The previous owner of my Zenit modified the brake lines so that instead of having a front/rear brake split, the front brakes are independent and the rear brake is unused.

I'm not actually keen on differential braking, and would like <someday> to alter the system such that each brake lever operated all three brakes... but it looks like the only practical way to do that would be to have a remote master cylinder (serving all brakes) that was actuated by independent cable pull levers.

It would take a fair amount of 'engineering', and I may well settle reverting to the factory front/rear split.

Thoughts?

Peter B.

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Factory setup certainly easiest.

When I had mine before, I got the larger 'industrial' Magura lever for the two front brakes - it has a bigger cylinder and moves more fluid, so making the adjustment a bit less critical. There was a reference to the part number on the ASE trikes list a few years back (who knows if still valid...)

To have all three brakes on two levers should be do-able too - you'd need a 'manifold' with two inputs and three outputs. Easily enough made with a block of aluminium - drill through 5 mm and tap each end M6 for the barbed adaptors; then cross drill three 5 mm holes to intersect this 'channel' and again tap M6 for barbed adaptors. I'll make one for you next time I get out to the shed if you like - 10 minute job.

Not sure how advisable it is to tie all three brakes together, though - skidding the rear wheel on a trike makes it easy to lose control, so it's good to have explicit control of it via a separate lever IMO.

Sorry to butt in Pete, but this reminds me of the time you rolled your trike when showing me how effective your brakes were. Better that you found out the limits on that quiet road than under heavy traffic conditions :-)

Peter:

I thought of the manifold idea too, but I wonder if the two master cylinders might not 'oppose' each other without one way valves?

Peter B.

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Not sure what you mean - the Magura system is 'closed' i.e. the whole thing is simply filled with fluid with (you hope!) no air bubbles.

So if you squeeze one lever it increases the fluid pressure throughout the system, until this is balanced by the resistance of the brakes against the slave cylinders. Obviously if you then try to squeeze the second lever there'll be resistance as you've already increased the pressure by the action of the first lever.

Both levers contribute to the braking if you squeeze both - the fluid always equalises the pressure through the system.