[HowTo] Ghetto Frecoaster

[kkmk]

Ok, i got asked for directions on how to make a freecoaster out of a coaster brake, since ive been talking about it eerywhere.

first step, get a coaster hub:


Thats it in all its glory.Yes its rusty because im doing it for a friend whos getting into flatland, and shes cheap. firstly, take off the driver side nuts and washers, and then remove the cone and bearings. make sure you note which side is the drive side:

after this, take off the driver and bearings. after this, hold the brace arm in your left hand with the hub balanced over it. lift the shell up very slowly.

I put the driver back on at this stage, just to show what things would look like, and to stop evetrythign wobbling around. this is what it would look like without a hub on it all: except of that little grooved slab there would be one underneath.

all you have to do is take out that grooved slab thing. its that easy. it will look like this:

I'm no photographer. Thats the way your freecoaster will look. To redo it all, simply take the driver off again, and slowly push everythign trhoguh the LEFT side of the hub. thatds why you took notice back at the start. thread the driver back into the clutch, and replace the cone. there you have quite a good freecoaster, except they are very difficult to get axles for ive noticed. and many of you guys who dont like slack, ive worked out how to get rid of it.

back at this stage:
you take the clutch out, and put some washers over the srping. dont put too many on, maybe 3 mm worth, like this:

now obviously you guys wouldnt have a bearing missing, or be using a washer as a dust cover. but thats it. you can adjust the slack you want by adding or removing washers. any questions ask away.

[Butter_Nutts]

and shes cheap.

oh? tell me more...

[H4RDLander]

now thats wat im talking about...:D

one day, mods will agree about this and become one of the sticky thread...:wink:


many of you guys who dont like slack,

what do u mean about "slack" anyway...?:hmm:

and the interval wen u pedal it..:roll:




oh? tell me more...

i think he ment about his gf....:lol:

[kkmk]

shes cheap meaning that she doesnt like spending mney, dont get any ideas. when you back pedal, there is a bit of a gap in the pedalling before it engges again. without the washers in there my slack was about 90 degrees of pedal turn, but nows its down to a bit less than 1/8ths.

[MutinySin]

Awsome post man now ive gotta rip apart my old bike with coaster brakes hahaha shame it might have been worth money...

[piratepants]

how do you get it to fit 14mm frames though?

[TireTap]

get some 14mm peg spacers and put them on the axles inside the dropouts*






*i am not liable for you following what i said, if you do it you will probly kill the little kids hub.

[H4RDLander]

shes cheap meaning that she doesnt like spending mney, dont get any ideas. when you back pedal, there is a bit of a gap in the pedalling before it engges again. without the washers in there my slack was about 90 degrees of pedal turn, but nows its down to a bit less than a quarter.

wat if i put 4 washer..... do the gap from pedaling it back make it more fast to engage again.?:D

[bmxflat]

yes, more washers=fast engagement
less washers=slow engagement

[jawn]

Beware what threaded hardware (eg: nuts) you use on the axles of cheap coaster hubs. They tend to be a different TPI than 'normal' axles.

[AsteriskBikeCo]

holy shit!!! i HAVE to go jack some kids bike now... (LOL)

[piratepants]

are the axles on coasyer hubs 3/8's though? cause if threy wernt peg adapters wouldnt work

[NEWRIDE]

Wow, a freecoaster for that price of candy. hmmm, my neighbor's kids always leave their Huffys rotting in the rain overnight. Might as well take a couple and get busy.

[kkmk]

yes, more washers=fast engagement
less washers=slow engagement


exactly right. but dont put too many on, i tried to make it engage like a cassette and it didnt worj at all, it acted like a fixed gear so be careful.

yeah, the 14mm is a problem, im using adapters right now, and i dont have back pegs on right now. pretty much every coaster brake is ever seen has 24 tpi, 3/8. i rang my supply shop today, and i can get 3 feet of threaded rod for 20 bucks (aus) exactly what i want. the only thign is its like mild steel or mid steel or black steel or something, i couldnt understand the guys accent. reckon this will be stron enough? if it wont brake from like me sitting on it ill get it, because ill have like 15 spare axles out of it

[piratepants]

okay so 14mm adapters will work.

[bmxflat]

probly will work, how heavy are you? i'm like 85-90 lbs and i sat on some weak aluminum stuff and didnt break it

[kkmk]

im like 60 kilos. i got me 3 feet of threaded rod for 20 bucks aus, and i got it into 4 axles. and they seem to be the same material as my old axles.

