serious_sam
10 kW
Modified Shimano hydraulic brake lever for proportional regen.
Parts:
- Shimano BL-MT200 lever SHIMANO Hydraulic Disc Brake 3-Finger Steel Lever | SHIMANO BIKE-EU
- 500psi pressure transducer, 1/8" NPT 500PSI Pressure Transducer Sender Sensor Stainless Steel For Oil Fuel Water | eBay
- 1/8" NPT tap 1/8 - 27 HSS NPT Taper Pipe Tap High Speed Steel Thread Taps&xg | eBay
Process:
1. Drill the M8 thread at the end of the lever to Ø8.5mm.
2. Tap to 1/8"NPT.
3. Thread sensor in carefully, using your preferred flavour of pipe sealant.
4. Bleed lever using mineral oil, tipping on end (sensor downwards).
5. Optional: trim sensor electrical connector down to a reasonable size, solder on wires, and pot with polyurethane sealant and heatshrink.
The sensors are 3 wire:
- 0v
- 5v in
- Signal out @ 0.5-5.0v (proportional to pressure)
The MT200 lever:
- Piston: Ø10mm
- Piston lever length: 13mm
- Finger lever length: 70mm
- This outputs 500psi @5kg lever force (I found that 5kg is a reasonable pull force for braking).
Result:
- My main hydraulic brakes are Shimano Saint, and I use 1 finger. The levers are relatively short.
- I still have my rear hydraulic brake installed for redundancy, I just rotated the lever down a bit and out of the way.
- The MT200 has a longer lever, so it can be mounted further inboard and still have correct placement for index finger reach.
- Firm braking pressure outputs the full 5v. It is well matched to my front hydraulic lever.
- Don't pull the lever in with 4 fingers as hard as you can. You will pop the sensor. Don't ask me how I know. If you were that worried, you could try to find a 1000psi sensor.
- Operation with the Nucular 12F controller is very smooth and proportional just like a "real" brake at anything above walking speed. YMMV (controller dependent).
- I consider it a successful experiment, and a decent upgrade from the thumb throttle I was previously using.
Parts:
- Shimano BL-MT200 lever SHIMANO Hydraulic Disc Brake 3-Finger Steel Lever | SHIMANO BIKE-EU
- 500psi pressure transducer, 1/8" NPT 500PSI Pressure Transducer Sender Sensor Stainless Steel For Oil Fuel Water | eBay
- 1/8" NPT tap 1/8 - 27 HSS NPT Taper Pipe Tap High Speed Steel Thread Taps&xg | eBay
Process:
1. Drill the M8 thread at the end of the lever to Ø8.5mm.
2. Tap to 1/8"NPT.
3. Thread sensor in carefully, using your preferred flavour of pipe sealant.
4. Bleed lever using mineral oil, tipping on end (sensor downwards).
5. Optional: trim sensor electrical connector down to a reasonable size, solder on wires, and pot with polyurethane sealant and heatshrink.
The sensors are 3 wire:
- 0v
- 5v in
- Signal out @ 0.5-5.0v (proportional to pressure)
The MT200 lever:
- Piston: Ø10mm
- Piston lever length: 13mm
- Finger lever length: 70mm
- This outputs 500psi @5kg lever force (I found that 5kg is a reasonable pull force for braking).
Result:
- My main hydraulic brakes are Shimano Saint, and I use 1 finger. The levers are relatively short.
- I still have my rear hydraulic brake installed for redundancy, I just rotated the lever down a bit and out of the way.
- The MT200 has a longer lever, so it can be mounted further inboard and still have correct placement for index finger reach.
- Firm braking pressure outputs the full 5v. It is well matched to my front hydraulic lever.
- Don't pull the lever in with 4 fingers as hard as you can. You will pop the sensor. Don't ask me how I know. If you were that worried, you could try to find a 1000psi sensor.
- Operation with the Nucular 12F controller is very smooth and proportional just like a "real" brake at anything above walking speed. YMMV (controller dependent).
- I consider it a successful experiment, and a decent upgrade from the thumb throttle I was previously using.
Last edited:
