The setup would need to survive an impact with the ground/street. And the hardware would need to handle strenuous twisting, pushing and pulling. My concern is that the twist shifters would break almost immediately.
If a durable, functional prototype could be made, the question still remains whether the rider could control braking and maintain control of the bar ends, without one of those functions interfering with the other.
Many good riders are already able to do this using a typical brake setup. Maybe I am just not that talented, but I always thought there had to be a better solution to the brake setup.
@lobbybopster give me some time, and thanks for the thoughtful reply and kind offer.
Thanks for giving this some thought, @JimT . The more recent setup on my 26" Oracle (no picture, currently disassembled) allows me to hold either or both bar ends while braking with a combination of fingers of either or both hands. This was a huge improvement for me, compared to the stock setup.
Hello again elpueblo,
I do like and use JimT’s type setup but will never stand in the way of someones dream/inovations, just look at what I ride. But if the twists were at the base of the handles you could have a good control hold with your upper fingers and twist the grips with your pinky. I find that if I apply a lot of force to the brakes it gets me in trouble and the only skidding I do is down the hill on my stomach. I added a “U” shaped lever at the end of my brake lever much like Jim is alluding to and it works really well. Continue on your quest, it has merit.
I see what you mean about twisting with the pinkies. My main braking technique is to use the pinkie and ring of either / both hand on the brake lever, so already that’s not so different. Also, in a braking situation, and on downhills in general, I tend to keep my handhold closer to the seat. So, again, your suggestion makes sense. And the twists wouldn’t be in a position where they could be damaged.
The bar ends would need an outside diameter equal to the inside diameter of the shifters, or I’d have to fit something else around the bar ends to fill the gap. The cables from the shifters would meet at a “Y”, I suppose. God knows how the rest of the linkage might work. I have zero engineering skill. A project like this would probably have to be done in little segments. Do you know the inside diameter of the shifters?
@lobbybopster Sorry I am not so good at plugging in identities to forum members, but I do remember trying your shock-absorbing muni at the Fullerton muni weekend a few years ago. Assuming we get this Covid thing managed, the group ride scene in SoCal needs to be resuscitated. Ben left town, Augie got into rock climbing, so Chuck is not organizing anything. I enjoyed group rides, but I also found them super intimidating.
Hi. Handle bars are 7/8" so I assume bar ends are the same or smaller, sleeves would take care of that. A 2 into one brake is common in road and mountain b*kes for dual position levers, and also tandums. springs are everywere. The grip/twist shifters have the cable exit in line with the handle bars. That places the rubber of the twister opposite the direction the cable runs, so it would run directly back toward the seat post. 2 into one, return spring, single cable to brake (I prefer disc) a zip tie and you have dual twist controlled brakes. Your idea is genious! great job with easy to get/pick parts.
The Fullerton loop is still open, that’s where I ride most with an occasional silverado or majeska to saddle back microwave tower ride. I’m staying away from the beach for now. Yes SoCal. needs to reawaken to the group rides as soon as this allows.
I did some quick research, and some bar ends have the same 7/8" diameter (22.2mm). Not a deal-breaker, but it’d be nice to keep the curved ends of the bar (see my picture above). Wondering if the tolerances of the twist shifters allow them to be slid over the bend in the bar end.
I have no idea what needs to be removed from the twist shifters in their conversion to brakes. For example, don’t they have click positions and a backstop of some sort? There would have to be some kind of tight spring in the setup to eliminate any slop/movement in the twists.
I am also wondering if the reservoir might need to be placed further back, more under the seat. The Shadow handle, I think, allows for such a mod. A brake lever is typically pulled upward, toward the sky. A modified brake lever would have to point down toward the ground and have the linkage attached to its end, right? Then there is the issue of how the cables from the twist shifters pass over/around the “T” of the Shadow setup.
Thanks for giving this some consideration, @lobbybopster !
I think that you should go with a mechanical disk brake for your prototype (like the TRP Spyke) to keep the complexity of the system as low as possible…
I agree with the twist shifter, mechanical diskbrake ideas as a first prototype. I’d start on one side first, minimal complexity and that should already help to tell you if you are on a good track. All you would need to do is disable the ratcheting mechanism and adapt a cable to work. (It will not result in a satisfactory product, but at least give you some idea of the leverages you should aim for)
I’m a bit skeptical on the ergonomics, because separating twisting and pulling is probably harder than isolating the movement of one finger. But motorcycle throttles also work that way, and I like your thinking. Much in the same way that I would love to test a suspension unicycle, I think that this concept deserves some exploration, even if I doubt it will prove superior.
My G26 is built in a Nimbus Muni frame. It currently has a Magura brake setup. That is not mechanical, however. I will have to research what the cabled alternatives are for a unicycle.
I bought long ago some V-Brakes adapters for Magura mounts and some people on this forum made custom versions of it (a bit of search is in order…).
Yet again, that would require an initial validation of how the brake feels with the regular lever in order to make sure you can make the difference between your idea and the Magura/V-Brakes differences.
I didn’t get exactly what you wanted to do. Do you want two brake levers connected to the same brake? If that is what you’re looking for, you should try a Shimano GRX inline secondary brake lever.
Thanks for the info. Right now, the most important thing is finding out if the braking pressure can be controlled separately from the control over the handle. I suppose that could be tested without a full brake setup. Maybe there is a way to test if the twist shifters can, at the very least, be held in the same position during a ride on uneven terrain.
I repurposed a set of clip-on aerobars that a bike shop was throwing away, into a handlebar for my 29" wheel that I use for errands and casual road riding.
I used just one of the bars, but both of the handlebar mounts in tandem, bolted to a KH-style homemade stiffener plate. Result is rock solid and works well, though I would like to to be able to adjust the angle - I’d like to point it a little downward.
The silver bar end stub is to lock my hand in place when I’m climbing, and pulling up on the bar.
@MrImpossible I have never tried such a setup. I am sensitive to changes in the width of of my own bar setup. I narrowed the Shadow T on one of my unicycles and wasn’t happy with the outcome. I would even consider widening my bar setup, though that is limited by the stock width of my Shadow T. Your setup is as narrow as they come. I imagine that a certain side-to-side leverage I get on my own bar setup would be absent on a single bar-end. Also, my handholds tend to be more inward-facing. Ergonomically, I have trouble imagining being comfortable, having a natural wrist position, on your setup. I assume it works well for you…
For riding one handed, I really like a single centered pointing-straight-ahead grip. The only wheel I ride two handed is my 36", which does have parallel grips at the end, but even that one I mostly ride with one hand in closer, on the single bar part.
I like that mounting setup to the stiffener plate, pretty neat design!
In germany we tend to call this style of handle “Schwanzus Longus” ( translates to “Biggus Dickus” after the Monty Python sketch).
I find them not really that comfortable (I don’t like the forward facing grip position), but you are not the only person that does like it. They tend to offer good protection for the brake lever to not dig into the ground, and I think it’s also fairly simple to diy one without any welding skill, both things I like.
I think for me the single bar appeals for technical off-road as I’m very rarely riding with both hands on the bars, but on road or light single-track I like to relax more and rest both hands somewhere.
