? 7 speed internal gear, hub brake, NON-coaster?

Does anyone know of a bike that has

1. 5 or 7 or 8 speed internal hub gears
2. coaster brake
3. NOT a cruiser-type bike, but a road or other type of bike.

Would appreciate any pointers to manufacturers/vendors of this kind of
bike

Thanks in advance.

Whhops, the subject should be "... NON-cruiser"

Hope I didn't confuse anyone.

confusing post.

title says "non-coaster", body desires a coaster brake.

Shimano Nexus hubs offer a coaster 3spd version, but the 8 can be
fitted with either traditional rim brakes or a "roller brake", both
which are hand operated.

In the U.S. you might look into the Bianchi Miliano, Breezer Citizen,
or REI Fusion.

All of which I consider "metro bikes" and not "cruisers".

You can always retrofit an existing frame/bike with this style
hub,provided the dropouts aren't vertical.

wrote:
Does anyone know of a bike that has

1. 5 or 7 or 8 speed internal hub gears
2. coaster brake
3. NOT a cruiser-type bike, but a road or other type of bike.

Would appreciate any pointers to manufacturers/vendors of this kind of
bike


I think you are saying you want a bike that isn't a cruiser, uses a hub
gear, and has a coaster brake. If so, I think you are out of luck - I
certainly haven't seen one, and I am always looking at internal hub
gear bikes. There isn't a whole lot of variety or choice available in
the hub gear bike market, at least in the US. Everything I have seen
with a coaster brake has been a cruiser-type.

My advice is to roll your own. Find an old road bike with horizontal
dropouts, and change out the rear wheel for one with the coaster brake
internal gear hub of your choice. Further customize it by putting on
whatever type of handlebars you prefer, if you don't like the drops
already on it. Decent japanese built road bikes from the 80's aren't
that hard to find, and the bike cost will be the cheapest part of the
project.

Later,
Mark Muller

I'd skip the coaster brake, and grab a bike with Shimanos roller
brakes. Yeah they're hand operated, but require little thought or
maintenance.

Work great in the wet.

Weigh a ton and don't stop as good as a rim brake, but those aren't
issues for most folks needing a god utility bike.

maxo wrote:
I'd skip the coaster brake, and grab a bike with Shimanos roller
brakes. Yeah they're hand operated, but require little thought or
maintenance.

Work great in the wet.

Weigh a ton and don't stop as good as a rim brake, but those aren't
issues for most folks needing a god utility bike.

For a good utility bike, maybe not, but a god utility bike should have
god-like braking, which the Shimano roller brakes don't provide. They
also work rather poorly with conventional drop handlebar brake levers.
Replacing the roller brake on my commuting bike with a rim brake was a
vast improvement, and the improvement had nothing to do with weight.

Later,
Mark Muller

The fact that your utility bike has drops is a telling tale.

Nothing wrong with that, just means you might actually take care of
your bike. Clean the rims, make sure the pads are of good quality and
not worn, that they're adjusted properly, etc.

Most folks that want a utility bike want close to zero
maintanence--thus hub or roller brakes are great.

When you're tootlin around at 12 mph in the city you don't need
god-like braking, you need reliable braking. Most folks are scared to
brake hard anyway.

Personally I like cantis front and roller back for a winter commuter,
as I'm fond of the Nexus 7. Best of both worlds.

BTW, how are your rim brakes in the wet or snow.

maxo wrote:
The fact that your utility bike has drops is a telling tale.

I suppose so.

Nothing wrong with that, just means you might actually take care of
your bike. Clean the rims, make sure the pads are of good quality and
not worn, that they're adjusted properly, etc.

Most folks that want a utility bike want close to zero
maintanence--thus hub or roller brakes are great.

I do as little maintanence on my utility bike as possible. The only
cleaning it gets is a wipe off after riding in the rain, so as not to
bring muck into the house. Thanks to kool-stop pads, I don't check for
pad wear often, nor play with brake adjustment.

When you're tootlin around at 12 mph in the city you don't need
god-like braking, you need reliable braking. Most folks are scared to
brake hard anyway.

Personally I like cantis front and roller back for a winter commuter,
as I'm fond of the Nexus 7. Best of both worlds.

BTW, how are your rim brakes in the wet or snow.

My front canti with kool-stops is better in the wet than the rear nexus
roller brake with drop bar brake levers when dry

I also love my Nexus 7, but I didn't love its brake. Oddly enough, I
found a NOS Shimano long reach (I needed ~70mm) dual pivot caliper for
the rear of my bike, and it was labelled "Nexus". Works well enough,
but isn't as nice as a cantilever, IMHO. Without the roller brake, it
is also a bit easier to change a flat, assuming you can't do the fix
the flat without removing the wheel trick.

I would like to like a drum or roller brake, but it seems Shimano
doesn't want me to. Is it too much to ask for a drop bar brake lever
compatable drum brake or a front drum brake without a "Power
Modulator"? Of course, there are other drum brakes out there (SRAM,
Sturmey-Archer), but they aren't real cheap, nor can I mount one on my
Nexus 7 rear hub, so I will stick with the rim brakes I already have
for now. Shimano should make their gear hubs disk brake compatable -
then you could use whatever disk brake you wanted.

Of course, while wishing for future Shimano products, how about making
a "rapid fire" shifter for the 8 speed Nexus, like they do for the 7.
The one for the 7 is my all time favorite shifter. It can be mounted
on drop bars, and to shift, all you have to do is sweep some part of
your hand across it - one way for up, the other for down. Its the best
thing I ever ordered from Harris Cyclery.


Later,
Mark Muller

Yeah, I miss my Nexus7 shifter immensely.

Such a simple little thing, but elegant. The old-timey dial indicator
was pretty cool too!

The grip shift "innovator" should be brought to justice. :P