Tigerbiten wrote: ↑29 Nov 2023, 10:57pm
I've only one hand since my accident with a Tiger so I've also looked in to one hand braking.
The main downside I found with 1 lever/2 cables setup is there is no variation in braking front to back.
So what works great in a straight line on a dry road is the opposite of what you need going around a corner in the wet.
I'm sure I could have worked something out on a bike but that was one of the main reasons I ended up on a recumbent trike.
A lot less of a risk of coming off when slowing down from a silly high speed run in all conditions.
It's taken some work/time to arrange the 4 controls needed in to the most ergonomic layout for me.
So you probably won't get it perfect first time, but as long as you're close you can work on it.
Luck ........
Yikes a Tiger?!
I've seen a video on yt recently where a guy that lost his arm had a road bike with one shifter for both which locks up the back before the front, i'm planning to visit a few bike shops in the coming weeks to see if something like this is possible
One of the first things i did after my stroke was look at recumbant bikes and it's still an option but i want to see how it goes with what i've got with minimal investment for the moment. i used to ride a motorcycle and i would love to get back into that too, obviously that comes with many more challenges but my logic is get back on two wheels, work on balance, arm mobility, adaptations, fitness and most of all get out there. I can feel that this process is going to take a some patience and persistence but i'm feeling pretty inspired to overcome the challenge.
rareposter wrote: ↑30 Nov 2023, 8:48am
I was trying to find (unsuccessfully...) a pic I know I have somewhere of a mountain biker I saw at a cafe stop once who had a prosthetic left arm. He had a socket on the left bar that a ball joint on his limb popped into (it would release in an accident) and his right hand grip had two individual brake levers, set at a slight angle and one slightly inboard of the other. It meant he could use the inner/upper brake lever with his first finger and the lower/outer lever with his middle and ring finger. If I can't find the image I'll try and recreate the layout using some spare parts.
Gear shifting was a trigger shifter under the bar and he was running a 1x - something that might be worth considering if you're not going to be going super fast or doing big climbs is to swap out the current double Tiagra chainset (which from the link you posted has 34/46 chainrings) and replace it with a 1x at maybe 38 or 40T. No front shifter required and you can still get a range of gears to cover most riding.
Ah ok thats a good idea, i've seen there is a flat bar tiagra shifter that'll likely fit under bar so that should work and it's pretty cheap. i'm going to look into changing the front chainset as eliminating a front shifter would save me space for the brakes. I'm waiting for a reply from microshift to see if one of the front thumb shift will work with my chainset too. Di2 would be awesome but out of the question, i'm visiting a few bike shops next week to see if it's possible to have one brake lever for both that locks rear wheel first. The Hope Tech duo which was mentioned earlier just seems like an all in one package with minimal fuss, expensive but i have some time to put more funds aside for the project as it's too cold to ride at the moment and i'm in the process of designing the left bracket to hold my hand.
The idea i have is to use a system with similar function to a cleat but the release to be controlled by my right hand using a wire/pin, inspried by Tom Wheelers system. I looked into both the Paralymipians you mentioned but could find details of their bike set ups, you have any links?
I've also reached out to some charities so hopefully i'll be 3d printing some mock ups soon. If you're able to find the pic that would be awesome but i appreciate all the info non the less.
Revv wrote: ↑1 Dec 2023, 2:10pm...
i'm visiting a few bike shops next week to see if it's possible to have one brake lever for both that locks rear wheel first.
...
On our Dawes tandems a single lever with two cables activates both rim brakes.
Revv wrote: ↑29 Nov 2023, 3:47pm
.... i'll use clip ins with MTB shoes to keep my foot in place.
Presumably you'll be unclipping your good leg when coming to a halt but you may encounter problems on the rare occasions that the bike decides to topple the other way.
Will you be able as easily to unclip your weaker leg?
I have to kind of shift my body and hip to unclip, it's not easy and i will need to practice, the other option is use spiked pedals with a toe clip/cage. I've ridden a friends hybrid with toe clips, obviously not as secure but i think can work with its limits.
Revv wrote: ↑29 Nov 2023, 3:47pm
.... i'll use clip ins with MTB shoes to keep my foot in place.
Presumably you'll be unclipping your good leg when coming to a halt but you may encounter problems on the rare occasions that the bike decides to topple the other way.
Will you be able as easily to unclip your weaker leg?
I have to kind of shift my body and hip to unclip, it's not easy and i will need to practice, the other option is use spiked pedals with a toe clip/cage. I've ridden a friends hybrid with toe clips, obviously not as secure but i think can work with its limits.
Brucey wrote: ↑30 Nov 2023, 12:00pm
one thing that hasn't been mentioned is the possible use of a coaster brake; such conversions [eg to a Nexus 8 hub] are not cheap [or easy come to that] but they do make it a bit more straightforward to put a safe/legal bike together.
