Having ridden motorcycles (and still do) for just as long as I have been riding bicycles, probably, even more, I wonder sometimes if it would be a good idea for me to switch my brake levers from their current ‘American’ style setup to a ‘Moto’. Scouring the web, I found numerous riders that have tried the switch to a moto-style brake lever setup, and here’s what I found.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, should I trade my lever setup to moto? Yes. If you ride both motorcycles and mountain bikes or think you may ever ride a motorcycle, it is safer to run your levers ‘moto’ style. In the event you may need to perform evasive maneuvers or a panic stop, you’ll need to react without having to first remind yourself which lever controls which brake<\/strong>, thereby reducing the likely hood of an accident.<\/strong> That split second could be the difference between going home to live another day, or taking the big dirt nap.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Though it may be safer if you ride both motorcycles and bicycles, there are quite a few other factors you may want to also consider before making the choice to change your lever setup, because it’s definitely not for everybody. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n Brake lever setup is a commonly talked about topic in mountain bike circles. Angle, reach and of course, which side is the front and which side operates the rear, as it varies greatly from rider to rider.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some prefer the rear on the right as that is what they’ve grown accustomed to, or to match their shifter configuration from the poly-chainring days before 1x drive trains were a mainstay. A side benefit to this is that most people will have their strongest hand operating the brake that is most commonly used and will notice less arm fatigue as a result.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Other shredders feel they have better sensitivity and control with their right hand and like to have that hand dedicated to the end of the bike that requires the deftest of touch, the front.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A small segment of mountain bikers that ride the powered two-wheelers as well, run American style on their bike, and moto-style on their motorcycle. I personally have been doing this since the day I started riding both, maybe 35yrs. and have had great success with it. Though it may be time for a switch for me. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Believe it or not, moto-style is actually the most common lever setup when you factor in the population of the entire planet. World wide, more bikes are setup right – front, than right – rear. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In some countries, such as Australia & New Zealand, there is a standard set up by the Joint Technical Committee on bicycles that states that all bicycles manufactured after 1998 shall have the front brake actuated with the right hand, and rear with the left.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Moto style<\/em> is the term used for running your bikes brake levers in the same configuration as found on motorcycles; the right hand operates the front brake, the left hand operates the rear brake.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n Moto style most likely has its roots clear back to days of horse-mounted knights preferring to wield their weapon in their main hand, most commonly the right, and their left hand controlling the reigns. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This obviously carried on to have an influence over the motorcycle industry, and how the levers have been setup. In European countries, it is common for motorcycles to be referred to as ‘moto’, hence the name.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n Most countries outside the United States run right side front brake, many of those countries drive on the left-hand side of the road, drive from the right side of the car, or a combination of both. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In those countries, the right hand is used for signaling when turning or coming to a stop. The thought being that the rear brake would be less touchy, and easier to modulate with less potential for grabbing too much brake, and sending yourself over the bars, as would be the case with the front stopper.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n It’s likely that the American style setup for brake levers has been directly influenced by our driving practices on the route, ie; driving on the right of the road, but sitting on the left. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It has been so ingrained in our culture that it has actually become law that they are mounted in this fashion, along with some other very interesting standards for bicycle manufacture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Federal Code for Commercial practices overseeing bicycle manufacturing, states the following concerning bicycles (other than those designed particularly for track use) sold in the USA and how their braking systems must be engineered. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u00a71512.5 Requirements for braking system.<\/strong> (b) Handbrakes – <\/strong><\/em>Handbrakes shall be tested at least ten times by applying a force sufficient to cause the handlever to contact the handlebar, or a maximum of 445 N (100 lb\/f), in accordance with the loading test, \u00a71512.18(d)(2), and shall be rocked back and forth with the weight of a 68.1 kg (150 lb) rider on the seat with the same handbrake force applied in accordance with the rocking test, \u00a71512.18(d)(2)(iii); there shall be no visible fractures, failures, movement of clamps, or misalignment of brake components.