Stay Tuned
01-07-21, 04:34 PM
#1
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Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: Colorado
Posts: 477
Bikes: 2020 Trek Domane SLR 9 (very green), 2016 Trek Emonda SL, 2009 Bianchi 928, 1972 Atala Record Pro
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Stay Tuned
I haven't posted here for a bit - probably since the latest one-handed wonder from Trek was finished a few years ago.
y way of background, I am a one-armed rider that Trek has helped out by building several road bikes completely controlled from one side. The latest is on a Domane frame, with DuraAce di2 set up to shift synchronized. The only not off the shelf item (an original and ongoing goal of the project) is the hydraulic splitter in the down tube, with input from the right hand brake lever and outputs to both front and back disc calipers. The placement of the splitter makes bleeding the bike a serious endeavor, and it does not hold the pressure as long as a typical set-up.
I recently started thinking about building a gravel specific bike - the Domane is great on gravel but has a paint job for the ages - and discovered that the Shimano GRX series has a bar top, in line hydraulic lever designed for placement downstream from a conventional drop bar lever. I'm going to match that with a device made by a Korean company named OutBraker that takes a single feed and turns it into two lines. The usual attachment for the OutBraker device is directly onto a flat bar, mountain bike style lever, so it fits perfectly into the GRX lever. It also has a variable fluid reservoir (they call it a power booster but I'm not counting on that feature, so no need to remind me that hydraulic fluids are not readily compressible) that should make initial set-up a bit easier.
With any luck, the end result will be a more accessible and truly off the shelf bike.
If it works, I'll send pictures. If it doesn't I'll let you know as well.
y way of background, I am a one-armed rider that Trek has helped out by building several road bikes completely controlled from one side. The latest is on a Domane frame, with DuraAce di2 set up to shift synchronized. The only not off the shelf item (an original and ongoing goal of the project) is the hydraulic splitter in the down tube, with input from the right hand brake lever and outputs to both front and back disc calipers. The placement of the splitter makes bleeding the bike a serious endeavor, and it does not hold the pressure as long as a typical set-up.
I recently started thinking about building a gravel specific bike - the Domane is great on gravel but has a paint job for the ages - and discovered that the Shimano GRX series has a bar top, in line hydraulic lever designed for placement downstream from a conventional drop bar lever. I'm going to match that with a device made by a Korean company named OutBraker that takes a single feed and turns it into two lines. The usual attachment for the OutBraker device is directly onto a flat bar, mountain bike style lever, so it fits perfectly into the GRX lever. It also has a variable fluid reservoir (they call it a power booster but I'm not counting on that feature, so no need to remind me that hydraulic fluids are not readily compressible) that should make initial set-up a bit easier.
With any luck, the end result will be a more accessible and truly off the shelf bike.
If it works, I'll send pictures. If it doesn't I'll let you know as well.
01-10-21, 11:42 AM
#2
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Join Date: Dec 2020
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Very interesting information. I didn't know about a DBB. I know that a lot of trikes don't bother braking the rear wheel but I'd like to retain the rear brake. So I was wondering how two front hydraulic brakes could be controlled with one lever. Now I know. Thanks.
Good luck on your build.
Ron
Good luck on your build.
Ron
