Hydraulic brakes with one functioning hand

[Harry Sp]

There are various cable splitters, not sure whether a simple hydraulic split would quite do what you want...

The issue you'll face is that you need to move twice the amount of hydraulic fluid, or run with half the clearance. At least pressure is transmitted well though, so you should be able to get decent performance.


What's your current bar layout (are you on flats, drops, tiller, superman...)



Lots of ideas: http://www.mtb-amputee.com/bikemodifications.htm

cheers. yeh i think with a splitter for the hydraulics it will result in two weak brakes compared to having at least one good brake operable with right hand. am on drops

[Harry Sp]

I was wondering whether anyone has any experience of adapting hydraulic disk brakes so the back and front brakes can both be controlled by only my right hand (I have a brachial plexus injury and not able to use my left hand).

Really appreciate any ideas. I have di2 so don't need to use my left hand for gear change but the mechanics at my local bike shop are struggling to find a solution for braking (beyond switching back brake to right hand).

Why would you want to switch the rear brake to your functioning hand? If you currently have the front brake controlled by your right hand, use just the front brake - it will stop you far more rapidly than the rear, and on dry roads, with good brakes, you can brake just as quickly with front brake alone as with both brakes - maximum braking deceleration is achieved when the rear wheel is almost unloaded, at which time the rear brake is contributing almost nothing to the stop.

I agree that in the dry most of your braking is from the front brake.
But ......
In the wet the use of the front brake becomes a lot more iffy.
If the back wheel skids under braking in the wet then you should/may be able to recover it.
If the front wheel skids under braking then you'll probably hit the deck.
So in the wet the back brake becomes more useful.
It's that shift in the balance front/back that cannot be overcome easily with one lever to two brakes.

Unless you're on a trike.
Then you must be doing something very silly if you fall off when you skid a wheel.

The other question is how safely you can let go of the handlebars with your good hand.
That's one of the reasons my back brake is setup as a drag brake.
I can set it to slow me down and then stick my hand out to indicate a turn, mostly useful for downhill turns.

Luck ............

yeh i am thinking back brake safer as in the event of having to slam on a brake more likely to go over with the front, whereas skidding on the back but less likely to go over

[Harry Sp]

You need two separate braking systems so one lever operating both brakes without any other system won't do.

whilst the law there is examples where this has been successfully challenged so not my prime concern

[Harry Sp]

Not hydraulic, but I did find it possible to use two flat bar Mtb type levers with one hand at the same time on a tandem. It isn't the most ergonomic arrangement and you don't get quite the same level of fine control, but it kind of works.

cheers specifically looking for hydraulic options but always good to see some examples

[Harry Sp]

Riding fixed or using a back-pedal brake could be worth trying
I have hand-operated brakes too but they are hardly ever used

hey yeh i already ride my city bike fixed with a back pedal brake. but i miss cycling in the hills so need to adapt my road bike

[RickH]

How about a hybrid option? Such as Hope's V-Twin, where you run cables at the handlebar end (with whatever levers plus splitters/combiners) that then operates hydraulics from the stem to the brakes.

[andrew_s]

yeh i am thinking back brake safer as in the event of having to slam on a brake more likely to go over with the front, whereas skidding on the back but less likely to go over

If you've only one usable brake, it's much better that it's the front brake. You've just got to learn how to use it properly.

Whilst a back brake only may allow you to recover fairly easily when you skid, recovery requires that you stop braking, or at least ease off significantly. You are then in the situation of needing to brake but being unable to do so adequately.
As well as situations like running into the car that pulls out in front of you, you may also find that you can't brake enough to keep your speed under control on a steep hill.

Whilst the law requires that you have two independent braking systems, it doesn't, as far as I know, require that you be able to use both simultaneously.
That would allow, for example, a regular front brake on the drop for serious stopping, and a flat bar/crosstop lever mounted on the tops for more gentle speed control using the rear brake

[Ugly]

I used to ride with a chap, Peter who had a badly deformed hand he had a foot lever to operate the rear brake. This was custom made by a competent engineer and attached to the frame by a brazed on boss, it comprised a lever mounted to the left chain stay that the riders foot cleared in his normal pedalling action but by putting his foot in a horizontal position it enabled his heel to engaged with the lever and pull on the back brake. Peter is no longer with us but one of his bikes is owned by a friend of mine, the foot brake equipment is now removed but is kept by my friend if anyone is seriosly interested I will see if I can get some photos.

[Brucey]

if you are getting into the realms of engineered solutions, I can't help but think of the vintage bike that was posted (by someone, apologies but I can't remember who) which had the weirdest backpedal brake I have ever seen. Basically there was a sprag clutch fitted to the BB spindle, so that when you backpedalled the sprag engaged and this worked a lever that was attached via a linkage to a standard brake mechanism.

It occurs to me that a steel HT-II BB spindle would accept a sprag clutch quite nicely and a steel frame could be modified to have a lever poking out of the BB shell. So this is another way of engineering a system that might meet your need, and potentially it could be made to work with almost any brake.

cheers

[pjclinch]

Magura BIG Twin, see here...

As for "must be two independent systems", well, Up To A Point, Lord Copper... Dame Sarah Storey rides around on a bike with one lever controlling both brakes, this is public knowledge and yet nobody has seen fit to have her arrested and fined.

If you mow someone down on a bike without decent brakes the Book Will Be Thrown At You if it's clearly your fault, but a bit like SPuD pedals without reflectors being illegal, or the pedal reflectors on a 'bent not being visible from the rear being illegal, I'd be very surprised if you got nicked just for having a bike with Maggie BIG Twins on the road.

Pete.

[9494arnold]

Mention of Footbrake. I recall seeing footbrakes going to rear drums on older Tandems. I am currently custodian of a Diff drive Higgins Trike with a drum brake on the Diff which has a heel brake to activate it. Like that when. I acquired it but happy to share pictures if it helps.

(paul_arnold@sandwell.gov.uk) if you do want pictures.

[Ugly]

Brucey
That was my Sumbeam, a number of other makers offered that type of rear brake James being one. Very efficient but it means you can't wheel the bike backwards!

[Tigerbiten]

You're not likely to be nicked if you only have one working brake.
But if your in an accident then how much compensation will you lose because of it ??
Why make the argument for compensation any harder than it has to be.

I rode a bike a few times after my accident and was ok as long as everything was fine.
But I didn't feel I had a lot of leeway in terms of safety if anything had gone wrong.
That why I got a recumbent trike, it gives me a lot more leeway.

I've had my both my front brakes fail on me a few times now because they are a single system and I was glad I had a backup in my back brake.
It's hard to use as a brake as I need to take my hand off the handle bar to use it.
And it doesn't give me a lot of stopping power due to lack of weight on the back wheel.
But it does stop me.
So only one single system will work fine 99% of time, it's that other very odd 1% you have to plan for with a backup system.

[Cunobelin]

There are various cable splitters, not sure whether a simple hydraulic split would quite do what you want...

The issue you'll face is that you need to move twice the amount of hydraulic fluid, or run with half the clearance. At least pressure is transmitted well though, so you should be able to get decent performance.


What's your current bar layout (are you on flats, drops, tiller, superman...)



Lots of ideas: http://www.mtb-amputee.com/bikemodifications.htm

Magura did ones some a few years ago, the "Big Twin" some years ago



They were popular with Tadpole Trikes.

The closest I can find on a quick Google is:

Magura MT2 Twin

[thirdcrank]

... if anyone is seriosly interested I will see if I can get some photos.

If you can do that without a lot of inconvenience then I think it would be good. When quiries arise, it's always useful when somebody remembers "We had a post about that...."