coaster brake

English

Noun

coaster brake (plural coaster brakes)

  1. A special rear hub for a bicycle that functions as a brake when the user pedals backwards, and which allows the bicycle to roll without forcing the pedals to turn.
    Synonyms: back pedal brake, foot brake
    Hypernym: drum brake
    • 1973, Bruce Springsteen (lyrics and music), “Spirit in the Night”:
      Billy slammed on his coaster brakes and said "anybody wanna go on up to Greasy Lake?"
    • 2017, Suze Clemitson, A History of Cycling in 100 Objects, Bloomsbury Publishing, →ISBN, page 54:
      The coaster brake is one of the three types of braking mechanism developed to slow down and stop a bike safely and efficiently. This mechanism quickly gained in popularity in the USA, Germany and the Netherlands in the 1890s and is still used for upright and children's bicycles.

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