[Charles]

That's awesome man, I always wanted to try out a freecoaster and see how fakies feel without having to back pedal, I might just have to do this sometime.
If this forum had a reputation mod I would give you rep.

[ZachS]

i got me a wheel and im going to try this tomorrow. :)

[bmxisneato19]

I just got a coaster hub and I'm going to start working on it but I have one question. Do you need to keep the piece of metal that bolts to the chainstay or can I just take it off?

[bmxflat]

yeah thats what keeps it from moving. take it off and the brake pads and it makes you be able to pedal backwards(and your bike goes backwards, too)

[bmxisneato19]

I couldnt figure out how to get it off anyway.
It works so well thanks for putting this up here, I've wanted to try a freecoaster for so long, too bad its snowing now.

[kkmk]

alrighty, i just went to the bike shop for new pedals, and i found one of these:

oi heard that you can grind out 2/thirds of the teeth and it will fit onto a coaster hub, so im gonna try it. ps the arrow is pointing to the teeth im talking about, and the x's are the ones im gonna grind off. i shall tell you how it goes.

[moes]

pure genious i made 1 just 4 fun and it worked decent thanx again

[stairmaster]

I tired it and it worked pretty good, the parts have to be cleaned and greased thoguh cause they are disgustingly dirty, but once it rolls back for so long it catches and the cranks start to move like they would on with a normal freewheel, should it do this?, can someone to me how a freewheel should work and how a cassette works as well?

[kkmk]

it shoudlnt engage when rolling back. it will only do this if you twitch the pedals a bit. gotta try and keep them motionless.

[stairmaster]

I tried keeping the cranks still but it still caught, can someone post pics of what theirs look like? or a vid of theirs working or something? cause i want it to work cause i dont want to buy a real freecoaster so if someone could help a little that would be great

[PsychoSasquatch]

I remember converting an old Skyway Tuff Wheel to a freecoaster. I can't remeber exactly how it was a long time ago. I had read in BMX magazine to do basically what was covered but it also involved using 2 washers and a spring. I Think you slid one washer on then the spring then the other washer. Not sure. I never had any problems. When you free wheeled backwards and then went to pedal there was instant bite to the pedals. Maybe this had something to do with the spring and washers. I wish I could remember. Anybody ever heard of this?

[bj hocking]

no i havent heard of it

[kkmk]

it used to be posdsible to get something called unbrake kits. i think it was basically a freewheel that attached instead of the driver.

[bj hocking]

that would work

[Van]

wow....just wow

[fitbikeco 921]

What did you guys do, and where did you get, what you needed in order to fit the freecoaster on a 14mm axle?

[DocQ]

does anybody know where to get a hub like that other than a kids bike? i cant find any friends' little brothers' bikes that have coaster hubs.

[kkmk]

i went to a bike shop for one coaster brake i got, but the one im using there from a bike at the dump.

[fitbikeco 921]

What did you guys do, and where did you get, what you needed in order to fit the freecoaster on a 14mm axle?

Anyone?

[kkmk]

we all bought adaptors.

[fitbikeco 921]

we all bought adaptors.

From where? Any links?

[bmxflat]

from a bike shop

[kkmk]

http://www.danscomp.com/437000.php?cat=PARTS

http://www.danscomp.com/437075.php?cat=PARTS

somrthing just like thems. but you can get them in washer form

[fitbikeco 921]

Thanks.

[Charles]

Hmmm.. Anyone tested this out yet? I wonder how good it works.

[stairmaster]

It works suprisingly well for something so, well, ghetto. You do have to put washer though, when I made one I didn't use any any when i was lining up my pedals (pedal backwards to put them in the right spot while riding, if that makes sense to anyone)and when I tried to pedal again it was like having no chain and smashed my knee on the stem. It works good though.

[JaBooty]

could the whole assembly fit into a regular 3/8 hub?

[moes]

could the whole assembly fit into a regular 3/8 hub?

like a flip-flop? no.

[moes]

Hmmm.. Anyone tested this out yet? I wonder how good it works.

i made one, ok for my ghetto flatland bike.

[JaBooty]

no its not a flip flop.

[moes]

is it a freewheel though? because still no then.

[kkmk]

its gotta be a coaster hub, because there is a special lip in the hub it has to catch on, which isnt n casettes or freewheels

[JaBooty]

i did the mod to a coaster hub and it doesnt pedal forward.