nortonguy
Finally riding a big boys bike
In 2022 a very low mileage Bendix 70 Coaster hub was taken out of a mangled Schwinn Breeze women's bicycle, laced into a 27" road-bike rim and used in a Schwinn LeTour converted to single-speed for 2300 miles of hard riding. The rider of this bike with clothing and messenger bag full of tools, spares and water averaged about 220 pounds. The larger diameter wheel rim and heavy rider put a bigger than standard load on this coaster brake hub. Very much of the riding was done at over 15mph, and lots of steep hills were climbed and descended getting the brake sizzling hot, hot enough to smoke and steam.
After this treatment this wheel was taken off the LeTour and disassembled for inspection and cleaning and lubing for the new riding season. Upon inspection the brake looked......better than new.
There was surprisingly little wear on the brake shoes and inside braking surface of the hub, the bearing balls all looked great with no pitting, and the bearing race surfaces which had looked freshly machined now looked more polished and burnished to provide a more smooth surface for the bearing balls to run on. So the hub was cleaned up with kerosene, packed with fresh grease and is now back on the bike ready for the next few thousand miles.
Some people may have reservations about the quality of the Mexican made Bendix 70 Coaster hub, but after this testing, and after comparing it's machining and parts to an older USA-made NOS Bendix red-band hub, there are no reservations about it's performance, reliability or it's manufacturing quality.
This hubs are plentiful and cheap on the used market and a great bargain for anyone wanting a coaster hub for heavy use. If this Bendix 70 held up for a few thousand miles in a 27" rim with a heavy rider and heavy braking loads, it would last forever in normal use installed in the average fat-tired beach cruiser type of bicycle. Only casualty after the few thousand miles was the chain, which was shown to be stretched beyond specs with a Park brand chain checking tool, so it will be replaced.
Before photo;
After photos of wearing parts;
After this treatment this wheel was taken off the LeTour and disassembled for inspection and cleaning and lubing for the new riding season. Upon inspection the brake looked......better than new.
There was surprisingly little wear on the brake shoes and inside braking surface of the hub, the bearing balls all looked great with no pitting, and the bearing race surfaces which had looked freshly machined now looked more polished and burnished to provide a more smooth surface for the bearing balls to run on. So the hub was cleaned up with kerosene, packed with fresh grease and is now back on the bike ready for the next few thousand miles.
Some people may have reservations about the quality of the Mexican made Bendix 70 Coaster hub, but after this testing, and after comparing it's machining and parts to an older USA-made NOS Bendix red-band hub, there are no reservations about it's performance, reliability or it's manufacturing quality.
This hubs are plentiful and cheap on the used market and a great bargain for anyone wanting a coaster hub for heavy use. If this Bendix 70 held up for a few thousand miles in a 27" rim with a heavy rider and heavy braking loads, it would last forever in normal use installed in the average fat-tired beach cruiser type of bicycle. Only casualty after the few thousand miles was the chain, which was shown to be stretched beyond specs with a Park brand chain checking tool, so it will be replaced.
Before photo;
After photos of wearing parts;
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