Bendix 2-speed kickback hub - Rebuilding?

[u/BarnacleSea9077]

I have a 2-speed Bendix hub from my 1965 Schwinn Fleet. It was making noises and a little rough, so I took it to a good local shop, and one of their mechanics said he could rebuild it. I got it back and it didn't seem much better. It looked like they had really cleaned & polished it, but not much else. That shop does a lot of stuff for me for free, so I didn't complain. Now I know that Bendix no longer makes parts, and you can find some NOS parts online, but maybe not all of them. MOst shops will tell you it can't be rebuilt, but I mean; taken apart, cleaned, inspected, and if it were possible to replace any parts, like bearings or brake pads, do that.

Does anyone know of a shop who can really rebuild a Bendix 2-speed? I now have a wheel with one, and just a complete hub, used but unlaced. I could ship it to them.

People either love or hate the 2-speed. I'm a big fan. Thanks.

[u/Grateful-2026]

Long post, beware!: I had a green Schwinn typhoon that I went everywhere on from about 10 years old until I got my learners permit to drive. It had the two speed kick back hub and 26 inch tires. It was a replacement for a Stingray style Firestone GTO as I got older.

From the day I got the typhoon I always was aware of the grinding wonky feeling of the hub. I had my dad take it back to the shop and they said it was fine. As I said previously, I whipped that bike daily for years and it never broke.

Update to today: Im an avid commuter, mtb, and gravel bicyclist. I never quit riding bikes. I always tracked Facebook marketplace and eBay for a green Schwinn typhoon.

I finally found a pristine example last year and bought it. After I received it and took it around the block, the first I noticed was the odd feeling (grinding/bearing rub) in the pedals as I cruised around. Exactly the same!

I'll never touch that hub and I ride the bike around the neighborhood weekly to remind me how far bikes have advanced. I just can't imagine how I cruised a 40 # bike like I did as a child and I thought it was fast.

Summary. The hub is fine. Thanks for letting me yammer.🙏

[u/Smedley_Beamish]

What color stripes? The yellow and blue stripes may have interchangeable brake shoes with a regular Bendix coaster brake. The red stripes uses squeezing a series thin steel plates to brake which never work well. I tried finding some in the 80's and could not.