protruding too far to the left (by an inch or so I think) & wont go back in any further. I have to do without the grease cap because it was getting in the way of my drive sprocket setup. Was able to ride it that way without problems before. Anyone know what could be causing this?
 

excludeddispirited

New Member
Oct 15, 2017
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The only reliable new coaster hub available now is the shimano cb e-110.

All the cheap bikes usually come with hi stop, falcon, kt, or some other china junk that looks similar to the shimano, but they're all garbage.

Not only do the bearings fail, but the brake guts blow up, the hub shells crack, wear out the bearing races, and are just plain lousy.

If you're just building a simple cruiser, a coaster brake alone is usually ok. It's always a good idea to have a front brake, though.

With a coaster brake, if your pedal chain falls off, you ain't stopping til you hit something.

And always, always, always, make sure the brake arm is strapped to the frame and tight.

Check Husky Industrial bikes for a reasonably priced set of heavy duty wheels. You can get a front drum brake which always looks good on a cruiser.
yes, this makes sense.
 

CycleRyder

New Member
Jun 23, 2017
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So I decided to order a 26 rear coaster brake wheel from Niagara CycleWorks with 15G spokes built in through Amazon so I can ditch the stock rear 24 for a rear 26. to better ballance the bike with the front 26 wheel. The original 24x3 tire that came with the bike (though looked really cool) didn't have enough clearance for my chain to pass. I also got a standard “snake belly” tread 26x1.95 tire set to help balance the bike better & grip the road better thank the flame slicks. I might need to use some spacers between the hub sides & the dropouts since the Niagara 26 I ordered is for a 110mm dropout & My dropouts are 135mm but its better than having to bend my dropouts.