Adding a Hand Brake to a KickPed

While I hadn't felt the need for a hand brake on my KickPed in the first year I owned it, certain members of the Let's Kick Scoot Forum are such huge proponents of hand brakes, that I got to wondering what I was missing. Given that I'm a bike mechanic by trade and will take almost any excuse to go to the hardware store, I put together a hand brake for my KickPed.

The brake lever I used is a little DiaTech BMX lever that I had in my parts box. I combined this with some other bike bits (a brake cable and housing, a cable binder bolt, a barrel adjuster and a brake pad) together with some parts I picked up at my local Lowe's hardware store. Someone with a less extensive home collection of bike bits could buy a Promax Brake Assembly and get all the bike-specific bits in one package. A trip to the hardware store is still needed for a few bolts, nuts and other metal bits.

The pictures tell the main story, but here are a few notes that may make things a bit clearer.

I didn't have to drill or cut anything on the Kickped, so assembly was easy. Best, if I didn't like the outcome, I knew I'd be able to completely remove the parts, returning the Kickped to its original state.

I replaced one of the rear deck bolts with a stainless steel 1/4-20x1-1/2 bolt. This longer bolt serves as the brake pivot.

The brake arm is a Stanley 3"x3" T-Plate. I gave the stem of the T a half-twist with a pair of pliers so the brake shoe would line up with the edge of the tire.

The big spring holds the brake away from the rear wheel when the brake lever is not pressed. When I press the brake lever, the spring compresses, the arm pivots and the brake pad rubs the tire.

1" steel corner braces are used for the cable stops. I used various washers and nuts to get the spacing right for the brake pivot and the proper tension on the spring.

My first test of the brake was a scooter trip in the rain. It worked!

The KickPed's rear stomp brake is not very efficient in wet conditions and the hand brake with its rubber on rubber interface is an improvement. The one-sided (versus dual) hand brake seems to be efficient enough. This isn't a stop-on-a-dime brake, but I did a little testing in the Issaquah, Washington, drizzle.

Our paths are concrete with seams every six feet. To test, I counted the seams to see how long it would take to go from speedily rolling to a stop once I hit the brakes. Here's what I found:

Using the stock fender brake alone - 5 seams, or 30 feet.

Using my hand brake - 3 seams or 18 feet.

Using both the fender brake & hand brake - 2 seams, or 12 feet.

This test was conducted on a slick day and the distances were reached on level ground. My speed measurement was based upon how far it took me to go from about 8 mph down to 0 mph. Your mileage may vary.

In dry conditions, both the hand and fender brakes work well.

The outer arm of the T-Plate extended slightly past the edge of the KickPed deck. so I bent the little excess bit over with a pair of pliers.

The hand brake has proven to be, well, handy! It's not the prettiest thing, but it works fine and I think it's a keeper. It adds a little bit of weight to the KickPed and I'll be keeping an eye on brake pad and tire wear.

Keep 'em rolling (and slowing and stopping!)

Kent

Pictures from Issaquah's Bike To Work Day

Today was Bike To Work Day. I was helping out at the Issaquah checkpoint over by Lake Sammamish State Park. Nobody had any major mechanical problems, but I did get to patch one slow leaking inner tube and air up a couple of low tires.

I had to leave around 9:00 AM to go to work, but by then we'd already had over 120 riders pass through our checkpoint. We don't have any firm numbers, but I'd guess there are at least several hundred other bike commuters in Issaquah whose routes don't intersect our checkpoint. But we did get to equip several hundred happy riders with coffee, bananas and Clif Bars.

#30DaysofScootering: The End Is Not The End

Today is the last day of April, the last day I've committed to this odd promise of scootering and blogging every day. I leave far too early for a meeting with a friend where we'll solve the problems of the world. I allow extra time to wander, to stop, to take a picture or a note. These are my habits now.

I doubt I'll keep to the daily blogging discipline, that still feels like a chore, but the camera falls easily to hand and my feet tread scooter deck or street with equal ease. Scootering has become as habitual as a heartbeat.

