In some contradiction of Harvey, I think it is a good idea to be able to operate both rear brakes at the same time. Having a drum or disk brake as a drag brake, to take the heat load on long decents is a good idea if you ride in any kind of mountains. That being said, I have yet to implement it. I am thinking of a goofy looking stem shifter as I already have barcons. I went out on the tandem with my wife two weeks ago and the two cable front/rear Mafac lever, even though perfectly set up, just requires too much hand pressure. That's with a Pederson front and Mathhauser shoes on Mafac cantilevers so I don't know the next upgrade except my hands.
Joe Bender-Zanoni Great Notch, NJ
Harvey M Sachs wrote:
> With all due respect, I've only seen one application where controlling
> two brakes with one lever seemed appropriate. The rider of that bike
> was one-handed.
>
> IMHO, in all other cases there are just too many compromises to be
> made. 1) One lever controlling both rim brakes. Obviously impossible
> to modulate relative force for better control on long grades, curves
> and turns, etc. Since front brake is able to do more speed reduction,
> want it to contact first and exert more force. But, if so set up,
> will wear its pads more quickly, so vigilant and frequent maintenance
> is required. 2) (mostly tandems) One lever controlling front rim
> brake, dual-cable lever controlling both rim brakes. In general,
> leverage (cable take-up) varies between rim brakes and hub brakes, so
> one or the other will do next-to-nill work if actuated by same lever
> with same travel for both.
> If everything is working as you imagined it would, you can get into
> real trouble. One day in Corvallis Oregon on a friends Jack Taylor
> tandem, I got in trouble wrt oncoming car in a right turn situation.
> So, I hit all the brakes (two cantis on dual lever, drum on the
> other). Predictable result in a turn: rear wheel, "benefitting" from
> two brakes and light load, locked up, so rear could slide nicely
> toward the car.
>
> Our preferred solution is pretty simple: rim brakes separately
> operated by conventional single-wire road levers. Auxiliary (hub)
> brake operated by tourist lever mounted very low on right bar. This
> makes it impossible to operate both rear brakes at the same time, but
> get excellent modulation of rear hub brake by using it while riding on
> the drops.
>
> So, that's personal preference and reasons, I promise not to be a
> nanny if your views differ.
>
> harvey sachs
> mcLean va
>
> Geoff,
> The twin-cable MAFAC levers on my tandem are exactly the
> same shape as an ordinary, single cable lever. So you really
> can only mount them on the "hook" of the handlebar. I suppose
> you could try modifying the actual lever portion of the piece,
> but in that case, I wonder if you would get sufficient leverage
> to properly operate the brakes.
> Best of luck with the project,
> Fred Rednor - Arlington, VA (USA)
>
> --- geoff duke <g.duke@civenv.unimelb.edu.au> wrote:
>
>
>>> I am wondering if anyone can tell me if a Mafac twin cable
>>> tandem brake lever would work if it were placed on the top of the
>>> handlebars.Like a cyclocross lever.Would it be able to work
>>> on the flat section of bar or do they need to be on the bends like
>>> other levers.Thinking about setting up a single speed bike with
>>> canti's front and rear with one lever and considering that there
>>> would be a good place for it.Sorry if this question is a bit clunky but
>>> hoping for an answer,
>>> Geoff Duke Melbourne Australia