I am disabled in my right arm (Brachial Plexus) I would like to improve my comfort on my bike.I would also to know about the braking system fitted on one side.
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1Any competent bike shop should be able to move the right brake lever to the left side. Of course, operating both brake levers with one hand would be a bit dicey. There are schemes to operate two cables with one lever, but doing this would require a bit more skill than simply moving the lever, since there are several issues to consider. As to overall comfort on the bike, that's an issue of "bike fit", something that a decent bike shop should be able to help you with.– Daniel R HicksCommented Jan 14, 2020 at 20:14
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3you can read this question, bicycles.stackexchange.com/questions/42450/… but are you asking specifically about a road bike, with drop handlebars? that's what you've tagged with– SwiftyCommented Jan 14, 2020 at 20:49
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4It may be helpful to know what you can do with your right arm and what type of bike you're looking to modify. As mentioned on that other link, would you consider a recumbent bike? Also, Google searching for "adaptive cycling" would find you sites and organizations that deal specifically with this. Last, the question isn't clear, but it sounds like you have a bike (upright bike?) and you can ride it with your injury, but you want to explore options to increase the comfort. Can you specify what's not comfortable?– Weiwen NgCommented Jan 14, 2020 at 20:51
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1You've tagged this as [road-bike] which means a drop-bar racy bike. Is that your intent or do you just mean a bike on the road ? How's your balance? What are the functions of your arm? Is it folded up permanently or do you have some level of use ?– Criggie ♦Commented Jan 14, 2020 at 23:53
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1@DanielRHicks: All brake/shift-levers I know are asymmetric. The fit will be bad and you won't be able to shift when installed on the opposite side.– MichaelCommented Jan 15, 2020 at 8:48
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3 Answers
If you using a flat handlebar, something like this would handle your braking needs: Problem Solvers Double Barrel - it's a single brake lever that can actuate two brakes simultaneously.
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For completeness, there's also a product that enables the user to pull both cable actuated brakes with one lever (or one brake with two levers, but not sure that helps the OP). I have no idea what solution is available for hydraulic brakes, if those are what the OP wanted. problemsolversbike.com/products/brakes/12_-_8816o Commented Jan 16, 2020 at 16:54
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2Probably easier and safer to use a front brake only. If your need a rear brake it would be easiest with a coaster brake. However – I think – that’s only available for internal gear hubs.– MichaelCommented Jan 17, 2020 at 11:46
The other answer already covers cable-actuated brakes. To cover hydraulic brakes, Hope makes the Tech 3 Duo, a hydraulic brake with two split levers mounted on one side of the handlebar. It appears that you can pull each lever separately.
In the three years since this post the road bike market has increasingly adopted hydraulic disc brakes. Shimano has a good page on their website that addresses a single-hand, dual-lever solution using a mountain bike lever placed under the standard lever.
This blog shows two options for cable road bikes. Both options allow use of both brakes.
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1Hi, welcome to bicycles. You could improve your answer by quoting portions of the pages you reference in case they disappear someday.– DavidWCommented Jul 31, 2023 at 3:00