C[omp]ute

From: andrew cooke <andrew@...>

Date: Sun, 6 Jul 2014 07:57:41 -0400

My new(ish) bike is an American import, which means that the right brake lever
controls the rear wheel.  UK bikes are reversed (right is front) which means
that instinctive braking tends to lock the rear (when you brake hard you need
to use the front, since that's where the weight is; for me that means using
the right hand which locks the rear instead; the instinct on locking the rear
is to release the left brake and apply more to the right...).

The brakes are hydraulic and contain a reservoir of oil on the "top" side of
the lever assembly.  This means that they cannot be simply disconnected from
the bars and swapped, as the reservoir would be upside down.

So instead, the hoses must be unscrewed and swapped.  To do this:

 - Remove the front wheel (to be sure you don't get hydraulic oil on
   the disks) and place a wedge between the brake pads so that they will
   not close shut if the brake is applied.

 - Slide off the plastic cover where the hose meets the lever assembly.
   This will reveal an 8mm nut.

 - Remove the grips from the handlebars, loosen the assemblies and slide
   them off the bars.

 - Carefully unscrew one hose from its assembly.  Make sure to keep the 
   connection point higher than the brake and, as soon as the two are
   separate, keep both "pointing up" so that no oil escapes.

 - Work out how to keep both "pointing up" while you separate the other
   hose and assembly (I tucked the free hose behind the bars and balanced
   the assembly on a nearby stone).

 - Reconnect hoses and assemblies, swapped.

 - Replace on bars, replace grips, and replace wheel.

All the above is pretty obvious.  The main point is that, at least for me, it
was possible without losing a significant amount of oil, and without
introducing air into the hydraulics.  The brakes worked just fine afterwards.

But I did have a hydraulics service kit with new oil read just in case.

Andrew