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (1) Stopping distance<\/em> –<\/strong> A bicycle equipped with only handbrakes shall be tested for stopping distance by a rider of at least 68.1 kg (150 lb) weight in accordance with the performance test, \u00a71512.18(d)(2) (v) and (vi), and shall have a stopping distance of no greater than 4.57 m (15 ft) from the actual test speed as determined by the equivalent ground speed specified in \u00a71512.18(d)(2)(vi).<\/p>\n\n\n\n (2) Hand lever access<\/em> –<\/strong> Hand lever mechanisms shall be located on the handlebars in a position that is readily accessible to the rider when in a normal riding position.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (3) Grip dimension<\/em> –<\/strong> The grip dimension (maximum outside dimension between the brake hand lever and the handlebars in the plane containing the centerlines of the handgrip and the hand brake lever) shall not exceed 89 mm (31\u20442 in) at any point between the pivot point of the lever and lever midpoint; the grip dimension for sidewalk bicycles shall not exceed 76 mm (3 in). The grip dimension may increase toward the open end of the lever but shall not increase by more than 12.7 mm ( 1\u20442 in) except for the last 12.7 mm ( 1\u20442 in) of the lever. (See figure 5 of this part 1512.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n (4) Attachment<\/em> –<\/strong> Brake assemblies shall be securely attached to the frame by means of fasteners with locking devices such as a lock washer, locknut, or equivalent and shall not loosen during the rocking test, \u00a71512.18(d)- (2)(iii). The cable anchor bolt shall not cut any of the cable strands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (5) Operating force<\/em> –<\/strong> A force of less than 44.5 N (10 lbf) shall cause the brake pads to contact the braking surface of the wheel when applied to the handlever at a point 25 mm (1.0 in) from the open end of the handlever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (6) Pad and pad holders<\/em> –<\/strong> Caliper brake pad shall be replaceable and adjustable to engage the braking surface without contacting the tire or spokes and the pad holders shall be securely attached to the caliper assembly. The brake pad material shall be retained in its holder without movement when the bicycle is loaded with a rider of at least 68.1 kg (150 lb) weight and is rocked forward and backward as specified in the rocking test, \u00a71512.18(d)(2)(iii).<\/p>\n\n\n\n (7) [Reserved]<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n (8) Hand lever location<\/em> –<\/strong> The rear brake shall be actuated by a control located on the right handlebar and the front brake shall be actuated by a control located on the left handlebar. The left-hand\/right-hand locations may be reversed in accordance with an individual customer order. If a single hand lever is used to actuate both front and rear brakes, it shall meet all applicable requirements for hand levers and shall be located on either the right or left handlebar in accordance with the customer’s preference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (9) Hand lever extensions<\/em> –<\/strong> Bicycles equipped with hand lever extensions shall be tested with the extension levers in place and the hand lever extensions shall also be considered to be hand levers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (c) Footbrake –<\/strong><\/em> All footbrakes shall be tested in accordance with the force test, \u00a71512.18(e)(2), and the measured braking force shall not be less than 178 N (40 lbf) for an applied pedal force of 310 N (70 lbf).<\/p>\n\n\n\n (1) Stopping distance<\/em> –<\/strong> Bicycles equipped with footbrakes (except sidewalk bicycles) shall be tested in accordance with the performance test, \u00a71512.18(e)(3), by a rider of at least 68.1 kg (150 lb) weight and shall have a stopping distance of no greater than 4.57 m (15 ft) from an actual test speed of at least 16 km\/h (10 mph). If the bicycle has a footbrake only and the equivalent groundspeed of the bicycle is in excess of 24 km\/h (15 mph) (in its highest gear ratio at a pedal crank rate of 60 revolutions per minute),3 the stopping distance shall be 4.57 m (15 ft) from an actual test speed of 24 km\/h (15 mph) or greater.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (2) Operating force – <\/em><\/strong>Footbrakes shall be actuated by a force applied to the pedal in a direction opposite to that of the drive force, except where brakes are separate from the drive pedals and the applied force is in the same direction as the drive force.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (3) Crank differential<\/strong> –<\/em><\/strong> The differential between the drive and brake positions of the crank shall be not more than 60\u00b0 with the crank held against each position under a torque of no less than 13.6 N-m (10 ft-lb).<\/p>\n\n\n\n (4) Independent operation –<\/em><\/strong> The brake mechanism shall function independently of any drive-gear positions or adjustments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (d) Footbrakes and handbrakes in combination – <\/em><\/strong>Bicycles equipped with footbrakes and handbrakes shall meet all the requirements for footbrakes in \u00a71512.5(c), including the tests specified. In addition, if the equivalent ground speed of the bicycle is 24 km\/h (15 mph) or greater (in its highest gear ratio at a pedal crank rate of 60 revolutions per minute),3 the actual test speed specified in \u00a71512.18(e)(3) shall be increased to 24 km\/h (15 mph) and both braking systems may be actuated to achieve the required stopping distance of 4.57 m (15 ft).<\/p>\n\n\n\n (e) Sidewalk bicycles –<\/em><\/strong> (1) Sidewalk bicycles shall not have handbrakes only.