I didn't read the CRC description properly and now have a left front brake instead of a right one. How easy is it to swap the brake levers?

Anything I should know before I start attacking the job?

Given your record. Get some-one who knows what their doing to do it for you?

You should know why you picked your nickname and take the advice of nickc

Anyone in Southampton who is bored in the rain and fancies fixing my brakes in return for a couple of Leffe?

posting the make and model of the brakes may help…

Shimano Deore M525

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=41820

§Hang on, left front brake, that sounds about correct to me 😉 So stop being a idiot and ride it this way like anyone else 😉

What juan said. I ride with them that way round anyway, makes much more sense.

However, if you insist… It's a relatively quick job. Unscrew the hoses, pull them out from the levers, swap over and re-attach. If you are careful / competent you may get away without needing to re-bleed them. If I was in Southampton I'd be round like a shot on the promise of Leffe. But I'm not. We are both losers here.

Juan, you are Monsieur Incorrecte, from Incorrectville, 06, France 🙂

Most people are right-handed. The front brake has more stopping power so should be controlled by your better hand.

Ah sod it. The bike is a fixie anyway so I just won't bother with brakes.

Just undid the bolt where the hose goes into the lever. The hose is still attached to the lever. How does that work then? Do I just pull the hose to detach it?

More importantly, how do I reattach it when I have swapped the levers?

hose will pull out with a firm tug (ahem), shove in the other lever and tighten up the nut and your done.

If it doesn't pull out, gently squeeze the lever and it will come out easily.

Looky here – http://www.bikemagic.com/maintenance/shortening-disc-brake-hoses/4807.html

That'll sort ya

What juan said. I ride with them that way round anyway, makes much more sense.

I've never understood why the Yanks and Jonnie Foreigner have their brakes the wrong way around – I mean, their motorbikes don't, so why would their bikes – or is it just MTB's?

My theory is that it stems from the side of the road they ride/drive on. For hand signalling.

Firm tug, swap levers, firm shove. job done.

Shimano do make stuff easy and stuff that works

For hand signalling

You only ever turn one way?

Personal preference in my case.

My theory is that it stems from the side of the road they ride/drive on. For hand signalling.

Even if that was the case, it would be the other way round, Shirley?

(ie, we'd have the most powerful brake on the left, so we could control that and signal with the other hand that we were about to move across the road?)

No, it's for signalling right, we have the back brake lever to hand.
Something like that. I can't remember my theory now!

I thought it was because all foreigners are stupid.

Some of them can't even speak English and my 5 year old god daughter can do that!

Dez is right, it's so you can signal to turn across traffic whilst still having control of the rear brake. It stems from the idea that the front brake is evil and will kill you, ie to stop inexperienced riders grabbing a handful of front brake and faceplanting into oncoming traffic.

The left is the 'correct' side of the road to ride on, it's only because of cack-handed Napoleon that our European associates drive on the right, so actually, we're right.

WCA have you sorted it?

im in marchwood and could help if your stuck.

Dez is right

That's what I thought 🙂

But if thats the case then motorbikes would also be the same, due to the electronic indicator been a relatively modern 'invention'?

I'm going with WCA in that case.

1111 – Yep. It is Shimano, therefor simple and working.

U can ride with ur arms crosed lik raly drivars at fist it's confewsig but then it's fun like a chaleng

But if thats the case then motorbikes would also be the same, due to the electronic indicator been a relatively modern 'invention'?

I though motorbikes only had 1 brake lever?

@Mark :=) orsum idya dood

But if thats the case then motorbikes would also be the same

You're trained to ride a motorbike and they're not ridden by 5 year old kids as much.

You're trained to ride a motorbike and they're not ridden by 5 year old kids as much.

Taught to ride push bikes too.

But the front is on the right, and on scooters front right, rear left.

I was never taught to ride a m/c, I'm old enough to have had a 250cc on L plates.

Makes sense to me, rear on your right gears an brakes, front is your left gears an brakes. Plus if some pikey jumps on my bike in the act of theft they might give it some big action on the front brake an go straight over the bars (rear for the wrong) hopefully into the path of a road sweeper.

Silly that most fixed gear riders still have their front brake lever (if they are sensible enough to have a brake) on the right and hence no hand brake at all when they indicate to turn right (not that most of them would ever indicate anyway).

Dez – deffo correct.

Back to the OP – my Hope Tech 4's came like this, but it wasn't too important as they're flip flop levers – it just meant the braided hoses didn't like how I positioned the levers – had to crack them off at the caliper to get them bending in the right direction.