[daktah]

so ive been thinking about converting my front brake and clutch using these hydraulic actuator rods i saw on ebay. grand total for the conversion would run about $180 including 2x hydraulic levers, left and right switchgear, throttle tube with both cables, 10 feet of steel braided 1/4" line, 4x banjo to barb fittings, and 2x hydraulic rods. does this sound like a bad idea? my only reservation would be how much force these actually put out but of course there are no specs or anything to go off of, literally just dimensions and thats it. still would probably be cheaper than buying a pair of comstars, disc, caliper, lever, and compatible forks though.
also is 1/4" line good or should i go larger or smaller?

 

[longdistancerider]

Interesting idea. I've tossed around the idea of a hydraulic clutch a few times.
You need to determine the needed maximum movement of each actuation lever, I'm sure the clutch is longer than the brake. That determines if the slave cylinder has enough throw.
Pick a master cylinder to use. If it's too hard then go up one size, too soft = smaller. Too fast or aggressive actuation = up one size, too slow = down
Hard part, especially for the brake slave, will be setting up a hard mount that won't flex or break loose.

 

[daktah]

ill probably end up just buying one and use an old brake lever i have before i go all out. theyre made to fit into the hard mount that you clamp the cable to on the crankcase and on the brake housing so mounting shouldnt be an issue.

 

[longdistancerider]

Cool that there's some brackets made for this.
The 1/4" hose should be more than sufficient for both applications.

 

[daktah]

so i bought one of those actuators and turns out it only gets about 10mm of actuation... not good. also i hooked it to the hydraulic brake on another one of my bikes and it takes 2.25 full pumps to fully retract it even when bled... also not good. so these cheap universal ones are a no go.

 

[longdistancerider]

That sucks. Now that you mention it I remember not finding any common actuators with enough travel.

 

[daktah]

yeah ill keep looking for better ones or even try to make my own whenever i get around to making enough money to buy that lathe and mill i always wanted.