With wireless drivetrains and dropper posts becoming more common on modern mountain bikes, the question naturally arises: what about brakes? With no commercial products on the market, Seth Alvo of Berm Peak decided to design his own, and the result is a system that boasts several useful features despite obvious drawbacks.
In the video above, Alvo walks viewers through the process of prototyping a set of wireless mountain bike brakes using a mishmash of auto parts, mechanical brakes, and various electronics. The result is a single-lever system that controls both the front and rear brakes, complete with a display to view brake information and adjust settings. He calls the finished design AirLock, and even created a fake webpage for the system.
Safety first
“Most of us don’t want wireless brakes,” he says in the video. “Wireless brakes would be perhaps the best example of a solution looking for a problem, and the potential liabilities should be obvious to anyone.”
To state the obvious, a wireless braking system failure would be catastrophic, and it’s unlikely any design will ever overcome this major limitation. (Alvo, tongue in cheek, says AirLock comes with a safety feature called CoasterLock, which pairs a rear coaster-brake hub with the wireless system as a backup.)
If safety concerns weren’t an issue, wireless brakes could offer some useful improvements over traditional brakes
With this project, Alvo was able to address some limitations of traditional brakes that are only possible once the brakes are wireless. For starters, the electronic system allows riders to adjust brake modulation using software. With traditional brakes, modulation is baked into the design, so if buyers want to change things up, they’ll have to buy a different brake.
Alvo also added an anti-lock brake system (ABS) feature to AirLock. Though ABS does exist in some form for bike brakes, AirLock allows riders to control ABS braking frequency to their liking using the integrated display control unit.
With just a single lever, AirLock can be configured to apply proportional braking force to the front and rear wheel, say 60% front and 40% rear. Some adaptive riders already use similar one-handed braking systems, though those are purely mechanical.
Electronic braking also has the advantage of logging braking events, a feature that products like BrakeAce offer to help riders improve their technique. Though Alvo’s system looks quite good for a prototype, a finished design would give riders a completely clean, cable- and hose-free cockpit. Not to mention, wireless brakes would be much easier to install without the hassle of bleeding and routing hoses. Bar spins are possible too.
With the potential for so many useful features, there are surely riders who will be interested in wireless braking despite the glaring risk inherent in the idea.
“There are no wireless brakes in development as far as I know… but it wouldn’t surprise me,” Alvo says in the video.
Your turn: Would you be interested in trying wireless mountain bike brakes?
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23 minutes ago