Parking Brakes / Steering Locks (for cargo bikes/trikes)

Sometimes, especially with cargo bikes, we need parking brakes and/or steering locks, so the bike stays put while we load and unload.

So here's a thread to post up ways you've used to do this.

There's also another thread I started a while back for security versions of steering locks, which while different is also applicable as it would also stop the wheel from flopping around:
https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=68790


One way to do a parkign brake is a locking brake lever, whcih generally has a springloaded push-pin in it that when you engage the lever you can then push the pin down to keep the lever engaged, then just squeeze the lever a bit more to release the pin.

This one was from a jogging stroller, back on my old DayGlo Avenger:
https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=15570&p=262372&hilit=lock%2A+lever%2A#p262372





Chalo uses this type
http://www.jbi.bike/site/product_details.php?part_number=12005
https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=1341300#p1341300


Below is a reply to a PM, but wanted to share the rest of what I was telling him about a steering lock, and then parking brakes, started in a different thread here;
https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=1341306#p1341306

amberwolf said:

1JohnFoster said:

Also any suggestions for lockable steering?

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I drilled a 1/4" hole in the headtube and steerer of SB Cruiser, and use a 1/4" diameter ball-bearing stainless steel cotter pin on a split-ring and cable (to hold it to the tube behind the headtube when not in use) as a steering lock.

I suppose it's possible this would weaken some headtubes/steerers enough to worry about, but so far no issues on the trike despite the loads/etc it sees.

Apparently I don't have any pics in the trike thread about it, but it's basically drilled straight in from the side of the headtube, into the steerer, right in the middle of the headtube vertically. In my case I wanted the wheel straight (so I could push the trike forward thru a narrow doorway from behind where I can't reach the handlebars, for instance), so I had the wheel straight when drilling the hole, but you could put it at any angle when drilling and then that's where it will lock it.

The actual pin used is like these, 1/4" diameter and about 2" long, IIRC. Mine came from some powerchair, I think, used to hold accessories on. Might've come from one of the jogging strollers I got years back to try to make a trailer from (they were held together by these pins so you could easily collapse them for storage).
https://www.google.com/search?newwindow=1&biw=1205&bih=918&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=gHU3WravN9PIjwPn_Zm4Aw&q=ball+bearing+cotterless+pin&oq=ball+bearing+cotterless+pin&gs_l=psy-ab.3...7344.7911.0.8365.4.4.0.0.0.0.147.520.0j4.4.0....0...1c..64.psy-ab..0.0.0....0.8AVhRVhIuvU

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1JohnFoster said:

Gawd, I would never have thought of that! That will work for sure.
I have at least one of those pins in a bucket somewhere.

Click to expand...

I forget who suggested it to me, years ago; I think it was the local guy that fixes powerchairs that occasionally finds bits of them for me to re-purpose (it's where i get pretty much all my anderson SB connectors and heavy gauge wiring, circuit breakers, fuses, etc, and occasional hardware bits like these).

I meant ot implement it on DayGlo Avenger for exactly the reasons you need it, but never did it on anything until I built SB Cruiser, and even then not for a long time after.


Regarding locking brake levers, I used one off a jogging stroller for DayGlo Avenger for quite a while; but not all of them have the right leverage for the brakes you probably have on the bike. Problem Solvers has a pulley to fix that, though.

But you can also make your own, by drilling a hole in the lever housing so another of those cotterless pins will fit in there and jam the brake in the engaged position. Just depends on how your housing is built, so you aren't drilling into the areas that would weaken it.

Leave the pin hanging by the cable/ring when not using it, or keep it in a pocket, etc. Whatever works for you.

I've been planning to do this to SB Cruiser's front lever for a while, but didnt' yet because there's nowhere to do it on the Avid levers I'm using now.