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (2)<\/em><\/strong> Sidewalk bicycles with a seat height of 560 mm (22 in) or greater (with seat height adjusted to its lowest position) shall be equipped with a footbrake meeting all the footbrake requirements of \u00a71512.5(c), including the specified tests except that the braking force transmitted to the rear wheel shall be in accordance with the sidewalk bicycle footbrake force tests, \u00a71512.18(f).<\/p>\n\n\n\n (3)<\/em><\/strong> Sidewalk bicycles with a seat height less than 560 mm (22 in) (with seat height adjusted to its lowest position) and not equipped with a brake shall not have a freewheel feature. Such sidewalk bicycles equipped with a footbrake shall be tested for brake force in accordance with the sidewalk bicycle footbrake force test, \u00a71512.18(f). Such sidewalk bicycles not equipped with brakes shall be identified with a permanent label clearly visible from a distance of 3.1 m (10 ft) in daylight conditions and promotional display material and shipping cartons shall prominently display the words \u201cNo Brakes.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n Yes. The brain is a powerful tool, capable of constantly learning new things, and connecting new neuro pathways, that old saying of “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks” is a gross misnomer to be perpetuating into our societies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n All we have to do is approach it with an open mind, patience, and a willingness to persevere. It will come with time and repetition. Don’t expect to master it in a day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Your ability to relearn your new lever setup will be an immediate reflection of how much effort and time you put into practicing. The trail is not the place to learn a new bike setup, especially the most valuable piece of safety equipment on your bike. The brakes. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n The easiest way to tell if your levers can safely be switched from left to right is to look at the design and location of the brake fluid reservoir on the lever assembly. Take a look at your levers, does the top side look different than the underside, is the reservoir situated on the top of the lever? If so, your levers most likely cannot be swapped, and you’ll need to switch brake lines instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If the reservoir is in line, and the lever is symmetrical with no significant differences from side to side, then you’ve got ambidextrous levers, and changing them left-to-right is gonna be a piece of cake. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Out of the seven major hydraulic mountain bike manufacturers out there, 4 of them design all of their levers to run on either the left or right side of the handlebar. Making them a snap to swap over, with no need to bleed, and saving precious inventory numbers for our bike shops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some manufacturers design their brake levers to be mounted specifically on the left or right-hand side of the handlebars. Here is a list of those companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ambidextrous –<\/strong> If you’ve got ambidextrous levers, you’re in for probably one of the easier jobs to do on your bike. Just undo each lever clamp from either side (paying attention to lever angle, and distance from the grip), switch the levers left to right, and you’re set.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Left\/Right Specific –<\/strong> If your levers are side specific, you’re going to need to remove the brake line at either caliper and swap just the brake lines. No need to remove the levers from the bars. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Once the lines are properly reconnected, you’ll want to bleed each brake to remove any air bubbles that may have worked their way into the system while the line was removed. If you’ve done it properly, there shouldn’t be many bubbles that come out during the bleeding process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n *make sure you DO NOT apply pressure to the brake lever while the line is loose or removed, as this will spray brake fluid across your bike, possibly ruining the paint, and introduce air into the master cylinder, making it more time consuming to bleed the system.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Get out and do more driveway drills than you have been. Spend time every day just working your braking skills, panic stops, feathering, manualing, stoppies, track stands anything that requires the use of the brake levers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The more you use them, the quicker your body will retrain itself. And in a controlled environment like your driveway, the likely hood of having a bad crash is greatly diminished. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Super Charge Your Learning –<\/strong> Create an autonomic system to say out loud ‘ RIGHT HAND – FRONT BRAKE’ when using the front brake ‘LEFT HAND – REAR BRAKE’, the mind is easily trained by auto suggestion (what the mouth speaks, the mind believes). <\/p>\n\n\n\n Use this whenever you practice your drills or even when you’re not on the bike, just walking down the hall, envision your levers in your hands applying each brake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Additionally, if you’re serious about training that muscle memory, listen to music while you are performing your drills. Preferably instrumental music with no words, as they distract from the learning process. Baroque music is reported to have the greatest effect on learning and comprehension. