Upgrading the brakes on a trike

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DGG1941
Posts: 89
Joined: 7 Jul 2011, 5:45pm

Upgrading the brakes on a trike

Post by DGG1941 »

The front disc brakes on my ICE Adventure do a first class job. The purpose of the upgrade was to achieve the same result with less effort and with a shorter reach - ie levers closer to the bars - as a preemptive move against ageing fingers. (And I enjoy tinkering!)

I made two changes:
- the first was to reduce the cable length by 23% (62 cms to 48). This still left a generous amount of cable and was possible as the bars are much closer together than the factory standard. This, of course, reduces the turning circle (something I’m happy to live with as I didn’t like the wide handlebar stance of the new Adventure) and thus the need for so much cable. I didn’t test this change but logic suggests that that would definitely make a noticeable improvement.

- the second was to upgrade the cables from the supplied Jagwire (good in themselves) to the excellent Yokozuna Reaction cables.

The results have been better than expected - some commentators have likened the Yokozuna cables to being on a par with hydraulic brakes. The lever reach is much less (I had to change the grub screw in the back of the brake body for longer ones) and there is a nice solid feel when squeezing the levers and very little effort for an emergency stop.
An upgrade that was well worth the expense of the new cables.
When I see an adult on a bicycle I do not despair for the human race, H G Wells.
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