Brake hose - how often do they wear out ?

General
1

Question - do I go for a front brake system (1000mm hose) / or rear brake (1700mm)

I am collecting parts for a budget unicycle.
And I assume a front or rear brake lever will make no difference for a Uni.
The hose will need to be cut down to around 580mm.

The 26-euro front brake system has 1,000mm of hose = 1x 580mm


The 28-euro rear brake system has 1,700mm of hose = 2x 580mm

The price difference is equivalent to US$3.00 for the rear system, and US£1.50 for1x additional hose termination with olive.

Will I ever need to use the spare brake hose?
I want to buy everything together to reduce the postage costs.

2

I had to replace the stock brake line of my 26" Oracle…with a longer one…because I’m taller, the seat is up higher, and I mounted the brake forward on the KH t-bar setup.

You will have to do some careful measuring, then decide if you’ll be experimenting with seat height and brake installation. Having an extra loop in the brake line can be annoying, but is still not as bad as having too little brake line.

3

They don’t wear out very often. The last two that I worked on wore out at the lever connection, and I was able to cut about 2cm’s off add a new olive, and bleed. So, if you leave a little wiggle room you may get more mileage out of a line than if you measure it exactly. Of course, those ones I were on bikes that normally have a little more line than a uni would.

4

I hit a rock on a downhill crash that poked a hole in my brake line. So it’s not a bad idea to have some extra on hand. I don’t think they “age out” under normal conditions.

5

Mine is still great after 2 years of use… I switching it to a Goodridge, but that’s just because I found a Goodridge line in my parts box.

6

Thanks for the replies.
I will measure up once the parts arrive mid January and start at 700-800mm, to leave me a 6-inch loop of slack hose for seat height adjustment, and trimming back the joints.
Short cranks = higher seat position.
For $4.50 (uk £3) I think I should opt for the 1700mm long rear brake system, and keep the spare hose as an emergency back-up.

This is a uni I will be riding twice a month only, so I don’t want to throw money at it.
The shopping list can be never ending once we start upgrading.