So instead I thought about making a place to put the pin behind the brake *arm* instead, so I engage the lever and hold it, while sticking the pin in whatever plate/etc I put on the fork arch to do it with. Not as easy to use as a lever pin, though. :/ Easier to use a velcro strap to keep the brake lever squeezed (wrapped around the lever and the handlebar). Done that for years before I got the locking lever for DayGlo Avenger.


This won't work on all bikes (or trikes) very well, but it will work on some: You can take the clamp-on or bolt-on parking brakes off of wheelchairs, and put them on the stays or forks where they'll engage the tire. I did this for both rear wheels on the SB Cruiser trike:
https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=67833&p=1309021&hilit=wheelchair%2A+brake%2A+Cruiser#p1309021

The locking levers are great, you see them on wheeled walkers too. Good thing to have as a bike gets heavier too, like when you have a heavy trailer.

They come standard on adult trikes, so the part alone is surely sold someplace. Always better price to recycle one of course, like free on the curb I mean.

Locking levers with the e brake switch exist too, standard in a proper trike conversion kit. You can buy just the part.

Thanks AmberWolf for starting this thread!

dogman dan said:

~Locking levers with the e brake switch exist too, standard in a proper trike conversion kit. You can buy just the part.

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Or you could just drill a hole through your existing levers, and drop pins in? I suppose it wouldn't be as convenient because you'd either have to pop the pins in your pocket or wire them jangle dangling down the road. Unless you're really handy and make them "captive" and sprung.

But how do these work as your brakes wear? I usually wait to pull more cable thru the V-lever jam until I'm running out of brakes. Yes, that lazy!

I've been planning to put "elastics bands" on as brake holders. Now I'm wondering which scheme works better as the brake pads wear; elastic bands or locking levers? Purpose made bands of various types including adjustable ones are available on the market, but being more of an AW wanabe protege myself, I'm thinking of experimenting with different diameters and widths of scrap inner tubes.

amberwolf said:

Sometimes, especially with cargo bikes, we need parking brakes and/or steering locks

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A 3rd main use for parking locks is bikes on transit

This is really my pre-occupation at the moment. I justify my use of bike/Skytrain to co-workers by pointing out I'm actually faster door-to-door as I don't have to struggle with street parking and traffic. Also that I can work while on the Skytrain instead of wasting time "driving". The latter isn't as true as I'd like though, just because I have to pay too much attention to preventing my bike from rolling into other passengers at every start/stop.

So my last solution was an all-in-one parking brake/steering lock. I ran a cable from the tip of each brake lever, over each handlebar and back to the seatpost. It worked great and I was well pleased with myself as every inventer/DIY'er should be. The cables ended in little nylon baggies to slip over the lever tips. On the back end the cables attached to the seat post with a pipe clamp. A velcro strap went around the top tube to both hold the cables when not in use and also slid back & forth to tension the cables when deployed. Yes, I know, clear as mud without a picture, sorry! And yes it looked goofy to the Skytrain crowd but who cares. The real problem was just worrying about the velcro slipping back while riding adn letting the little baggy ends of the cables fall into the chainring or the back wheel to get snagged.

... so when I get time I'm going to try AW's drill a hole thru your head method. I'm going to mold something over the end that sticks out to look like a bone, and have some fun conversations with other transit riders! ... Why it's the "AmberWolf pin", haven't you heard of it yet? ... or "yeah, dude, I gotta get the WolfBone to be keepin' it hard!"

A couple of observations:

Locking the brakes keeps the front end from swiveling around and allows the bike to stay put where you lean it. A steering lock on a two wheeler has a similar effect, but locking the brakes works much better. A locking brake is basic equipment on a trike, but the convenience of having two on a bike is even more surprising to me. Now I instinctively try to lock the levers of my other bikes when I park them.

And, regarding pinning the steer tube in place: The steer tube is highly stressed at the ends, especially the bottom end. The bike's head tube is highly stressed where it joins the down tube. So if you're going to drill these things, do it sideways, through the middle part of the head tube and steer tube where it won't propagate cracks.

I found I did have a pic of part of the steering lock, though it doesn't show the whole pin: