Right hand rear brake?

[phantomtracer]

Hi,

I riden mt bikes for a long time, and would like to setup my CRF 250x the same way. Im thinking of getting the rekluse lhrb setup and then attach the front brake line to the left hand lever and use the stock oem right lever for the rear brake. I'm going to increase the clutch arm length for easier pull so I can use the rekluse clutch lever. Do you think the oem front master cylinder will work for the rear? The piston size is 11mm not sure what size the rekluse piston is.

Suggestions?

Thanks,

Phil

[KcDavis]

Seems like a lot of unnecessary work. Why change it, it isn't rocket science to not ride it like a mountain bike. I bet you would only hit the front brake once if for some reason you couldn't remember not to..

[CamP]

It's a lot easier to flip the front brake lever on your MTB to the right side and get use to riding with it moto style.

[Aka.Goose]

I riden mt bikes for a long time, and would like to setup my CRF 250x the same way. Im thinking of getting the rekluse lhrb setup and then attach the front brake line to the left hand lever and use the stock oem right lever for the rear brake. I'm going to increase the clutch arm length for easier pull so I can use the rekluse clutch lever. Do you think the oem front master cylinder will work for the rear? The piston size is 11mm not sure what size the rekluse piston is.

Suggestions?

Dude, step away from the bong...

[DRZ4000grinner]

Why - a (left) hand-mounted rear brake would have a lot going for it I think. Think of all those right hand corners you'd be able to brake later going into cause you can hold the brake on far longer? How easy to trail the rear brake going through whoops or brake bumps, so you can keep your ass hanging off the back? And what if you could retain clutch function through the same lever too? An Australian company is selling these by the truckload in European markets (for some reason, they see the advantage more than us) - see www.clake.com.au ('clake' - clutch and brake in one). If I had a most of a grand I'd get one.

[phantomtracer]

Dude, step away from the bong...

Hahahahaha!

Yeah it does sound ridiculous. But, I have been riding mt. bikes constantly for the last 12 years. I instinctively go for the right hand lever when entering a corner to scrub speed. It might be easier to change the levers then relearn a 12 year old habit.

I cannot believe the rear foot brake is still around; it is definitely not as precise as a hand lever can be.

I am going to try it; I am concerned that the piston sized of the master cyl will not have enough power for the rear brake and vice-versa.

[RiderX]

I run a LHRB on my current YZ450F and have run them on my previous 2 KTM's. Once you get used to it it's sooooo much better than a foot brake. More accuracy in modulation, you can slide into right hand corners, you can dab your right foot if needed on a tough downhill.

I also do a lot of mountain biking and I have the cables switched so the rear is on the left. Switching the LHRB to a RHRB would be nothing more than swapping lines and bleeding.

BTW, if anyone is interested I have a LHRB set up for sale. It consists of a Brembo KTM clutch master cylinder and a stainless steel line.

[Chas_M]

It shouldn't be much of a problem to make the switch. The 11mm piston size is a little large but it will work. It would take less effort and braking would be easier with a smaller piston diameter.

[Swede73]

It can be done. A lot of guys in the supermotard and stunt bikes do the LHRB so swapping it over to the right shouldn't be a big deal. They make and sell bigger piston master cyls

[Chas_M]

It can be done. A lot of guys in the supermotard and stunt bikes do the LHRB so swapping it over to the right shouldn't be a big deal. They make and sell bigger piston master cyls

For a hand operated rear brake, what you really want is a master cylinder with a smaller piston. This will provide more force with less effort. It's all a matter of leverage between the master cylinder piston diameter and the size of the rear unit. It's the same situation with hydraulic clutches. For instance, KTM has gone to clutch master cylinders with smaller and small piston sizes in an effort to make the clutch easier to pull in.

[JPDad]

If you end up doing this, don't leave us hanging. Give us the details of how you did it and post your riding impressions/results. A LHFB/RHRB set up sounds pretty interesting for those that ride MTB's frequently.

[Swede73]

For a hand operated rear brake, what you really want is a master cylinder with a smaller piston. This will provide more force with less effort. It's all a matter of leverage between the master cylinder piston diameter and the size of the rear unit. It's the same situation with hydraulic clutches. For instance, KTM has gone to clutch master cylinders with smaller and small piston sizes in an effort to make the clutch easier to pull in.

My bad, they sell mc with smaller pistons too. I've been looking into a LHRB and there are all sorts of contraptions out there from DIY cheap ones all the way up to a $1000 set up

http://www.supermotojunkie.com/showthread.php?75045-DIY-thumb-rear-brake

[phantomtracer]

If you end up doing this, don't leave us hanging. Give us the details of how you did it and post your riding impressions/results. A LHFB/RHRB set up sounds pretty interesting for those that ride MTB's frequently.

I just ordered the rekluse lhrb with clutch override. I am going to lengthen the clutch arm so the pull is easier. I am going to try and hook it up for a rhrb. I will post results.

Thanks for all the input.

[michiganmachete]

Lots of old school MTB guys ran their brakes opposite to mimic an mx bike, since thats where a lot of the first downhillers came from...much easier to switch cables on a mtb then to make the mx bike like an mtb...

[CamP]

Lots of old school MTB guys ran their brakes opposite to mimic an mx bike, since thats where a lot of the first downhillers came from...much easier to switch cables on a mtb then to make the mx bike like an mtb...

I've riding MTB's since '86 and I've always run the front brake on the right side, like a motorcycle.

[WFO247365]

I was so use to rt. = ft. brake that I've always set up my bicycles that way. My MTB, cyclocross and road bikes all ft. brake on the right.

OTOH growing up on euro MXers, I still have a hard time with left side shifting..........

The old idea of balance = right hand/left foot, right foot/left hand just_makes_sense to me but not the Japanese I guess.

[phantomtracer]

UPDATE: I installed the Rekluse LHRB (magura) with the clutch override. I put the EXP2.0 in also.

This setup is awesome!

I thought about swapping the brake lines so I could have the rear brake on the right side to match my mt. bike, but I would need custom brake lines and figured I will give it a try before going to the trouble of swapping sides.

I have ridden twice with this setup and can tell it it will take little time to get use to but is not as bad of a transition now that the rear brake is on the bars. It looks like the biggest issue I was having was in trying to train my right leg to use the rear brake pedal. Now that the rear pedal is gone I will never miss it!

I highly recommend this mod.

[cageracer]

You guys realise that the entire rest of the world (you might have to google that one if you have never heard of it before) have their mountain and other pedal powered bikes set up with right/front and left/rear brakes?

Much, much easier to switch your MTB cables/hoses.

[97cr125]

You guys realise that the entire rest of the world (you might have to google that one if you have never heard of it before) have their mountain and other pedal powered bikes set up with right/front and left/rear brakes?

Much, much easier to switch your MTB cables/hoses.

it might be just an Aussie thing ?

[stantheman750]

I think you'll be able to switch.

In road racing, it's very common to reverse shifting to the "GP style" (i.e. 1 up 5 down). My dirt bike and street bike would be regular shift and somehow, I rarely mis-shifted. When I did, it was always on the regular-shift bikes. Something in the brain just switches over.

The first thing I did when my wife introduced me to bikes (both mtn and road) was to shift the levers. I took my road bike to a bike shop and the guy asked me if I was European because my levers were backwards.