When this question comes to the mind that Can you put hand brakes on a cruiser bike? Don’t worry as this is possible and you can put the brakes by yourself by watching a video of it or go to the shop and they will do it in short time.
Most of the cruiser bikes are manufactured in such a design that they have a single coaster brake at the rare wheel. Cruiser bikes mainly designed for a smooth and shiny road which suffice the need of braking by a single coaster brake.
But there are riders of many tastes that are desirous to ride on steep hills or get in such a quick-stop situation which normally handle by hand brakes easily. To cope up with such situations, one must put the hand brakes on a cruiser bike.
When to use Hand Brakes on Cruiser Bike
As the coaster brake can suffice your need on safe and smooth roads as these bikes are designed for such roads but when you are going to the hilly areas where you will require strong pedals to move on, then you will need to have Hand or front brake to installed on your bike.
For all types of riders, hills are more challenging to ride on, especially when you are taking on a steep hill where you require strong pedal moves, then there only the coaster brake on your bike is a danger sign.
In these cases, the hand brakes will ease your riding on hills as your full focus and power will be on pedaling and will take over the hill perfectly.
Front/Hand Brake Installation process
There are no such complications while installing the hand or front brake. If you have proper tools kit that includes hand level, brake cable, a center-pull and U-brake caliper and other necessary tools in it, you can install it at home. You must go through the instructions or watch a video of it as there are many videos regarding installation of hand and front brakes.
But the shop will be better for you if you are new to the bike at they will adjust the brakes keeping in view the other parts performance of the bike.
Types of Hand Brakes
- Side-pull Caliper Brake
- Direct-pull Cantilever brake (V-brake)
Side-pull Caliper Brake
The most common and widely used brake is Side-pull Caliper brake. It is known as the fast stopper on all road types. As there is a variety in this type of brake so you can get an upgraded one with stiffer bodies and better pads for better results.
Sie-pull brake are less intrusive
The installation of this brake is very easy because there is a single bolt that requires attachment to the bike rim frame. when following the instructions.
Direct-pull Cantilever brake (V-brake)
The Shimano Trademark “V-Brake” also known as Direct-pull Cantilever brake is designed in a simple way by using a single cable while installing. Installation of this brake is done by connecting the cable housing to one arm crossing the top of the tire to the opposite arm.
When applying this brake to the cruiser bike, the housing pushes on one cantilever while the inner cable pulls the other.
One with a longer arm can easily use this brake as the cable runs over the tire so while doing brake you must have to keep the cable enough high to clear the tire from the cable.
The main advantage to use Direct-pull brake is that it locks the wheel if the coaster brake or other traditional cantilever brake stop their function.
While studying both the brakes type, it concludes that both have the same function of pushing against the bike rim for stopping your cruiser bike.
When you make changes in design of a bike, it will result in getting you some merits and demerits of the change in it. So, it is mandatory to have look into the pros and cons of the hand brake when installed on your cruiser bike.
Advantages of Hand Brakes
- Have a couple of brakes, front and rear
- Easy to install by yourself
- Easy to fix if broken
- Get to learn brake properly
- Can easily ride on hilly areas
Disadvantages of Hand Brakes
- Can occupy time to master on braking techniques
- Expensive
- Requires adjustment time to time
Final Statement
From this article, you got the answer of “Can I put hand brake to my cruiser bike?” So there is no need to change the bike just for the sake of brake. You can ride on cruiser bike on any road and on hills by adding the hand brake to it.