# Can a brake be added to this bike?



## Paddbear (Jun 10, 2013)

I do not know what this bike is (nor can anyone come to an agreement), except that it is a 1953 or 56 (based on serial number) girl's 26" Schwinn. Based on these photos, is it possible to add a front and/or rear hand brake? I'm just not comfortable with just a coaster brake, especially since it seems to take half a block to stop.


----------



## daved66 (Jun 10, 2013)

if the coaster brake takes half a block to stop, then it needs to be looked at.
should stop rather quickly.  when was the hub  last serviced?  may be 
dry inside


----------



## Freqman1 (Jun 10, 2013)

I agree just service the hub and you should be good. I will take a coaster brake over hand brakes any day. V/r Shawn


----------



## rideahiggins (Jun 10, 2013)

*Hand brakes*

It's not set up for hand brakes. You would have to weld a bracket on the back and change the fork.


----------



## jkent (Jun 10, 2013)

You could always add drum brakes to it. That would be kind of expensive.


----------



## old hotrod (Jun 10, 2013)

Schwinn made a rim brake that clamps onto the fork...they are on ebay all the time but not sure I would rely on their stopping power. The factory drum brake works well when it is in good condition but is very expensive. As others have suggested, fix the brake you have if possible...


----------



## Paddbear (Jun 10, 2013)

daved66 said:


> if the coaster brake takes half a block to stop, then it needs to be looked at.
> should stop rather quickly.  when was the hub  last serviced?  may be
> dry inside




I have no idea when, or if it was serviced. I just bought the bike at an antiques fair and know nothing about it. The hubs are awfully bright and shiny though for being such an old bike, so I suspect they have been replaced in the not too distant past. 

I'm just not comfortable with a coaster brake alone, as I live in a city. An emergency back up would be nice. I think I'll pass on the drum replacement due to the amount of money I've already put in, but what specifically am I looking for in a replacement fork if I go that route? Would both the coaster (if serviced) and a rim brake be sufficient if absolutely necessary (I do have my good 'ol feet too!) and what do I search on eBay? I searched "schwinn rim brake" and all I got were 2 listings for standard brakes. I'm more likely to go the fork route though.


----------



## Lawrence Ruskin (Jun 10, 2013)

I have a beautiful old bike and I had the same problem, no brakes to speak of.

I put a Sturmey Archer hub with a drum brake on the front and a SA hub with a 3 speed and a drum brake on the back.

You can get a SA 8 speed now with a drum or disk brake now and knowing what I know now, I would have gone 8 speed, just a bunch faster.

This is a heavy bike and it stops on a dime. I didn't do any of the work, and it cost me $900 Cdn. 

Speeds make it way more fun to use.


----------



## theyankeedoodler (Jun 10, 2013)

I'm in the "put a drum hub on it" camp.  I'd keep the coaster brake, just might have it checked.  Add the drum hub to the front.  Most of the stopping power comes from the front brakes anyhow (once it actually has front brakes). I'd suggest building up an entire front wheel.  Keep the original just in case you decide to return it to "as was".   A newer Sturmey-Archer XL-FD runs about $60 or so.  An older or salvagable front rim shouldn't be much.  Then spokes and labor to lace up.


----------



## Andrew Gorman (Jun 10, 2013)

More brakes is always a good idea.  Search on eBay for clamp on brake and eventually something will turn up.  The Schwinn accessory brakes are cantilevers and work well with new pads.  Resilion brakes from England also clamp on, are from the same period and may be easier to find. 
http://www.classiclightweights.co.uk/components/resilion-story.html
 There are also more modern clamp on calipers for track bikes but I don't think they would have enough reach to clear the fenders on a ballooner. 
If you are not doing the work yourself a drum front brake would probably be the easiest and cheapest- just have the drum laced into your current rim and keep the fork and the vintage look.    
To replace the fork you need  a forged fork drilled for a caliper, and then need to find a caliper brake with enough reach to clear the fenders.  Or just swap in a mountain bike fork with cantilevers and lose some of the looks.
If you are crafty you could fab a bracket to mount a front caliper, or a clamp on bracket to mount one on the rear- that would look something like a rack mount and probably be better.  Or modify a BMX V brake adapter:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/BMX-LINEAR-...Cycling_Parts_Accessories&hash=item33814bf66b

All of this can seem pretty daunting if you're not a bike mechanic!  First step should be to have the coaster brake looked at by someone who knows old bikes.NOS rebuild parts are still available, but the bike shop might not know that.  What is the hub on the bike now? A New Departure brake can always benefit from a new washer stack and a retarder spring And should stop the bike well.


----------



## Paddbear (Jun 10, 2013)

Thanks for the ideas. I have a lot of chronic medical expenses, so many of the ideas are way out of my reach. I may just have to suck it up and hope for the best. The adding a front hand brake expense I could do, and maybe adding a new fork, but that is about it.


----------



## fat tire trader (Jun 10, 2013)

All good suggestions. I like the Schwinn cantilever. They come with three different clamp styles. You need to get the most common one which is for the flat bladed fork. But before you ride the bike anymore, someone should clean and grease all of the bearings in the bike. These parts, especially the coaster brake should be cleaned and inspected for worn parts that may need to be replaced. It should then be greased and reassembled. Riding an old bike without greasing the bearings will cause expensive damage.


----------



## Paddbear (Jun 10, 2013)

Andrew Gorman said:


> All of this can seem pretty daunting if you're not a bike mechanic!  First step should be to have the coaster brake looked at by someone who knows old bikes.NOS rebuild parts are still available, but the bike shop might not know that.  What is the hub on the bike now? A New Departure brake can always benefit from a new washer stack and a retarder spring And should stop the bike well.




Haha! Definitely not! I haven't even touched a bike in almost 20 years, and that was a 12 speed modern bike. I have no idea what the hub is. All I know is there is a Bendix coaster brake, of which I replaced the Bendix arm with a NOS one.


----------



## Andrew Gorman (Jun 10, 2013)

I agree on the grease!  Kids are lousy at keeping things in operating condition and flea market flippers just make things shiny.  Here's a catalog picture of the Schwinn cantilevers:
http://www.trfindley.com/flschwinn_1951_1960/1955_26.html
They are easy to install.
From bitter personal experience, fitting a caliper brake that will clear fenders on a bike that never had brakes is trickier than it seems at first glance.
Here are the details on rebuilding a Bendix hub:
http://sheldonbrown.com/sutherland/CB-IGH-2-bendix.pdf


----------



## daved66 (Jun 10, 2013)

let us know where you live, there may be a caber close by that could help you out.
we are all into bikes, and want others to enjoy theres.


----------

