Removable Brakes

If you have checked out Burd Phillips' trackstand videos, posted on the front page of the Grinder Bikes site, you have probably noticed that he has a bike set up especially for doing those crazy trick trackstands (trickstands?). I actually just built him a new bike for that purpose, a Miyata frame with 700c wheels and cross tires. He broke one of the 27" wheels on the Motobecane, so I built this bike up hoping it would prove to be a little more durable.

Notice that the bike has neither toeclips nor brakes. Both get in the way when doing the trickstands.

After I sent the bike off, Burd and I emailed back and forth about it, as usual, discussing the finer points of the build. I asked Burd how he liked riding to the video sites with neither clips nor brakes, and he said he wasn't too fond of it. That set me to thinking about how to attach a brake, for use on the way to a video shoot, which could be easily removed with no tools, once there.

This is what I came up with: This is a cyclocross brake lever, with a hinged clamp, and an old-school side-pull brake which attaches with a nut behind the fork crown.

I replaced the clamp bolt on the lever with a longer bolt, onto which I threaded a wing nut and a standard hex nut, with a flat washer and lock washer between them. This created a "wing bolt" which can be tightened with the fingers. Ace is the Place!

Similarly, I replaced the nut on the brake mounting bolt with a wing nut. I then mounted them up on a derelict 62cm Schwinn Continental, which I had set up with a mountain bike bar and 700c wheel to emulate Burd's new bike. This allowed me size the cable housing, even though Burd's bike is already on the way to him. The housing is probably a tad long, but better that than too short.

The set-up actually works quite well. This should allow Burd to navigate the mean streets of Indy with confidence.

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