I have a Coker with the original wheel. I also have the Big Cheese Linear Pull brake Mount, and am looking for a V or A brake to install. The Odyssey A Brake that Unicycle.com had is no longer available. I have seen some others have installed a Shimano Deore XT V brake, but I don’t want to order one unless I know exactly which model to get. Are there other options? I have also found a few places that have the Odyssey A-Mount brake, but since unicycle.com isn’t able to get what they were carrying, it make me wonder if it is the same brake. Does anyone know if there is a change in the 2004 model?
Thanks for any help you can give. I did search the forums, but couldn’t find any specific info.
Don’t get an XT brake…they’re too good for a coker. You’re not going to need or even want incredible stopping power so the XT’s really are overkill in my opinion. Plus, they don’t actually fit. The XT’s place the pads too close together and things don’t fit together nicely. I’m about to buy myself a cheap old v-brake for my coker. I think that’s all that’s needed.
We have several A-brake’s and love them. I bet if you called around to some local bike shops, one of them would have one in stock. I think oddessey just stopped making them though.
The reason I asked about the Odyssey A-Brake, is I can find them, and they are still on Odyssey’s web site. Jon and Amy are telling me they can no longer get them. So does anyone know if they have changed, or is what I am finding just old inventory left laying around. I tried to link what I saw on http://www.odysseybmx.com/ but they are using Flash so I couldn’t right click the picture. Max, would you mind looking at the photo and telling me if it looks like what you have on your Cokers? Thanks. I already tried a cheap V brake from performance, and it just wouldn’t fit. The rim is too wide. If I adjust it to fit the rim, the arms stick out to for to ride the Coker.
Thanks
PS Andrew, thanks for the heads up. I think it was yours that I saw the Shimano Deore XT’s.
heres a pic of it when it was on the Super 29er. the roller is there because i was useing a none V-brake lever. i can sell that too if you want it. it allows the use of any lever.
yup, that’s it. Quality bike parts (one of the major bike parts distributors) doesnt carry them anymore either. Cant find em on danscomp either. which is what leads me to think they’re done for. I dont think bikers like how heavy they are. which doesnt matter as much on a coker frame.
Besides the A-Brake there is also a bracket you can use to mount this brake on a frame without braze-ons (like your stock Coker frame). It is called the Rad V-Brake Mount and used to be available here at unicycle.com
You can see some photos of it at my cycle gallery. (some of the last photos in the album on page 3). For example, this photo.
You could also get a local welder to braze on the mounting hardware.
I’ve been wanting to get this for a while, but unicycle.com doesn’t have it. I emailed them and they said they are looking for a new manufacturer. Is there anywhere else I could get one?
Van, an industrious MUCster, did a wonderful Frankenbrake on Charles’, a frugal MUCster, Coker. It is very unfortunate that I cannot at this time attach a photo. I’ll do my best to describe.
They dug around in Van’s box of misc parts. Extending from the post is one of the handle extensions seen on mountain bkes. (They make a mountain bke look like it has a bull’s horns.) Attached to that is another of the same thing, to bring everything out past the seat. On the end of all that is an old shifter from a 10 speed, all the screws tightened for resistance. The old BMX brake was mounted through the T of the crown.
We really need a picture. When Tommy gets back from NAUCC we’ll post one. I’ll try do doodle it. For a bunch of spare parts, it’s very impressive.
Your input is exactly what I was looking for…THANKS.
Have only been on the coker in my driveway. I hope tonight will be the maiden voayage. At least I know I can freemount it from my time in the driveway. Sure looks big when you’re not used to standing next to one!
I took my standard Coker to the LBS and said I needed the bits to make a brake. The size of the wheel ensured their service people came out to give an opinion.
I left with a cheap gear lever, and a basic brake which needs a single hole to be drilled in the seat tube. The pack had two but they split it for me and gave me the rear one (I think this had the longer arms). A quick eyeball test suggested it would fit.
They were very nervous about drilling the frame for me but I carefully did this myself, the hole is near the bottom of the tube and hopefully hasn’t significantly weakened the frame. I did it over a year ago.
I ‘borrowed’ the bar-end off my unused bike (pedals are on another Uni!) so the total cost was <£12 (20USD?).
The standard Coker rim is never fully true so and I only wanted a little assistance so I found this solution ideal. Since upgrading to an Airfoil rim the braking is much smoother, even with a cheap basic brake.
A number of people have gone the drilling route and I don’t know of anyone who had problems with it. It won’t be ideal even with the airfoil rim, but it will be effective.
Some of the people on the Norway tour last year could never really get their cheap brakes to work without rubbing though and ended up using it only as a parking brake (which is a great feature of drag-brakes). I improvised one with my HS33 by carrying a little velcro strap to pull and hold the brake when stopping.
With the standard rim there was two obvious bumps which meant the brake really only engaged for say 30% (guess) of a revolution however I found this was acceptable for taking the pressure off the knees, my main reason for fitting a brake to a Coker, although as Nathan mentioned they make good parking brakes.
Since moving to an Airfoil rim it is possible to properly true the wheel hence I have equal friction for the whole revolution, which is obviously better. In the south of the UK there are no massive hills so I don’t need a large amount of friction I guess if you ride in a hilly area it might be more critical, however this might need a 29" for the up bits.
To be honest the biggest differences from moving to an Airfoil rim are:
Black tyre and rim looks fantastic.
Smoother braking.
Wheel is actually true.
It feels better on cornering and generally firmer, although this could all be psycological after spending the cash!
I only upgraded as I was on business in the US otherwise I would have stuck with the standard rim until it failed (if ever).
I just ordered a Big Cheese linear brake plate for my coker to add a brake. It looks similar to the Rad V brake mount that unicylce.com used to sell. I will post more info once i get it and install it. I’m probably going to install a basic V brake.
Took my first ride on the coker last night, about 10+ miles. I went with my wife and my daughter who were on their bikes. Fun, fun, fun. I’ll post some ride thoughts later. I gotta go eat supper and go back out for a family ride again.
See my gallery for a few boring pics. I’ll post upgrade pics in the future.
Bill, I also have the Big Cheese and got it from unicycle.com They have these in stock, but are reluctant to put them online since they have been unable to find a V-Brake replacement for the odyssey that they no longer make. I tried one type, but the top of it sticks out way too far and hits the legs. If you find something that works w/o interfering with pedaling let us know.
We’ll have to see what I can find for a brake. I hadn’t thought about the leg clearance.
I assume the top of the brake is where it hits your leg. I can see how the Odyssey bends in toward the middle. I’ll have to look for that in the brake I guess.
Surely someone out there has used a V-brake other than the Odyssey.
The XT’s place the pads too close together and things don’t fit together nicely. I’m about to buy myself a cheap old v-brake for my coker. I think that’s all that’s needed.
