Looking for a solution to control both brake levers with one hand, so you can control the amount of brake power of front and rear brake yourself? Than the Hope Tech 3 Duo might be what your looking for. The Hope Tech 3 Duo operates 2 calipers individually from a single master cylinder.
On the bike it looks like this:
Does your bike has a front derailleur and do you want to operate both the rear- as the front derailleur with the same hand on a dropbar bike, than you can use a mechanical time trial shifter.
A lot of bikes nowadays come with an electronical groupset. But when you buy / own a bike with a mechanical groupset, than you can use this lightweight and simple solution. Be sure you mount a front- or rear derailleur specific time trial shifter, because of the indexing!
If you are right-handed, you are fortunate that you do not have to operate the rear derailleur with the “extra time trial shifter” but can use the standard shifter in the brake lever (STI) for this. You shift most of your gears with the rear derailleur, as it has the most “cogs” (sprockets on the cassette), and at the front you usually only have 1, 2 or 3 sprockets (most racing bikes have 2 front sprockets). You therefore only switch from the front sprocket when there is a strong headwind or when going uphill. Furthermore, you will usually use the rear derailleur.
Because the left standard shifter in the brake lever (STI) has an “index” for the front derailleur, so usually only has two positions, you cannot operate the rear derailleur with it.
If you are only left-handed, electronic shifting is therefore all the more worth the investment.
When you have to operate both front as rear brake but only can use one hand, a cable doubler/splitter comes in handy. For this you can perfectly use a splitter which mountainbikers use to lockout both front as rear suspension with one lever! Suspension manufacturer Fox produces such remote lockout splitters, for example the โFox 2014 – 2017 AM Splitterโ:
One cable runs from the brake lever through the splitter, directly to the front brake. The other cable runs from the splitter to the rear brake. This provides a 100% safe connection.
Fox splitters are now becoming increasingly less available because more and more people are switching to electronic control of the front and rear suspension.
The Dutch cable manufacturer Elvedes also has a solution, the “Elvedes Universal cable splitter set“:
Elvedes Universal cable splitter set
Ook Jtek Engineering heeft een kabelsplitter in het assortiment:
Jtek Engineering Double Control Brake Cable Splitter
BEWARE!!!
The Problem Solvers Cable Doubler is a very, very dangerous solution!
The pulling cable doesn’t run through the splitter but is secured with a very tiny bolt inside the splitter. So, when this comes loose, you’re out of brakes! Despite of perfect maintenance this happened to us, so we know what we’re talking about. Fortunately it happened at very low speed, with no traffic or other obstacles on the road. Otherwise this could have caused severe injury or even death…
Because you are pulling two brakes, you need a little more pressure when sqeezing your brake lever. So you want to use cables with as low friction as possible. Therefor you can best use coated cables such as the Shimano coated brake cables.
Thank god someone invented the Free Lock! The Free Lock is a safe and stable gripping system for your orthosis or prosthesis. The Free Lock is an invention of the company Stel Orthopedie, in my opinion the number one company worldwide for custom solutions cyclists with a disability.
Because of a brachial plexus injury I have to use an orthosis for my left arm.
Here’s what it looks like on the bike:
My orthesis comes with a hinge which is supported by a gas damper, so when I put a little pressure on it, I can ride in the drops on my road- and gravelbike, or take on an aerodynamic position on a bike with a flatbar.
Check https://www.freelock.nl/ for more info, images and videos.
Only one hand and want to control two brakes? Outbraker has got the perfect solution for hydraulic disc brakes! With the Outbraker Booster Brake Splitter you can safely brake with one hand.
I am using the Outbraker Booster Brake Splitter on my road bike as well as on my gravel bike for quite some time now, and absolutely love it. It’s almost maintenance free, you only need to change your brake fluid once in a while. But that’s inherent to hydraulic disc brakes anyway. You can install it with standard Shimano connectors on Shimano brake hoses, but Outbraker also offers a Brake Hose Adapter kit that can be used for other brands. When you want to use the Splitter on a MTB with Shimano, SRAM, Tektro or Hayes you can fit it directly on the lever.
Check outbraker.eu for alle specs, or order on there online shop.