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n Athletes from all different sports endeavors are finding that when they train both sides of the body, they are finding improved benefits with even their dominate side. <\/p>\n\n\n\n I’m not sure that this makes for an argument to change your levers, but it does illustrate the power of the human brain to adapt and improve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What angle should I run my levers at?<\/strong> Lever angle is largely a personal preference thing, but there are a few things you may want to keep in mind when deciding where to run yours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How far out should I have the reach adjust?<\/strong> If your levers offer ‘reach adjust’, you’ll want to set them so that the lever blade sits just at the first knuckle of your fully extended index finger. The end portion of your finger, including the nail, should bend over the lever slightly, but not enough to apply pressure to it until you need it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Where should the Contact point be?<\/strong> Most riders like to have the point of brake contact to be at the strongest point in the movement of your finger, without bottom out against the handlebar. This gives you the most stopping power when you’ve got the strongest control of the lever. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Having ridden motorcycles (and still do) for just as long as I have been riding bicycles, probably, even more, I wonder sometimes if it would be a good idea for me to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":770,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"spay_email":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[4],"tags":[75,28,79,74,13,44,62,76,77,78],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mtbikeprogress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/imgonline-com-ua-resize-T6h7ZEND3omvZ-1.jpg?fit=950%2C950&ssl=1","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paJErm-cc","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mtbikeprogress.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/756"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mtbikeprogress.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mtbikeprogress.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mtbikeprogress.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mtbikeprogress.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=756"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.mtbikeprogress.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/756\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":777,"href":"https:\/\/www.mtbikeprogress.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/756\/revisions\/777"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mtbikeprogress.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/770"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mtbikeprogress.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=756"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mtbikeprogress.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=756"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mtbikeprogress.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=756"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}The Ins and Outs of Moto Style Lever Setup<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
What Is Moto Style?<\/strong> <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Where Did Moto Style Begin?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Which Countries Run Moto Levers?<\/strong> <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mtbikeprogress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Why-Americ.png?resize=640%2C396&ssl=1\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nWhy Do We Run Our Levers Like This in America?<\/strong> <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
(a) Braking system<\/em> –<\/strong> Bicycles shall be equipped with front- and rear-wheel brakes or rear-wheel brakes only.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nOnce You’ve Gone One Way, Can You Change?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mtbikeprogress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/brain.jpeg?resize=640%2C372&ssl=1\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nA few things you’ll want to consider when deciding if you should switch up your levers:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Keep These in Mind if You Do Flip-Flop Your Levers:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
How Do I Know if My Brake Levers Can Be Swapped?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mtbikeprogress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/SRAM-G2-Ultimate-lever-1.jpg?resize=210%2C210&ssl=1\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nWhich Hydraulic Brake Levers are Ambidextrous?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mtbikeprogress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/TRP-G-Spec-Trail-SL.jpg?fit=640%2C513&ssl=1\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nWhich Hydraulic Brake Levers are Left\/Right Specific?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
How do I Swap My Levers?<\/strong> <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.mtbikeprogress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/20191203_134457.jpg?fit=640%2C640&ssl=1\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/www.mtbikeprogress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/20191203_134828.jpg?fit=640%2C640&ssl=1\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nHow To Retrain Your Brain for Moto Levers<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Related Questions<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n