Walmart Schwinn Cruiser (Coaster brakes) can I add hand brakes?

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birdmannn101

birdmannn101

New Member
Oct 23, 2011
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Indianapolis, IN
I bought and used the dual brake lever on my 2 stroke Trek which uses a clutch and it works great. I need to know about installing hand brakes on my 1953 Schwinn restore bike since I plan to put a 4 stroke engine with centrifugal clutch on it. Here are my pics of the bike before and mid restore.
 
KCvale

KCvale

Well-Known Member
Feb 28, 2010
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Phoenix,AZ
Side-pull C brakes, about $15 at my local bike shop.



Far from the best brakes but better than a coaster brake or no brakes at all.
Most any package will work on the thin back fender mount cross bar, for the front you need the longer bolt assembly (longer bolt above brake in pic). Talk to you local bike store (not Wally World), I don't need the crappy lever and in some cases the cable either but they toss in the long front bolt I need and still out door for ~$15 a brake but hey, that's me and and the local shop I see every week.

Do NOT try to fab you own bolt for this and pay super close attention to how the parts are placed on the longer shaft to change the shaft from the original.
It is like 10 parts and each have a function, get one part wrong and your brake will fail, usually because it won't open and close properly.
 
donphantasmo

donphantasmo

Member
Oct 3, 2010
372
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Middleburg, FL
I got mine from pistonbikes. They work great. I strongly recommend you add better brakes to your bike if you put a motor on it. Now, I barely ever touch my coaster...

This <25 dollar investment can/will save your life...
 
Greg58

Greg58

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May 1, 2011
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Newnan,Georgia
Side pull brake work on both of my bikes to assist the coaster brake. I found them on e-bay, look for bmx side pull brakes with a 96mm reach. These work with 2.125 tires.
 
Greg58

Greg58

Well-Known Member
May 1, 2011
5,353
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Newnan,Georgia
I just saw the bike you plan to use, watch the fender braces. A friend built his delmar a year ago and broke the braces due to vibration, he made stronger braces then the fenders cracked at the mounts. He has since
removed them.
 
MysterySandwich

MysterySandwich

New Member
Jun 30, 2012
196
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California
KCvale said:
Side-pull C brakes, about $15 at my local bike shop.

[...]

Far from the best brakes but better than a coaster brake or no brakes at all.
Most any package will work on the thin back fender mount cross bar, for the front you need the longer bolt assembly (longer bolt above brake in pic). Talk to you local bike store (not Wally World), I don't need the crappy lever and in some cases the cable either but they toss in the long front bolt I need and still out door for ~$15 a brake but hey, that's me and and the local shop I see every week.

[...]
Click to expand...
Lol my local bike store... the guy there told me it would cost $100 and that I should look for a bike that already has them... Do you know some keywords I should search for compatible calipers? (brake cables/levers should be no problem)


donphantasmo said:
I got mine from pistonbikes. They work great. I strongly recommend you add better brakes to your bike if you put a motor on it. Now, I barely ever touch my coaster...

This <25 dollar investment can/will save your life...
Click to expand...
Thanks! If I can't find a cheaper place (haha I wish I had money...) I'll definetly buy from them.

Greg58 said:
I just saw the bike you plan to use, watch the fender braces. A friend built his delmar a year ago and broke the braces due to vibration, he made stronger braces then the fenders cracked at the mounts. He has since
removed them.
Click to expand...
Hmm, okay thanks, if any part of the fenders brake I'll just remove them.
 
T

TheOtherChris

Member
Apr 1, 2012
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SE Idaho
MysterySandwich said:
Hmm, okay thanks, if any part of the fenders brake I'll just remove them.
Click to expand...
The real problem comes when they break and end up in your wheel!
I replaced the "supports" on my rear fender with a single piece of 3/8" steel rod. Then the sheet metal tab that mounts to the frame broke so I replaced it with a narrow piece of angle iron. Then used loctite on everything.
Rattles are gone but I still keep an eye out for cracking.
 
B

bigbutterbean

Active Member
Jan 31, 2011
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Lebanon, PA
holy crow, $100 for caliper brakes? what is your bike mechanic smoking? most places you can walk out with calipers for $15-20. I actually got my front caliper for free off a junk bike that my neighbors at the time said I could use for parts. my advice to you is that if you cant find the parts you need at a price you can afford is keep an eye around your neighborhood for junk bikes. I found two bikes within a couple days of each other, and thanks to whoever ditched em, my cranbrook now has a shock fork.
 
MysterySandwich

MysterySandwich

New Member
Jun 30, 2012
196
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California
bigbutterbean said:
holy crow, $100 for caliper brakes? what is your bike mechanic smoking? most places you can walk out with calipers for $15-20. I actually got my front caliper for free off a junk bike that my neighbors at the time said I could use for parts. my advice to you is that if you cant find the parts you need at a price you can afford is keep an eye around your neighborhood for junk bikes. I found two bikes within a couple days of each other, and thanks to whoever ditched em, my cranbrook now has a shock fork.
Click to expand...
Yeah... I was thinking in my head that can't be right.

Thanks for all the help guys!
 
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