Bicycle Coaster Brakes/English Coaster Brakes
Original article: https://www.sheldonbrown.com/coaster-brakes/sc.html on sheldonbrown.com
- Reproduced with the permission of John Allen and Harriet Fell — all rights reserved. The version on sheldonbrown.com is authoritative.
- Mirrored: 2026-10-04 · Last update of the original: see original
This page is just about the specifics of the English models, with a square end axle
Refer also to the main Coaster Brake Service Page
This brand is covered on this site in Sutherlands Handbook of Internally-Geared and coater Brake hubs, see links on the main coaster-brake page.
Sturmey-Archer/Perry/Resilion/Torpedo Coaster Brake Adjustment:
These English coaster brakes adjust differently from most coaster brake hubs. There's a square end on one end of the axle. The right cone is fixed to the axle; the left cone, as usual, is attached to the reaction arm.
To adjust the cones on a typical English coaster-brake hub, you leave it in the bike, but loosen both axle nuts. Use an adjustable wrench to turn the whole axle, screwing it in or out of the left cone, then re-tighten the axle nuts once the cone adjustment is correct.
These hubs use a roller-clutch, instead of the acme threaded driver/cone used on American coaster bakes. The 5 rollers sit around the base of the driver, which acts as a cam. When you pedal forward, the rollers are forced outward where they press against the inside of the hub shell, driving the wheel.
Here'are a couple of pages from a 1977 Raleigh Shop manual.
