Brake - Clutch Lever Options - what is your setup?

GoldenMotor.com

UVsaturated

New Member
May 15, 2008
140
4
0
Dayton, Ohio
Pertaining to those who use front and/or rear brake combinations, especially on the left hand grip, what is your setup?

I am especially interested in those who mount both a brake and clutch lever on the left side and which you prefer on top; the clutch lever or the brake as a priority.

Do you agree that rear wheel braking is the safest braking and should be established on the right side grip and the front brake setup on the left?

Do you have a unique setup?

Discuss........
 

Nashville Kat

Well-Known Member
Apr 20, 2009
1,501
55
48
Jacksonville, Florida
Two brake single lever is the only way I really feel in control- on the left with twist throttle on the right- and that's after 14 years of USCF racing - road and velodrome

I'm a little uncomforatble that it could fail and I'd be grabbing for the tire probably- but I've used them for 4 years without any trouble.
 

obesepolice

Member
Apr 5, 2012
114
14
18
irving, texas
i run a front drum with the lever on the right and the clutch on the left. the drum combined with the coaster brake is all i need to stop. I also really like a clean look to the bike.
 

borntofli

Member
Jul 27, 2012
306
0
16
tx
I run rear on right side and clutch and front on left.... I have the brake on top and the clutch below.... I only need one finger to pull the front brake enough to go over the handlebars....

When i'm coming to an intersection that I plan on stopping I start slowing down w/ the rear and as im getting slow I grab the clutch lever and finish my stop w/ index finger on front brake, rest of fingers holding the clutch and rear braking w/ right...

You only make the mistake of grabbing the front brake instead of the clutch once.....after that you never do that again.........
 

jji7skyline

New Member
Jan 15, 2013
114
0
0
Australia
I have my throttle and front brake on the right, my clutch below and rear brake on top on my left.

I can disengage the clutch and use both brakes at the same time, but my front brake tends to be rough, so I use that only for rapid stops.
 

Tyler6357

Well-Known Member
Mar 15, 2012
1,293
294
83
Santa Barbara, CA
My throttle's kill switch allows for it only to be mounted on the right side, I have the clutch on the left and a duel break lever for front and rear v-breaks on the right.
 

UVsaturated

New Member
May 15, 2008
140
4
0
Dayton, Ohio
I see that a couple of you both mount the brake above the clutch on the left hand side. I would think this would cause some interference finding the clutch at a stop and stalling out the motor.
 

2door

Moderator
Staff member
Sep 15, 2008
16,302
175
63
Littleton, Colorado
Two bikes with rear coasters, front disc. Those have the front brake lever on the right, like motorcycles. The other two have front & rear disc brakes but the front is always on the right.
Clutch levers all on the left under the brake lever.
Never had a problem reaching them or squeezing the wrong one.

Tom
 

bigbutterbean

Active Member
Jan 31, 2011
2,417
3
38
Lebanon, PA
i run a front drum with the lever on the right and the clutch on the left. the drum combined with the coaster brake is all i need to stop. I also really like a clean look to the bike.
I also run a front drum with the lever on the right, and a rear coaster. Although my next build will have a centrifugal clutch (4 stroke), I still have the clutch lever on the left to activate my brake light, just no cable attached to it. Anyway, I love the drum/coaster setup, and I won't run anything else.
 

bigbutterbean

Active Member
Jan 31, 2011
2,417
3
38
Lebanon, PA
That's a great idea about the brake light!
I had my brake light hooked up to my clutch lever on my ht bike, just figured might as well keep it the same on my 98cc build. The clutch lever doesn't have a return spring, so what I did was stick a spring through where the cable used to go and hooked one end of the spring to the lever and the other end to the handlebars, so I can pull the lever to activate my brake light and when I let go, it returns on its own. It's not all that pretty, but it works lol.
 

maniac57

Old, Fat, and still faster than you
Oct 8, 2011
4,484
22
0
memphis Tn
I run the front brake lever on the bottom left under the clutch. Pulling the brake works much better AFTER the clutch is disengaged. Feels natural to me by now...I only use it in panic stops since I upgraded the rear to V-brakes. I can lock the rear at full song so it works good for me. I takes a while to get used to it though. Feels real busy at first...