How safe are coaster brakes in an emergency?

[Chris S]

How safe are coaster brakes in an emergency? It seems to me that back-pedalling would take a lot longer than pulling a brake lever.

 

[snailracer]

By definition, they only work on the back wheel so not very good at emergency stops anyway.

 

[Jezston]

I have a coaster brake on my rear wheel and caliper on my front. The coaster gives as good stopping power as any rear brake with the exception perhaps of good discs, and works better than any in the wet. And you can pull skids with it if you really slam it.

I wouldn't want it as my only brake though.

 

[tyred]

I've just bought an old Batavus with a Torpedo coaster brake and it can certainly lock the wheel so it is at least as good as any other back brake but the front brake will stop you faster in most circumstances.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

They work just as well as any other propery setup rear brake I've ridden, i.e. can lock the back wheel, with the bonus of consistency in all weathers.

and you can brake when signalling too.

 

[HJ]

Given that coaster brakes are common on bikes in countries where people cycle a lot on an everyday basis, ie the bicycle is used as serious transport rather than a toy, I would suggest that they work very well, or they wouldn't be so popular in those countries...

 

[snailracer]

^^^
Coaster brakes do work better than most other types of back brake but still don't have the stopping power of a front brake, and in an emergency you need as much stopping power as you can to stop the bike quickly. You can get mechanically similar hub brakes for front (and rear) wheels: similar low maintenance and powerful but not very progresssive, which might be why they are uncommon on front wheels. Coaster brakes are also annoying because you can't easily backpedal for a good push-off position after you come to a stop.

Coaster brakes were probably the best choice when wheels where chromed steel and so rim brakes were dangerously ineffective in the wet. In countries where bikes get a lot of hard use with little maintenance (developing countries and, er, university towns) wheels are often out-of-true so, again, coaster/hub brakes are popular

In the places you allude to, bikes are often used to haul cargo and so there would be enough weight over the back wheel to stop effectively, even without hauling on a front brake - "toy" bikes in the UK are unlikely to be carrying much more than the rider, in which case the front brake is more effective, which by definition cannot be a coaster brake.

 

[palinurus]

Locking the back wheel is enough. There is also an interaction between bike and rider. Some years ago I had a Brompton, the brakes were a bit crap in the wet*. I soon figured this out and braked earlier/ left bigger gaps, similarly on odd occasions when I've ridden home after snapping a front cable.


*they fit better ones these days, and changing the pads helps.

 

[mickle]

I've got two bikes with coaster brakes and will be getting another in the next few days - one that I gave away and is being returned. So that'll be all except one of my four functioning bikes that has a coaster. I've a SRAM Torpedo 3spd, the one returning to the fold is a Sturmey 3spd and there's a one speed on my Schwinn. And somewhere at the bottom of a box in the garage I have a 1940s Simplex 2spd 'kick-back' awaiting a bike to go on it.

You soon adapt to not being able to spin the pedals back to position them for starting off. And you also - on a bike with no other means of slowing - get used to leaning back to reduce the likelyhood of skidding.

I bloody loves them.