# Jc Higgins Coaster Brake Rebuild



## bairdco (Jun 8, 2016)

Got a bunch of old hubs to rebuild, so I figured I'd do some step by step tutorials.

First up is the JC Higgins coaster, which is pretty much identical to the Musselman hub.

Here's the exploded view of all the parts in order:




 
Leave the spring steel collar on when cleaning, and assemble the driver parts so the serrated gears are together. 

The spring steel collar is about the only part in these hubs that can fail, and if you put the smaller driver on backwards, your hub won't work.







 

The threads on the axle are longer on the sprocket side:





Here's the guts cleaned and assembled:


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## bairdco (Jun 8, 2016)

It's easier to assemble all the parts on the brake arm side and slide it all into the hub shell:



 



Spin the cog parts on, cones, and tighten the cones properly, and you're done.


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## morton (Jun 9, 2016)

thanks again for posting


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## rollfaster (Aug 14, 2016)

Did this last Sunday for a friend's Higgins manifold bike restoration.


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## 2jakes (Sep 14, 2016)

Great details.Thanks.
I have this Higgins that needs cleaning & lubrication.




I was able to remove the brake arm.



But from here on the parts need something to loosen them.
What do you recommend?


Also what do you use to keep this end from rotating while removing the other end?


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## bairdco (Sep 15, 2016)

A wrench on both sides, or put one side in a vice (the nut, not the axle.)

You'll probably have to jiggle the cog back and forth as you unscrew the other side. The cog will spin itself tight, locking the clutch cone, so you need to keep backing it off into "coast" mode till the other side unthreads enough.

Harder to explain it than it is to do it.


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## rustjunkie (Sep 15, 2016)

scroll to page 179

http://thecabe.com/forum/threads/schwinn-service-manual-volume-1.81415/


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## Barto (Sep 27, 2016)

Wow, much easier than a New Departure


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## bairdco (Sep 28, 2016)

Yeah, I can rebuild one of these in about 5 minutes.

I love these musselman/higgens hubs. Stop perfectly, and virtually indestructible.


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## morton (Sep 28, 2016)

Barto said:


> Wow, much easier than a New Departure




Bendix are easy too, and Shimano is easier yet. I have always hated ND with those stupid discs.

I just broke open a 3 red band Bendis kickback that has discs...put it aside for now.  Not looking forward to the rebuild and it looks much more complicated than the ones with shoes instead of discs.


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## buickmike (Sep 28, 2016)

Barto said:


> Wow, much easier than a New Departure



I am just about thru with ND.  Lack of good cores +aging inventory has depleted my parts. No thread hijack intended.but a PITA. To redo on top off all worn out parts.gotta be something better


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## buickmike (Sep 28, 2016)

How about the Komet hub? I got 1 spinnin so smooth it would make an ass out of ND. Thing is to brake it takes almost °180 reverse pedal!


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## Barto (Sep 28, 2016)

buickmike said:


> How about the Komet hub? I got 1 spinnin so smooth it would make an ass out of ND. Thing is to brake it takes almost °180 reverse pedal!



I have a ND that does that, cleaned & serviced it but no change....I've done a few since then so maybe I'll take another stab at it


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## Barto (Sep 28, 2016)

So, you did a JC Higgins hub....Can't wait to see what you do next (ND) I'll go get a  note book and pencil...don't start without me.


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## bairdco (Sep 28, 2016)

There's enough info on ND hub rebuilds, and my phone doesn't have enough storage space to take pictures of the ten thousand parts inside that makes it almost stop.

I know it's an easy hub for a rebuild how-to, but I posted it at a time when a few people were having problems with them, and I had one laying around.

I also posted a how-to on a Bendix manual 2 speed.

Another reason for posting, is coaster brake hubs have this mystique of being difficult to rebuild, and are usually the most service- neglected part on a bike.


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## Hukah (Jul 24, 2022)

bairdco said:


> I know it's an easy hub for a rebuild how-to, but I posted it at a time when a few people were having problems with them, and I had one laying around.
> 
> I also posted a how-to on a Bendix manual 2 speed.
> 
> Another reason for posting, is coaster brake hubs have this mystique of being difficult to rebuild, and are usually the most service- neglected part on a bike.



I for one appreciate your posting of this as I’m about to break into my first one.
Thank you


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## Bryan Akens (Aug 28, 2022)

Ive  become  a  big  fan  of  the  Yellow  Band  2  speed.......They  are  easier  to  work  on  than  the  red  band  and  I  really  like  those  4  "Big"  brake  shoes  that  they  use......I  just  wish  it  was  easier  to  find  28 hole  hubs!!!!


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## Rivnut (Aug 30, 2022)

The Schwinn Service Manual Vol 1 & 2 in the pinned section of this Restoration Tips forum covers rebuilding of all makes of brakes.  I’m guessing Schwinn shops took on any bike and their technicians had this as a go to.  Its come in handy more than once.  Just keep scrolling, lots of pages.


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## beachcrab (Oct 9, 2022)

what kind of cogs for the JC Higgins hub? want to use a 1/8 chain but need to source a 20t cog.


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