Well would you? Road bikes have wireless gears, the next logical step would be wireless brakes. Ignoring the technological hurdles would you trust and use a non-mechanical brake?

F1 is using brake by wire, Modern cars are throttle by wire and I think some of the electric power steering cars lack a physical link between the the wheels and the steering wheel and aircraft have been fly by wire for years, all proven to be safe and even safer than the old ways.

But no, I don’t see the point and frankly I don’t like the idea of electrical anything on bikes, the mechanical connection is part of the charm for me – it’s a break from my digital work life. I’m sure they could do things like independent pistons so you wouldn’t have to get them perfectly central and better adjust for pad wear, but **** it, I’ll keep analog brakes.

Russian hackers could cause havoc.

Are the dura ace brakes mechanical or electronicslly assisted?

Yes, but I suspect the size of the size of the solenoid needed to generate the required braking force, (actually probably more like an actuator of some sort) would be too large and heavy and use too much battery power to be a practical proposition.

Braked need a shade more power than gears. Making them weight competitive would be tricky. Gears aren’t safety critical in the same way either

just imagine the tunability of dynamic braking

I’m pretty sure all road cars have a mechanical link in steering.

And no I wouldn’t have wireless braking, unless it was completely fail safe.

There was an article a year out so ago about a Nissan (iirc) where the steering is effectively fully electronic. It still has a mechanical link though. I think the reasoning was that the market is not ready for steer by wire. Brakes on any vehicle in the consumer market is another level of acceptance! Can’t see it happening on bikes ever.

Both my mountain bikes already have wireless brakes 😉

Nissan steer by wire doodahh

https://www.wired.com/2014/06/infiniti-q50-steer-by-wire/

It’s probably inevitable, just think, everything from ABS to anti-endo controlls. Pull one lever to the bar, lean back and the bike gets on with stopping you ASAP.

Steer by wire too! Then we can get rid of those pesky steerer tubes! Electronics on bikes completely daft. Electronics should be used to make difficult tasks easy…not easy tasks difficult

The only hinderance to this technology is power supply. Electric brakes are a reality today but clearly you need to have a completely reliable and fail-safe power supply.

So we’ll see it first on electric bikes then.

Energy-storage braking would make sense on an e-bike, I guess it must be difficult to do or it would already be there. It would also make sense on other bikes, for example filling an air canister for adjustable tyre pressure and tubeless reflating etc.

What a great idea, the power supply fails and you have no brakes. 🙄
Only one of my bikes has wire on the brakes.

I think the reasoning was that the market is not ready for steer by wire

years ago i had cars with engines i could take out – they looked just like the engines in the Ladybird book

market not ready? I’ve no idea how my current car manages to do anything – only times I’ve got technical is when I was convinced the interior lights should stay on longer and the seat memory needed reprogramming – steering? even got a button that can change that but never used possibly because doesn’t have a no power rack and pinion option

Dibbs – Member
What a great idea, the power supply fails and you have no brakes.

“Fail-safe”

market not ready? I’ve no idea how my current car manages to do anything

Exactly, and nor do 99% of drivers. Just the same as the average person who uses a bike doesn’t have a clue how it works (and a bike is clearly many times less complicated than a car)

When it becomes more efficient for cars to be built with wire this and that then they will be.

Doesn’t the new Honda NSX have brake by wire? Can’t see the benefits on a bike, but it just shows it could be possible.

Would have to be a big benefit over wired brakes otherwise you’re just carting a big battery around to do the thing you do anyway.

some BMXers run no brakes so…

Track bikes have no brakes, doesn’t seem to slow them down. Errm … 🙄

F1 is using brake by wire

Doesn’t the new Honda NSX have brake by wire

Not really No, but it does kinda depend what you mean by ‘brake-by-wire’

The traditional definition is; no mechanical connection between the input and output. All communication of driver intent is done electrically. Most Engineers imagine a system where the pedal is simply a sensor and an electric motor in the caliper decodes the sensor and applies mechanical force.

Both Formula 1 and the Honda NSX use a very similar system to current road cars. The calipers are hydraulically actuated by a hydraulic master cylinder which sits very close to the brake pedal.

The new bit is that under ‘normal’ operation the brake pedal doesn’t move any brake fluid. The pedal pushes on a big spring (so the driver gets the right pedal feel) and a sensor measures pedal travel and pedal effort and turns on the ABS pump which provides hydraulic pressure to the brake calipers and slows the car down.

However when the electrics fail a normally-closed solenoid valve will default to normally-open and the brake pedal will be re-connected to the hydraulic circuit and the driver will be back to pushing the hydraulic fluid and generating the hydraulic pressure.

So we’re closer but not actually anywhere near to proper brake-by-wire 8)

Does a dynamo count as braking? If so, I just need a large load and a switch.

No thanks. Cable and hydraulic seem to have a very good track record. Rod brakes less so.

And electronic shifting never fails either.

Most modern lorries the first 90% of brake pedal travel is electronic. It’s only when you hit the last 10% that the electronics get bypassed.
The big benefit on lorries is it saves weight and improves responsiveness, but it does add cost and electronic complexity.

Electronics should be used to make difficult tasks easy…not easy tasks difficult

Or easy tasks easier. Like shifting gears. Or seeing in low light.

I imagine that you probably spend significantly more time braking than shifting gear too.