Velosteel Coaster Hub - Anyone used one?

Make perfect sense, in fact even moreso if you used those two speed kickback hubs.

But brakeless is perfectly fine, the ex ran the very same thing for 3 years brakeless without a problem.

(by the way hasn't replied to your message, will do soon).

I have also ran coaster with no other brakes. To me it didn't seem any dodgier (or perhaps even less so) than running fixed brakeless which I'm happy to do.

I've been riding with just a coaster on the back for about 6 months, I've found it ok. Obviously it's not as safe as having a front brake, but it works for me exactly like running a back brake and becomes quite intuitive after a while, the modulation is nice. As Skully says pedal positioning is the hardest part and you cant spin the cranks backwards when you are at a stop (as this obviously engages the brake). you just have to get used to stopping with your pedals at the right point

#soundslikescoble

Just make sure the brake arm is properly fixed.

I had a moment of sheer terror when I was caning it and a bus pulled out, slammed on the pedals without using the front brake and the brake arm came unfixed from the stay. The wheel locked up. Luckily everything turned out better than expected.

As a general rule in London I'd say having a front is a nice safeguard in the event of mishaps.

Any particular rim types favourable?

What is the best stuff to repack with? before building up?

Any rims would be fine, although it worth getting the lightest one possible as the hubs is a little heavier than a normal one, says an Open Sport for example.

Do you need to repack, Fes? I'd fear taking one apart, looks like it might be fiddly. I've never seen inside mine (not a Velosteel) but I wouldn't bother to as it has a grease port.

I've read a lot about people saying certain batches should be repacked maybe the ones from the far east. Not sure really. I'll send a message to Czech guys.

Ta all

There's a very good park servicing guide.

http://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help/coaster-hub-overhaul-pedal-brake-hub

I ran mine brakeless for a while. Ended up putting a front brake on as I was carrying v heavy loads (kid, bag, me). Downhill with a heavy bike is not good for a coaster brake. I repacked mine with some ordinary grease as the stuff inside it was brown and the hub was new, brown grease didn't really appeal. Pretty minimal braking capabilities for a bit with new grease, but then it settled down fine.

My knack for getting the pedals level is to use your lead foot to brake with the crank arm near vertical, then when stopped there should be enough give in the drive to have it ready to pull away. Straps help a little.

Also there's no click from the free wheel so you can do some ninja freewheeling, plus you can freewheel backwards for some backward ninja freewheeling.

early bmx freecoasters were coaster brakes with the pads taken out of them I believe

Do you need to repack, Fes? I'd fear taking one apart, looks like it might be fiddly. I've never seen inside mine (not a Velosteel) but I wouldn't bother to as it has a grease port.

Although I haven't done it, I've watched a friend dis and RE-assemble a Sachs Super 7 and the new SA S2Cs. I wouldn't tackle the 7 speed, but the 1 and 2 speed hubs are pretty straight forward, and there's lots of clear instruction on the web.

my coaster appears to have a large gap (takes about half a crank to engage both the brake and drive) when I leave it outside locked up in the cold for a couple of hours or so. after about 30 secs of riding it reverts to it's usual small gap. this does not happen in the morning after it have been inside for the night. am I being insane, or is it possible that temperatures affect the workings inside the hub, even though Sheldon says they are unaffected by weather? perhaps in the cold, the grease inside the hub has a lower viscosity so the internals do not move as they should?

I'd imagine so.