Simple and effective clutch mod.

[roughrider504]

I have been getting tired of coming back from a ride with a sore left arm from pulling the clutch lever and especially trying to hold that thing at stoplights.

I have seen a clutch kit that extends the clutch arm to make the clutch more sensitive and easier to pull. But why does extending the clutch arm "fix" the clutch? It takes more cable to pull the longer clutch arm.

So I went right to the source. The clutch has to only be pulled about an inch to be fully disengaged, while the stock clutch lever [formerly a V-brake lever] pulls much more than that.

Older brake levers designed for cantilever brakes pull less cable than V brake levers and I had a few nice ones around. I took off the stock lever and installed the cantilever lever and it pulled considerably less than the stock lever, but enough to disengage the clutch completely.

Took it for a ride and I couldn't believe it. The lever action is so much easier and the clutch is much more sensitive. You can easily use the clutch to start from a dead stop, something I couldn't dream of doing with the stock lever.

Enjoy!

Full pull [perfect!] You can see the difference.

 

[bluegoatwoods]

Clever....

when my original clutch lever broke I switched it with a brake lever that I had available, but I never noticed a difference in the feel. the lockout button no longer works because of a different shape to the actual lever.