A bike I received very recently (-the one with the previously-mentioned
drum front brake-) has a Shimano Nexus 3-speed rear. The gears shift
normally but the coaster brake grinds a lot when stopping. I don't know
if this is just normal break-in or a lack of lube, I haven't bought a
coaster-brake bike in years but I don't remember the single-speed CB
bikes of my youth sounding anything like this.
The bike is not real comfortable to ride with the seat-post and
handlebars on it right now, so I have literally only rode it up and down
the street for a couple minutes.
Can I take the left side off to inspect/lube the brake, without messing
with the gears? All the guides I see say to remove the entire gears from
the right side. I am assuming Shimano would have lubed the thing
properly when they assembled the hub; is this generally reliable or
should I just assume it needs to be completely re-lubed?
.......
The bike (a Worksman) uses the silly-thick spokes; they appear to be
about .1" diameter. Does Shimano drill the hub for these spokes or did
Worksman take it apart and drill out the spoke holes?.... Because if
they did then perhaps there's not as much grease still inside as there
should be. Worksman bikes arrive needing "dealer prep", so this wouldn't
surprise me too much......
~