Modern Drive train on vintage cruiser?

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jimmiroquai

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Hi all. I have a 1950s Rollfast frame loaded with fiberglass repro parts and single speed taiwan hubs. Thing is, i want to make this commuter friendly/safe at the same time keep the vintage looks. I want to make this my main commuter bike. What suggestions do you have to update/modernize the drivetrain to make it an easier, faster ride, as well as other additions for safety and practicality while keeping the vintage look? 2 speed kick back hubs? 3 speed internals? Is it necessary to place a braking system up front? What parts will fit? Anyone of you use your old cruiser as a commuter? Advice appreciated.

This is my current, basic single speed set-up:
 
I've put ~75 miles on this ~1947 Continental in the last 5 days, 15mi+ today in city traffic:

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Now I understand it's not exactly the same thing, but the idea is the same.
This bike has a Sachs 2spd kickback and a Sturmey front brake. This is a nice combo as the front brake can be used to slow while staying in gear.
Waiting on a part so I can install a vintage Brooks saddle, so it will look better IMO.
I have a '50s Monark frame & fork built with a similar setup, no front brake, and I've taken it on 20 mile rides.
Campagnolo mtb rims and 26 x 1.5 Continental tires.
Many vintage bikes have been built-up with modern aluminum 26" mtb rims and new hubs. They make great riders!
 
Something I've found... On a coaster brake bike if you have your seat high to get good leg extension (feet can't touch the ground while seated), it can be difficult to stop and dismount the bike gracefully. A front brake remedies this problem. One of my favorite riders has a 2 speed kickback and a front brake.
 
I live in Florida so front brakes are for cars, not hills!

I have tried just about everything to stay off drop bar bikes, best combination so far for me is 26" x 1.5s, gears, prefer the Nexus 8 but run a 3 speed on the least ridden bike!
Pull back bars suck for long rides, so do apes!
I ride 16.4 miles a day minimum, and usually up around 20-25 6 days a week!
Be interesting to read what works for other people....
 
Thanks for the replies! Did you have to modify your frames in any way to fit the modern hubs/ drum brakes?
 
What's his face from Chicago (can't remember his user name) takes the cake for vintage cruiser commuting, and I don't think he uses anything special for components. Would imagine he does a lot of maintenance since he rides in all conditions.
 
Skipton is the Chicago guy he does a 7 spd nexus on his monark the others are single speeds he's a 100% commuter I do fridays on an oldie ss 4 spd or 3 spd.t

Sent from my ADR6350 using Tapatalk 2
 
If you want a vintage look I have actually ground every other tooth off of a modern sprocket to make it look like a skip-tooth drive but it runs modern chain. Just make sure you have an EVEN number of teeth first. Same for the rear sprocket too. I did that to my old Huffy "The Bootlegger".
 
That would be Skipton? The Chicago Vintage CommuterMeister!

ifitsfreeitsforme said:
What's his face from Chicago (can't remember his user name) takes the cake for vintage cruiser commuting, and I don't think he uses anything special for components. Would imagine he does a lot of maintenance since he rides in all conditions.
Click to expand...
 
Thanks to everyone who replied! I ended up replacing my taiwan 16t coaster brake with a shiny NOS NK 20t coaster brake....smooth, smoooooth riding now. Still figuring out how to fit a front drum brake...
 
Nice! NK (Nankai), similar design to New Departure with the brake discs.
In 1986 put one on a Murray Baja that I pulled from the trash and hot-rodded. Worked great: 26 1 3/8" rear and 27x1 1/4" front, Wald cruiser bars. lightweight bike that flew.
IMO a great option for a daily-rider coaster hub is a Shimano CB-E110. Not expensive, durable, stops well, parts are readily available should you need them, say 10k miles down the road :lol:
 
I agree re: the cb-e110. They're everywhere, and cheap. You can buy a lot of the parts, and sometimes you'll even come across a guts-kit to replace everything. At $20/hub, though, I think I'd just buy a new complete hub, slide the old guts out, and put the new guts in. Save the hubshell for a TP dispenser. :mrgreen:

I got a few ikes with cb-e110s. Great hub; my only complaint is that the brake doesn't modulate well. It's pretty much either off, almost all the way on, or full-on skid. But, that's pretty good for a cheap coaster....
 

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