Dual brake lever

[JerboaJohn]

yeah same mechanism. I guess there's a different tension on my calipers F to R. time to redo my brakes I guess. 3 years on the same cables and calipers
wow I see they are only $8.50.

 

[heligonka]

I would have thought that someone with an original and comprehensive evaluation of the "single lever - dual pull" bike braking lever would already have made a posting about this issue. At first look, it might seem that the mechanism would pull on both front and rear cables with an equal amount of braking power. Superficially, yes, but consider that there are still 2 separate "nut and ferrule" adjustable units that can be set to provide a biased braking force, i.e.. front before rear, or rear before front. So. the truth is that, with a great deal of careful micro-adjustment, the front/rear braking bias can be preset to provide a very specific response.

 

[FNTPuck]

I run the exact same sunlite dual lever on any bike with front and rear. As heligonka said you can adjust the cable barrels individually to give proper bias so if someone grabs a handful of brake in a panic stop they wont lock the front wheel and slide or flip over the front. Works great.

I think the triple lever thing is rediculous and unsafe, and have seen bikes with two levers on the left with the brake pointing at the sky?!? How are you supposed to effectively brake with it like that, your forehead when it hits the bars???

 

[FurryOnTheInside]

Braking in a straight line on a good dry road the rear wheel is almost lifting off the road when the front brake is applying the maximum possible braking force. The rear brake is useless when there is no weight on the rear tyre, and any rear brake applied then will cause the tyre to skid. The ideal bias is up to 100/0.
Breaking in a turn the front tyre is dealing with the sideways force as well as braking so that when the maximum amount of front brake is applied the rear wheel still has some weight on it and the rear brake is still useful. The tighter the turn, or greater the speed, the closer to 50/50 the bias would need to be for maximum braking effectiveness.
In wet or slippery conditions the front tyre can't keep traction enough to unweight the rear wheel, to a greater or lesser extent depending on how bad the conditions are. The ideal bias could be anywhere, you have to feel it out.

Dual brake levers from tricycles and pedicabs are made for left and right wheels.
The use of these for front and rear wheels on a bike does not allow the rider to have any control over the front and rear bias where the ideal bias depends on the situation, like straight line or in a turn, in dry or slippery conditions, on flat ground or on a downhill..
If someone wants to use those on a bike it's their choice. It's their bike.

Having independent braking does allow the rider to control the bias fully while riding.
There's absolutely no need to position the rear brake lever above horizontal. If someone wants to do that it's their own choice. Mine is below horizontal and can be operated by one finger. It's still easy to reach the clutch lever too.

Left side controls

• FurryOnTheInside
• Sep 25, 2017

I have my controls hooked up now. Left hand does the front and rear SRAM indexed shifters for...

I have seen downhill off road wheelchairs with four levers for independent braking but that is a different story.

The OP wants to use a dual pull lever and that's fine. It's his bike.

 

[heligonka]

It would seem apparent that there are some folk who admire their own ability to provide the precisely required amount of braking force to both front and rear wheels (independently) of a TWO WHEEL bike under ALL conditions, and find it necessary to refer to pedicabs and tricycles as a freakish comparison of the use of a "single-pull dual-action" lever. There is no known bicycle braking system that can provide the exact front/rear optimum braking force to deal with every possible situation, especially in an emergency situation, AND that goes for the Superman who has the confidence that he/she can perform the miracle of the Perfect Stop under any circumstance. It ain't gonna happen. The use of the dual action brake lever is a useful single handed control for a bike's brakes, much like a modern car's front and rear brakes are controlled by pushing on a single pedal. Different scenario, but exact same principle. After all, though, each person sees it their own way.

 

[JerboaJohn]

I remember why I first got one, I had an uncomfortable braking situation and grabbed the front brake when I meant to clutch at 20mph stalled and almost went over the bars. now I'm luvin the freed up space esp for lighting controls

 

[Spare_Parts]

You can possibly adjust some bias into the dual pull lever but that rocker will pull out slack from one cable until it is pulling the same force on both. The rest is placebo. Imo it's very simple to see how it works. If you could adjust the center pivot side to side it would change the bias. That is the concept circle track cars use on their brakes. Its called a balance bar.

 

[gary55]

Here's a topic that has been discussed ad nauseam. Been using them for years. they work great. The rocker equals pressure when pulls are close to equal. No micro hassle at all. Some folks don't like them. Nothing is ever perfect for everybody, but these come close for those who like them. Like me.

 

[FNTPuck]

I agree that either method can work, it is ultimately up to the rider and preference. I do feel that for a casual rider or someone brand new to motorized bikes, the linked brake has some ease of use benefits and is less intimidating.

For what its worth, there are 600+lb motorcycles that use linked brakes with no issues so there are no safety concerns on our little bikes when properly set up. Not every stop is going to be a 100% slam on the brakes, and not every rider knows how and when to properly use each brake so for some having a linked brake is safer than them jamming the front downhill in a panic.

I'm sure for anyone on this site we can all properly use both brakes independently as ideally it should be, but that's not always the most convenient/easiest/best looking setup.

Just another topic of preference with many opinions .

 

[bigstevo]

I have a throttle with a dual brake lever on it. It really helped being able to reach shifter and brakes with a clean look.