How to make brakes less powerful
- Thread starter ASATKat
- Start date
Ben J
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
A serious answer: If you have fancy brakes (e.g. SRAM Code RSC) they have a contact point adjustment on the brake body which will let you make the brake application more gradual.
A joke answer in the spirt of the rest of the answers: Get a little bit of air in your hydraulic lines...
A joke answer in the spirt of the rest of the answers: Get a little bit of air in your hydraulic lines...
I don't think that I'd want to have an ebike and a motorcycle at the same time.
You never know what mnemonic is going to take over until you're in a panic situation.
Maybe it's like knowing how to play a guitar and a banjo? Although I don't think that there's any panic situations playing either unless you've got stage fright.
I think @PDoz rides both?
I wonder if he's had any problems?
Actually, thinking about it, I think that if I had both an e-bike and a motorcycle, I'd swap the brake levers on my e-bike?
At least my front brake would always be on the right.
If I'd screw up on my e-bike expecting to disengage the clutch, I'd lock up the rear wheel instead of the front.
That's not just safer, but it can be a lot of fun too.
I remember having a bicycle at one point with the front brake on the right?
No problem switching from motorbike to mountainbike - in Aus we have front brake on the right ( it's a left side of the road thing) . Both my mtb and motorbike can manage controlled 1 finger stoppies
PCeBiker
Well-Known Member
- Region
- Canada
Oh, I didn't think of that.
Interestingly, I've got an old e-bike that has the twist throttle on the right for the North American market, so now the gripshift is on left with the numbers upside down and it rotates backwards.
It's got a direct drive 250 Watt motor with regeneration.
The power cuts out at 22 kph, then the regeneration kicks in at 25 kph to prevent you from going any faster.
Is it wrong that I want to find a steep hill and see what happens above 250 w of regen?
PCeBiker
Well-Known Member
- Region
- Canada
I was out for ride and I noticed a guy on a 10 speed gaining on me fast, so I started pedaling.
It got harder and harder to pedal but the bike Would Not go any faster than 25 kph.
It was embarrassing to be passed by an acoustic bike while I was on my powered ebike.
I did notice my voltmeter shoot up to 42 volts, so at least I wasn't wasting all my effort, but it doesn't have an ammeter so I don't know efficient the regeneration was.
It does have SLA batteries, so I wouldn't have to worry too much about over-charging the batteries.
They would just boil over and not explode like a lithium battery.
It's got brake switches too that engage the regeneration.
If you pull a brake lever a little bit, the regeneration kicks in before the brake pads touch the rim.
I do like seeing the volts go up when that happens.
Last edited:
bholio
Member
Hydraulic brakes on bikes are meant to be operated with your index finger only. Thats why they are so strong.
You are supposed to adjust the position of the brake lever so your index finger can hold the end of the lever at all times, and your other fingers can grip the handlebar. This allows the most control of the bike with 3 fingers (+ thumb) around the bar at all times, and 1 always on the brake. In a panic, you only have that one finger on the brake instead of your whole hand.
You are supposed to adjust the position of the brake lever so your index finger can hold the end of the lever at all times, and your other fingers can grip the handlebar. This allows the most control of the bike with 3 fingers (+ thumb) around the bar at all times, and 1 always on the brake. In a panic, you only have that one finger on the brake instead of your whole hand.
fooferdoggie
Well-Known Member
no that's not the case. the longer the levers the more fingers they are designed for. at least with me I can't get full braking with one finger on a 3 finger lever. a single-finger lever is short and takes a lot less effort to pull. this is a single-finger brake lever and I can stop our 400-pound tandem with one finger on each lever even on the steepest of hills. few bikes come with single finger brake levers.
bholio
Member
If the OP grabbed a handful of brake and went over the bars, the solution is not to make the brakes less powerful, it is to use the brakes properly by not grabbing them by the handful. All decent mountain bikes have 1 finger brakes, even if the lever might technically have room for more fingers. They are not rare.
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