Psamathe wrote: ↑30 Nov 2023, 1:41pm
I've no experience of the customisations the OP is seeking but re brakes: I seem to remember some Dutcvh bikes have rear brake where you pedal backwards (or rather pressure pedals in reverse) to apply rear brake. Do such things still exist? are they practical? any possibility for OP?
Ian
Interesting, had no idea something like this existed. Going to look into this and see if i can try a bike with it fitted, will need to create new muscle memory to adapt but i probably have to do that anyway. Cheers
I had a coaster brake with a SRAM 7 speed hub. It stopped me well and I did enjoy it. Only thing to remember was stopping at traffic lights with the pedal in the right position. You can’t back pedal.
Whatever I am, wherever I am, this is me. This is my life
Brucey wrote: ↑30 Nov 2023, 12:00pm
one thing that hasn't been mentioned is the possible use of a coaster brake; such conversions [eg to a Nexus 8 hub] are not cheap [or easy come to that] but they do make it a bit more straightforward to put a safe/legal bike together.
Psamathe wrote: ↑30 Nov 2023, 1:41pm
I've no experience of the customisations the OP is seeking but re brakes: I seem to remember some Dutcvh bikes have rear brake where you pedal backwards (or rather pressure pedals in reverse) to apply rear brake. Do such things still exist? are they practical? any possibility for OP?
Interesting, had no idea something like this existed. Going to look into this and see if i can try a bike with it fitted, will need to create new muscle memory to adapt but i probably have to do that anyway.
...
Norman H wrote: ↑30 Nov 2023, 12:19pm
Presumably you'll be unclipping your good leg when coming to a halt but you may encounter problems on the rare occasions that the bike decides to topple the other way.
Will you be able as easily to unclip your weaker leg?
I have to kind of shift my body and hip to unclip, it's not easy and i will need to practice, the other option is use spiked pedals with a toe clip/cage. I've ridden a friends hybrid with toe clips, obviously not as secure but i think can work with its limits.
Revv wrote: ↑1 Dec 2023, 2:10pm...
i'm visiting a few bike shops next week to see if it's possible to have one brake lever for both that locks rear wheel first.
...
On our Dawes tandems a single lever with two cables activates both rim brakes.
Revv wrote: ↑1 Dec 2023, 2:10pm...
i'm visiting a few bike shops next week to see if it's possible to have one brake lever for both that locks rear wheel first.
...
On our Dawes tandems a single lever with two cables activates both rim brakes.
Of course a tandem differs from a solo in wheel loading under braking.
Can this be adjust to give bias to back?
First thought... the available relevant adjustments would be the design of the doubler and then cable lengths, mechanical advantage of the brakes and block material.
Jonathan
Last edited by Jdsk on 1 Dec 2023, 2:44pm, edited 1 time in total.
Paulatic wrote: ↑1 Dec 2023, 2:33pm
I had a coaster brake with a SRAM 7 speed hub. It stopped me well and I did enjoy it. Only thing to remember was stopping at traffic lights with the pedal in the right position. You can’t back pedal.
ok, this could complicate things but i could get used to it, does it lock the wheel imediately or gradually slow you down and the further back you pedal it eventually locks, if that makes sense? thanks for the info
Of course a tandem differs from a solo in wheel loading under braking.
Can this be adjust to give bias to back?
First thought... the available relevant adjustments would be the design of the doubler and then cable lengths, mechanical advantage of the brakes and block material.
Jonathan
ok, if i understand correctly, the cable length would be what engages the back before the front?
Revv wrote: ↑1 Dec 2023, 2:36pm
Can this be adjust to give bias to back?
First thought... the available relevant adjustments would be the design of the doubler and then cable lengths, mechanical advantage of the brakes and block material.
ok, if i understand correctly, the cable length would be what engages the back before the front?
If there's any compliance in the system it could also affect force after engagement.
Something else that has come to mine is i'll need a new stem to ride change my position. I can't signal with my left has anyone seen or used electronic signals, are they legal?
Revv wrote: ↑1 Dec 2023, 2:52pm
Something else that has come to mine is i'll need a new stem to ride change my position. I can't signal with my left has anyone seen or used electronic signals, are they legal?
Electronic indicators for bicycles crop up on Kickstarter every once in a while and invariably fall flat. They're pointless. Too close together to mean anything from a distance, drivers simply don't expect cyclists to have motorbike style indicators anyway and are somehow baffled by them plus it's a load of extra wiring* and crap to festoon around an already crowded bar and frame.
*I seem to remember one attempt that used Bluetooth rather than wires although like all the other attempts to market such a device, it got no interest.
Don't over-complicate it, there's enough extra modifications going on without adding indicators into the mix. Arguably, indicating left is less important than indicating right anyway.
