Review of Bicycle-engines twist throttle/dual brake lever

[SirJakesus]

http://www.bicycle-engines.com/images/images_big/dual-cable-twist-throttle-kit.jpg
http://www.bicycle-engines.com/dual-brake-twist-throttle-p-148.html

http://www.bicycle-engines.com/images/images_big/push-button-engager-lever.jpg
http://www.bicycle-engines.com/standard-engager-lever-lock-p-120.html


I have a Schwinn Stingray XL running a kings motorbikes 80cc kit with some additional mounting hardware. The throttle and clutch worked well but when I saw this I knew it was going to make a major difference on the bike. So here goes. Sorry I forgot to take pictures. I'll update with that later.

I ordered this new twist throttle/killswitch/dual brake assembly and it came in the mail very quickly. I installed it along with the push button clutch lever to replace the cheap one that comes with most kits. This has cleaned my handlebars up a lot! As an added bonus the throttle comes with a matching grip to put on the left side.

Installation was pretty easy. It came with a new throttle cable that was the same length as the one that came with my original kit. Much better fittings and it actually has tension adjustments on the throttle. Sweet. Hooking up the brakes is a bit strange but should work well. Essentially you have to remove your old brake levers and pull the cables all the way out of both sheaths. You then thread the cables through the posts on either side of the lever and back down through the sheath. Each brake is independently adjustable. The grips twist and pull of the lever all seem smooth and comfortable except for a bit of wiggle in the brake lever. I'm sure it could be fixed with a nylon washer if it ever irritates me. The kill switch has two wires that are covered in a sheath. They've got electrical connectors similar to the ones on happytime CDI and magneto connections and the wire was just about 6 inches shorter than the throttle cable supplied (plenty of length) I'm planning on hooking the 2 leads up to the blue and black magneto wires and ditching my kit kill switch. This will give me the ability to have a kill AND a small white wire running light. The new clutch lever is also a huge improvement over the original kit version. Much more solid with very little wobble. It looks like the brake levers that came with the bike and I love not having to worry about the clutch locking itself whenever I pull it in completely. Seems to have more throw than the original aswell which should mean better engagement and total disengagement. I haven't actually tested these on the road as its too cold and sandy/salty here for motorbike riding. From what I can tell in my garage though these seem like an excellent deal. In fact I just ordered another set for my Schwinn High Timber MTB thats going to be motorized because I was honestly impressed with this kit.
Check these guys out, they ship really fast! I have never before dealt with them but I definitely will in the future. Hope this helps you guys out. I'll update with pictures and possibly another wall of text if either of these controls give me trouble.

 

[Pablo]

Can this be used with any type of brakes? I have a Diamond Back Mountain bike with low mount pulls.

Let us know how it rides ASAP - I'm thinking of buying the same set-up.

 

[SirJakesus]

It seems as long as you have cables that can be totally removed from the sleeves and reinserted it should work. Try loosening the adjustment/stay bolt on one of your brakes and pull your stock lever in. If you can separate the cable (with lead stopper end) from the lever and separate the cable sleeve from the lever you should be able to use this. Having a bit of unused slack at the very end of the brake line near the brakes may be a plus too. I think this setup used at most a quarter inch more cable than my stock levers. I tested the brakes as best as I could while in my garage and I could get the wheels to lock no matter how hard I tried to roll the bike. Together and individually. No doubt they need some fine tuning but the fact that they have independent adjusters for front and back will definitely help. The only thing I don't really like about the brake line setup is that the posts that hold the cables to the lever should have been drilled out some (not sure if this would compromise safety though) As it is right now those lead ends on the cables are just sitting out in plain sight on the lever on top and bottom. I'm planning on just painting the stopper ends with a little gloss black paint to match the lever and it wont even be very noticeable. Other than that small design flaw I really like this setup and I think it'll give me much better control over the bike. It also simplifies a lot of things by mating 3 of the controls for the bike into one. Looks real good too. As a side note the twist throttle seems somewhat smoother than normal HT kit twists and you have the adjustment on the engine AND the underside of the twist to take up slack in the wire (or maybe add slack when you're letting somebody else ride that wont be able to handle top speed safely)

 

[reclaimer]

I haven't used mine yet. It's cable is longer(stock was too short for my roadster) and the throttle sleeve the grip goes on is longer. A standard grip fits, unlike my stock one from boygofast.

 

[Stink Bike]

I've just fitted a dual brake lever & I'm happy with it.
I'm also going to fit a 2nd caliper brake to the front with the lever mounted on the same side as the dual brake lever just in case the dual lever fails.
I can also use it if I need so extra stipping power.

 

[bennyboy]

that is a great product you know what I would do though run 2 back breaks off that you never ever want to have your stoping force at the front of a bike unless you entend to do stoppies which can go very wrong fast (broken teeth and stiches on the face are never pretty). But the benefit of haveing twice as much stoping power on the wheel that has torque behind it is never a bad thing plus it would look pretty cool.

 

[wileydavis@gmail.com]

Use the front brake please

that is a great product you know what I would do though run 2 back breaks off that you never ever want to have your stoping force at the front of a bike unless you entend to do stoppies which can go very wrong fast (broken teeth and stiches on the face are never pretty). But the benefit of haveing twice as much stoping power on the wheel that has torque behind it is never a bad thing plus it would look pretty cool.

Even with 2 rear brakes, stopping only with the rear wheel will significantly increase your braking distance. Unless you are on snow/ice or dirt, almost all your braking should/will come from the front wheel.

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/brakturn.html

It's downright dangerous to suggest that people should be stopping with the rear brake alone on dry pavement.

 

[chefdouglas]

75% of braking should be done with the front tire. As you brake the weight shifts to the front tire pushing it down giving you more traction. With a hard brake most of the weight leaves the rear making it slide easily giving little traction. Look at a moto gp race motorcycle with 2 huge brake discs up front and a tiny one in back. With the dual pull if both brakes are set to engage at the same time they will have equal force and the back would slide before the front due to traction. Doing an "endo" going over the bars thats a different story and can be managed by good riding technique. More of a problem with disc brakes than pads.

 

[scottyo]

So Ive used BE.com for alot of my purchasing and I know that most of there stuff is prob straight from china, but havent had any problems thus far. I recently bought this item and was thoroughly disappointed!

The functionality of the brake lever and twist grip seem fine but the kill switch and ground wires were SUPER GLUED to the connection spot!! not like a dab but alot. The aesthetics alone were horrible but then I went on a long @$$ trouble shooting hunt because my engine wouldnt start. I checked every possible problem and then finally decided to dissect the kill switch and found the ground wire while glued into the switch was not making contact to the other wires= no ground. I think for electrical stuff I might start shopping at moped/scooter stores.

 

[chefdouglas]

I DON"T BUY FROM BE.COM. They sent me the wrong tank and gave me the run around and would not return calls or emails. Try pirate they have been great to me with free advice and Fast service and replies! BE.com probably still had you paying shipping both ways on a defective product.