Uk brake lever placement.

Are we the only country that runs our brake levers on the correct side?

Is it not related to which side of the road we drive on? So do Japan, India, Australia and New Zealand do the same?

It’s to do with being able to brake and indicate safely while turning right.

I quite like that we do it the way we do simply because it puts the front brake in the same place as on motorbikes. Nice bit of consistency to those who ride both.

LBS always, without fail, sets brakes up ‘Euro’ style. Even if you take a bike in for servicing that’s set up UK style, when it comes back out it’ll be cabled the other way round. No idea why they’re so insistent.

LBS always, without fail, sets brakes up Euro style. Even if you take a bike in for servicing that’s set up UK style, when it comes back out it’ll be cabled the other way round. No idea why they’re so insistent.

They should be careful with that – if someone had an accident they could be sued, as it doesn’t comply with the ISO standards.

+1 what Ben says – I would be mightily pissed off if someone swapped my brake preference over during a service 👿

when I worked for Evans all bikes supplied to customers had to meet B6102 Pt.1 for road safety which includes front brake on right, rear brake on left

of course, we would get european or american customers who wanted the reverse, and we’d actually have them sign a waiver before leaving the store with the switched setup, to acknowledge they had asked specifically for the bike to be supplied this way.

Are you in the UK though?

Do you think this is covered in the Scottish white paper? 😆

@jackthedog

is there a european mechanic working in your LBS?

worth having a chat with the workshop manager or store manager and asking them to look into this

if a bike came into my workshop with euro brake setup, I would re cable the brakes as the bike was presented by the customer

having brakes swapped can be very dangerous in an emergency when reaction overrides thought

years ago in Whistler, Canada my buddy had his Kona Stab rental bike stolen whilst at lunch (it was next to the burger bar when we had our lunch break).

The RCMP found the thief with a fractured skull and the stolen bike at the bottom of a big stair set at the lower village. thief had not realised we had those bikes for 10 days and had switched the brake hoses to UK setup on first day = ouch!

Are you in the UK though?

Yes, in the UK.

is there a european mechanic working in your LBS?

They’ve always sounded pretty local to me.

Maybe its a new niche.

It does mean brake hoses are a bit longer for us – and the routing slightly more untidy on the rear – the back brake hose has to cross over from one side of the frame to the other in order to emerge from the correct side of the headtube.

…..or this could be just me being pedantic??

Must be a nightmare if you ride motorbikes as well and bicycles outside the UK.

LBS swapping them to the ‘wrong’ way round seems like the most stupid thing ever. Should be done as they were from stock.

The routing point is valid – the original XT M755 brakes had 90 degree connectors on the lever – meant the front was really neat if set up ‘Euro’, and really messy our way!

The RCMP found the thief with a fractured skull and the stolen bike at the bottom of a big stair set at the lower village. thief had not realised we had those bikes for 10 days and had switched the brake hoses to UK setup on first day = ouch!

I rented a bike in California and had to phone the shop from the UK to tell them I’d forgotten to swap the cables back before I returned it. I suppose they’d have found it, but you never know

having brakes swapped can be very dangerous in an emergency when reaction overrides thought

Being a bike rider can cause problems – in a car emergency stop, I tend to put on the high beams and windscreen wipers 😉

I rented a bike here and the brakes were the wrong way round, made for a rather interesting first 100m on the trail!

The rental company must have brought them in from Europe… I would have thought they would mention it.

I once borrowed someone’s bike and within minutes, trying to impress the g/f with a smart skid on the grass, went straight over the bars. Gave witnesses a good laugh.

It does seem ludicrously unsafe to have the front brake lever different to motorbikes. Some people chime in with, ‘Well I’ve driven LHD cars with no problem’..well yes, because they still have the pedals in exactly the same order.

I always thought it was so your Sword Hand was free for impaling or decapitating motorists that had p!22ed you off.

I always thought it was so your Sword Hand was free for impaling or decapitating motorists that had p!22ed you off.

Indeed, thats why the aheadset was invented – so much quicker to get your bombers off.

Hired bikes in Austria this summer and heeded the advice of “use both levers at once” . Not ideal but workable, especially on a 10 mile descent 😛