Think back to your childhood – remember your first bike? Sparkly pink streamers, little white basket in front, and a coaster brake.
Coasties (no I’m not talkin the Ugg-boot wearing variety) are offering deep-v wheelsets with coaster brake hubs that allow you to pedal backwards in order to brake. The site says coasties “give you the clean look of fixed gear without all the danger.”
Hmmm, interesting. What do you think? Cool idea? Or is everyone just trying to make some money by jumping on the fixie bandwagon?
12 responses so far ↓
1 Tim Jackson- Masiguy // Nov 27, 2009 at 3:15 pm
Both- coaster brakes are cool- very cool, but many people are also trying to cash in on the look of the fixie movement. That said, I’m hoping to develop something like this too…
Brakes are not a bad thing and neither is a clean, simple, graceful looking bike… so getting both most surely be a win-win!
2 Matthew // Nov 27, 2009 at 3:17 pm
More power to ‘em.
I ride my bike because it’s fun, feels right, and gets me where I’m going.
The rest is bullshit.
3 Miguel Marcos // Nov 27, 2009 at 5:12 pm
I think it’s great. Fixies are dangerous for people who don’t know how to handle them.
Completely beside the point, as a kid I loved the feeling of braking with the pedals and a bunch of us would slam on the brakes and skid the rear tire. Fun!
4 Rod // Nov 28, 2009 at 1:02 am
It’s just nice, when you pull off the back tire to change a flat, not having to deal with a derailleur. The design is also just simple and clean.
5 Jacob // Nov 28, 2009 at 1:31 am
love it…….got a coaster not a “coasties” coaster though, But it just gives me endless smiles to my big stupid face every time I stand on the pedals to make it go or stop, “coasties’ got something great on there own, they don’t need to jump on the fixie band wagon……..if there is a band wagon?
6 Wild Bill // Nov 28, 2009 at 3:43 am
Nay. This kills the best part of a fixie, being able to control the rear wheel which allows very slow riding and confident braking on wet pavement.
Also, coasting is more difficult on coaster-brake equipped bikes than freehub bikes.
Coasties is one of those products that seems to offer all of the disadvantages of A with none of the benefits of B.
Pass.
7 Matthew // Nov 29, 2009 at 5:11 am
It just struck me, in relation to what Rod said about changing flats, that with coaster brake hubs you have that brake arm that has to be firmly fixed onto the chain stay. That’s much more cumbersome than a derailleur.
8 Mart // Nov 29, 2009 at 5:17 am
I’d say a bike equipped with just a coaster brake is more dangerous than a brakeless fixed gear (that is if you know how to ride a brakeless fixed gear). Coasters are ok for beach cruisers but I can’t imagine they offer much stopping power if you’re hauling ass on a road bike.
So yeah, it’s just another bike as a fashion accessory thing.
9 Johnny // Dec 1, 2010 at 2:27 pm
@Matthew
Yep. It’s a pain in the ass to change out a flat on a Coaster wheel. You got just one more thing to take off. I ride Specialized Armadillo tires to minimize that (and because I love doing big ol whipskids)
@Mart
Any bike with one or zero brakes could use more.
We’re finding after selling these for a few years that our crowd is typically older than the fixie crowd. You just can’t get a 18 year old kid to ride a Coaster Brake no matter what you do, but guys who’ve ridden fixies and are heading for their mid twenties to early thirties seem to love a Coaster Brake. Because of the mechanical advantage inherent in the hub, lots of guys say it helps preserve what is left of their knees.
I donno. I like them.
Johnny
Founder of Coasties wheels
10 Jeffrock // Dec 30, 2010 at 6:44 pm
I’ve been riding fixed (no brakes) for about two years now. I lived in San Francisco, so needless to say, my daily commute was not for the faint-of-heart fixie rider, with the downhills, and all. I think I liked it because it was a challenge.
Well, frankly, I’m just tired of riding fixed. It seems more of a fashion than something practical (had to do it myself to figure that out).
I was out on the beach recently, riding my Mom’s beach cruiser, and it occurred to me how much fun a cruiser hub would be on a road bike. I wouldn’t have to use pedal clips, I wouldn’t murder my legs trying to make sudden stops, and I can enjoy my surroundings and scenery more, which I why I started riding in the first place. My Coasties are in the mail.
11 Sandy - Shanghai // Dec 31, 2010 at 1:18 am
i think im about to go coastie as well!
12 chub for coaster hub // May 7, 2011 at 3:16 pm
i’m running a sturmy archer 2 speed on 700 racing wheels. i built a path racer kinda frankenstine bike. i skid into every intersection in downtown toronto with a huge smile on my head. love it! please try it.
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