Hydraulic Brake splitter ???

mcbainia

Hello there.

Not sure if this is the right place to be asking about this but i'll give it a whirl any way...I am looking for info on how / where to get a hydraulic brake splitter or something similar that will allow me to control both front and rear brakes from the same lever. I only have the one hand and have tried using only the front and only the rear brake but neither option is particularly safe...

I am looking to have control of both brakes via the same lever preferably 75% back and 25% front.

I have trawled the net and found very little in the way of help. I did manage to find a picture of a bloke that has done the same thing but that's all - a picture !!

The bike is question i a GT Zaskar Pro with XT isc brakes & Levers (seperates)

Can you help in any way ?

Mancunianfightingcat

You could do with something like this, then you can alter the front/rear bias to suit. If you talk to your local bike shop they could probably sort you out the connectors
http://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/products/ProductDetail.asp?cls=MSPORT&pcode=RIX837

Mancunianfightingcat

oops, just noticed it's only got 1 in and 1 out, you'll need this too


http://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/products/ProductDetail.asp?cls=MSPORT&pcode=GDR5130-03C

nicklouse

mcbainia
i would have a look at these bits of info

http://www.mtb-amputee.com/bikemodifica ... m_Amputees.

http://www.heathermills.eu/forum/

and i thing the splitter idea is not really the best idea as you never need the same power on both brakes.

I will see what else i can find.

adam_silver_1987

i wouldnt go wit ha splitter. you will just end up locking up both wheels and dying. lol.

my mate had a nasty bike accident after a jump went wrong a coupla years ago and lost all use of his left hand. he now runs both brake levers on the same side. this works preetty well for him. but i spose it depends on the rider ?

mcbainia

Cheers for the replies folks.

Plenty of food for thought there ! My only fear of having 2 levers on one site is that I yank the wrong one in haste and end up under the bike...hence the splitter idea. It still may be worth a go though..

Local bike shop has ordered a splitter from Hope (apparently a standard part) which will work fine with my brakes so we'll see how we get on with that for a start. Don't know if it'll be able to adjust the front to rear ratio though but it costs £4 for the part so it's worth a go.

Cheers for your replies - I know where to come in future.

Mastineo

Speaking from experience (paralysed left hand) On the MTB Ive found having both brake levers on the right hand side to be effective. I have the front brake lever lower than the rear. The way mine are set up I can apply both bakes at the same time with different pressure as needs be. The front brake is really well set up and bled so that I can lock the front wheel with one finger, whilst the rear brake is quite spongy - but still able to lock the wheel. Brakes are Avid Juicy 3.
On the road bike (Giant FCR flat bar), I have all the gear controls on the right hand side and just the front brake. To make this work all I had to do was fit the left hand gear shifter upside down so that my thumb is used to change to a higher gear front and rear and index finger used to shift to a lower gear front and rear.
Ive only been cycling about a year or so but this is what works best for me.......So far!!

scottgeniusltd2005

maybe a rear coster brake setup? or even a fixie, i have seen a bloke on the trails with a fixie mtb and he was a lot faster than me up hill, not much slower down either.

cee

and can i just add......you guys are hardcore.....much respect

stubs

There is a company that makes thumb operated brake levers for motorbike racing. Most racers dont use the back its only fitted to pass the rules so its the lightest and smallest lever that can be made that still works.

You might be able to work it so that you can operate both at the same time. Cant remember name but I saw it in MCN I will have a nose on web see if I can track it down.

stubs

These two links might help they are for motorbikes but they might point you in right direction

http://forum.disabledbiker.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=759

http://www.nabd.org.uk/adaptions/adaptionkits.htm

dave_hill

mcbainia wrote:

Local bike shop has ordered a splitter from Hope (apparently a standard part) which will work fine with my brakes so we'll see how we get on with that for a start. Don't know if it'll be able to adjust the front to rear ratio though but it costs £4 for the part so it's worth a go.

As far as controlling both brakes from one lever go, it may be that a pneumatic flow restrictor valve (which can be quite tiny) could be fitted into the lines between the splitter and the calipers. That way you can adjust how much fluid is being flowed to each caliper and thus control bias.