Replacing the Brake Handle

[drtofu]

Hi,
I'm new here and I tried to search if it is possible to replace the brake handle with a generic one but could not find any info on it. My A-Bike front brake handle broke so instead of getting it from A-Bike is it possible to just get on from any bike store? Has anybody bought one and know what it cost?

Thanks for helping.

[Stevbike]

I am a bit busy but I will take a look at my bike to get a measurement off the handlebar to see if a standard brake lever can replace the original one. I hope that it will work so you can get back to using the bike again.

It may be a few days before I can look into doing this but I will be back with an answer.

stevbike

[Guest]

Thanks StevBike,
I think it can be done. I'm a little surprise nobody had to replace the brake handle before. It's made of plastic and can be easily damaged. So replacing it would be an upgrade on the bike.
Looking at the brake handle, I have to unscrew one screw. That would allow me to push the brake handle in, away from the handle grip. But I can't see how to get the handle bar off. Maybe I can break off?

Is there an tutorial for taking apart the handle?

Thanks again.

[drtofu]

I've found my own question on the Handlebar replacement tutorial.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJDImz8cS8s

Looking at the how the brake handle is held in by the one screw, I realized that a generic brake handle would clamp down on the handle bar. I would imagine it would crush the plastic handle bar. would it be wise to replace it with a generic brake handle?

Thanks

[Amuro Lee]

I think you can find some hints in this post.
http://www.abikecentral.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=184

[Stevbike]

I finally got a bit of time to check out the measurement on the bike handlebar section where the brake lever is attached. It is about 23 mm in diameter. I think that a bmx style brake lever should do the trick in replacing the broke one. I would replace both sides so that the same problem of the factory equipped that still is in place can not be broken off down the road in some type of fall. They should also provide much better stopping power since you have better leverage on alloy type brake levers. Just make sure that inner edge of the lever assembly is the same distance to the locking pin hole as is set on the original brake lever.

If you do this, please sent some updates and pictures on how you are making out solving this problem. Try mounting the replacement lever on the plastic tube to see if it will hold up the clamp-on style brake lever before looking into the metal tube replacement.

stevbike