Author Topic: Freecoaster recommendations?  (Read 1574 times)

Offline nosubsteve

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Freecoaster recommendations?
« on: March 26, 2020, 09:40:38 AM »
OK so I've had a few different coasters over the years, mostly KHE internals, but also Odyssey Clutch, Madera and recently a Cult.


I've seen a new design out from a company called Freenight https://www.freenightbmx.com/ they're calling the planetary coaster, which seems to use planetary gears and a clutch to make it do it's thang.


Now, I was kinda happy with the Madera, but with the backpedalling to disengage and the cassette aspect makes it feel extra harsh, which is not a feeling I particularly enjoy. Couple that with rock hard wheels and the fairly rough spots around me, it ain't a nice ride for me.


I currently have the Cult set up on my street bike, it has a nice cushy feel, I haven't smashed my knee into the stem and is *relatively* light, which is important to me - I've had super light bikes that I couldn't control enough, and heavy bikes that f*cked my back, and having something inbetween works best for me. Street tyres and a small but lightish street frame mean I can hop around and ride in town.


After that essay, the question is: has anyone used the Freenight coaster for flat, will the instant pedal engagement make it impossible to use?
« Last Edit: March 26, 2020, 01:57:27 PM by nosubsteve »

Offline DaddyCool

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Re: Freecoaster recommendations?
« Reply #1 on: March 26, 2020, 11:48:36 AM »
Hi nosubsteve,
thanks for sharing, I was not aware of this freenight hub. As far as I understand from the videos the "no slack" is only relevant if your backwheel moves forwards. I can imagine backwheel tricks where you want to have slack (pedal tricks) and your backwheel does a forward motion related to the frame. In this case it might be critical.
If you don't do pedal trick it should not be a problem I guess.But: Why not use any other cassette freecoaster with similar weight? I mean the slack is really not a problem for flatland riders, isn't it? The freenight hub seems to be invented to solve a problem that I don't see for flatland.

Offline nosubsteve

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Re: Freecoaster recommendations?
« Reply #2 on: March 26, 2020, 02:05:12 PM »
You might be right...

I think I'm into the idea because I like a mix of flat/street and I'm trying to get down to 1 bike do it all setup. I miss pedal pressure a lot, (reason I got the madera hub) but it's too inconsistent for me - when you assume it's in cassette mode and bitch crank just to find it hasn't engaged, or gone to fakie without disengaging fully, and found it's still engaged. Maybe I just need to play with it some more, but the weight does put me off.

May as well just stick to the cult for now I guess, if I get desperate I'll test out the planetary.
« Last Edit: March 26, 2020, 02:06:47 PM by nosubsteve »

Offline metalbmxer

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Re: Freecoaster recommendations?
« Reply #3 on: March 26, 2020, 02:33:57 PM »
Just get the Far East. It’s the lightest best working hub for the money. I spent gobs of money on my profile Titanium only to have it roll like dogsh*t. Seriously f*ck profile hubs. Heavy and roll like sh*t
Dax (now in LAS VEGAS as of July 2022)

Offline nosubsteve

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Re: Freecoaster recommendations?
« Reply #4 on: March 26, 2020, 08:45:03 PM »
I'd really like to support Dub and FEC, but it's a slippery slope... Starts with a Ti hub, before you know it I'm living on the streets due to investing in Ti everything and a new fork standard, and I end up with a silly light bike but I still can't ride for sh*t.

Sounds like a joke but I know myself and this will literally happen.

Offline rideflat43

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Re: Freecoaster recommendations?
« Reply #5 on: March 30, 2020, 01:23:30 AM »

I have heard the Far East is good and the good old days of Nankai hubs
are gone and I rode many years on Nankai hubs1

Offline nosubsteve

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Re: Freecoaster recommendations?
« Reply #6 on: March 31, 2020, 06:27:50 PM »
oo I found a test of the planetary coaster, including a small amount of flatland riding:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wXGuLYQ8i4

I'm still concerned about the durability of the thing, but reviews seem positive. I can't afford new bits right now so this is an academic exercise, but it does look interesting.

Offline DaddyCool

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Re: Freecoaster recommendations?
« Reply #7 on: April 05, 2020, 10:27:14 AM »
What about 4:07? I think when you want to do a ride-out like this, stopping a backwards moving by starting to pedal, it would not work because the hub is still disengaged. As far as I understand it can only engage while the backwheel is in a forward rotation relative to the frame. This might cause trouble, what do you think?