# Swap brake levers?



## city41 (Jul 18, 2009)

Is there a good reason the front brake has to be on the left side?

I want to swap my brake levers, to match my motorcycle for one, and so I can signal my turns and still have access to the front brake.

This is for a single speed bike that I use for commuting and running errands. I signal my turns all the time (being a good road citizen and all that).


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## UrbanPrimitive (Jun 14, 2009)

Tradition. Typically in the USA bicycles have had the front controls (both brake and derailleur) on the left side and rear controls on the right. Some other countries reverse this. I decided to hook my front brake to the right lever because I'm right handed. Therefore my dominant, stronger hand controls the brake that provides the most oomph for stopping the bike.

However, there is something important you should think about, and this is a serious safety concern. Most people riding *fixed* will ride with only a front brake. That's because you can use your feet to decelerate the bike, adding more stopping power in the place of a rear brake. Riding a single speed you can't do that. I *strongly* recommend you pick up a second brake to install for your rear wheel.


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## city41 (Jul 18, 2009)

Oh my bike has front and rear brakes. They are currently the standard front on left, rear on right. I just want to reverse that. That way when I am signaling, I am removing my hand from the rear brake and still able to use the front brake, but when I really need to brake I'll have both available.


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## UrbanPrimitive (Jun 14, 2009)

Whoops! My misunderstanding. Yeah, you should be fine swapping. I'm running the setup you're talking about right now. The only thing to keep in mind is your cable housing length may be a little off. It's possible, but not guaranteed. Worst case scenario is you have to run down to you local bike shop and buy 1'6" of cable housing and play with it until you get exactly what you want.

And it is really handy to have a hand on the strong brake while signaling with my left.


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## palu (Aug 14, 2008)

Do you really need the front brake for turning? Isn't using the rear brake enough? But to answer the question, why not? Just swap around the cables.


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## waldo425 (Sep 22, 2008)

That is what I did with my fixie. It works so much better for those times that you want to brake and signal at the same time.


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## city41 (Jul 18, 2009)

There really are times when just the rear brake isn't so hot.

Thanks for all the help guys, I'll go ahead and swap em around.


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## EpiphFreddy (Oct 12, 2006)

It's your bike.......make it into the way YOU want it. I have never run the brakes front left, rear right. I come from a motorcycle background and did not want to switch them.


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## Triker (Sep 27, 2004)

I've set up all my bike with right side front brakes; even my SRAM 10-speed road bike. Makes the guys in the bike shop smile.


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