Dummy handlebar for brake demonstration

Motivation

• the idea is to have, on permanent display, a minimal “diorama” that shows the setup of various brake ecosystems

  • brake lever

  • brake cable & housing

  • brake caliper

• I'm using old bike forks which are relatively common, cheap, & small where in a local co-op, space is at a premium for permanent displays & demonstrations & other things

• the demonstrations would serve to illustrate these concepts (not an exhaustive list):

  • ideal cable tension

  • brake centering

  • selection of cable head style

  • short pull versus long pull

  • installing levers, calipers

  • preparation of housing

  • ideal housing length

• to further minimize spaceclaim, handlebars & stems were not included in my setup

1" threaded forks

• these are actually the best because regular 22.2 mm handlebars can be simply inserted into the steerer & used as dummy handlebars to which brake levers can be mounted

• example here

  

1.125" threadless forks

• we can't do the same thing because these often have a star nut installed

• furthermore, the ID of these forks don't really offer many opportunities for handlebar-like components to be stuck in

• therefore, my solution makes use of an existing star nut, properly installed

Star nut installation depth

15 mm with Park Tool

Rev 1

• I created 2 versions

  • 22.2 mm for flat bar brake levers

  • 23.8 mm for road brake levers

• hardware required

  • M6 x ~90 mm CSK

• because the screw serves as a backbone to the 3DP part, it has a fair amount of strength to counter the braking forces

• all the same, it is encouraged to mount the brake lever as close to the steerer as possible