Thoreau had his walks around Concord, I have my scooter trips around Issaquah. There are animals I've come to know, birds, trees, flowers, ponds. It would seem unnatural not to visit, or at least non-neighborly. My neighborhood has made me neighborly.

The birds are mostly used to my not talking, so I'm not here to say goodbye or to promise I'll be back tomorrow.

But every day of these past thirty has shown me something and the things I've seen bring me back, later, to see more.

I'm no longer promising a report every day, but every day delivers something promising and these past thirty have helped me learn to look. I wont stop looking.

And so I'll keep rolling, wandering. And maybe blogging now and then. About what I've found while out and about on my feet or my bike or my scooter.

8.44 miles of scootering today, bringing my April total to 242.23 miles.

Thanks for putting up with the #30DaysofScootering.

#30DaysofScootering: What I Talk About When I Talk About Scootering

Haruki Murakami wrote a terrific book called What I Talk About When I Talk About Running. It is about running and writing but ultimately it is a book about life. As I read Murakami's book I found myself editing his experiences into my life. Where he talks about running, I would see myself scootering or bicycling. The lessons are the same.

Here is what Murakami has to say on pages 43-45 in my copy of What I Talk About When I Talk About Running.

When I tell people I run every day, some are quite impressed. "You must really have a strong will," they sometimes tell me. Of course, it's nice to be praised like this. A lot better than being disparaged, that's for sure. But I don't think it's merely willpower that makes you able to do something. The world isn't that simple. To tell the truth, I don't even think there's that much correlation between my running every day and whether or not I have a strong will. I think I've been able to run for more than twenty years for a simple reason: It suits me. Or at least because I don't find it all that painful. Human beings naturally continue doing things they like, and they don't continue what they don't like. Admittedly, something close to will does play a small part in that. But no matter how strong a will a person has, no matter how much he may hate to lose, if it's an activity he really doesn't care for, he won't keep it up for long. Even if he did, it wouldn't be good for him. 

That's why I've never recommended running to others. I've tried my best never to say something like, Running is great. Everybody should try it. If some people have an interest in long-distance running, just leave them be, and they'll start running on their own. If they're not interested in it, no amount of persuasion will make any difference. Marathon running is not a sport for everyone, just as being a novelist isn't a job for everyone. Nobody ever recommended or even desired that I be a novelist -- in fact, some tried to stop me. I had the idea to be one, and that's what I did. Likewise, a person doesn't become a runner because someone recommends it. People basically become runners because they're meant to.

Still some might read this book and say, "Hey, I'm going to give running a try," and then discover they enjoy it. And of course that would be a beautiful thing. As the author of this book I'd be very pleased if that happened. But people have their own individual likes and dislikes. Some people are more suited for marathon running, some for golf, others for gambling. Whenever I see students in gym class all made to run a long distance, I feel sorry for them. Forcing people who have no desire to run, or who aren't physically fit enough, is a kind of pointless torture. I always want to advise teachers not to force all junior and senior high school students to run the same course, but I doubt anybody is going to listen to me. That's what schools are like. The most important thing we ever learn at school is the fact that the most important things can't be learned at school.

--------------------------------

Sometimes I stay inside and read books. Sometimes I grab my scooter and head out the door.

It suits me to ride my scooter every day.

Someone might read this blog and then say, "Hey, I'm going to give scootering a try."

And then discover they enjoy it.

Of course, that would be a beautiful thing.

As the author of this blog, I'd be very happy if that happened.

The most important thing we ever learn at school is the fact that the most important things can't be learned at school.

There is beauty all around.

Sometimes the best thing to do is roll out the door to find it.

3.81 miles of scootering today, bringing the April total to 233.79 miles.

#30DaysofScootering: The Gift of What You Notice More

I set off this morning to get a few extra scooter miles in before work. I've concluded that while I like the rhythm of scootering, the balance and flow of it as I hit the right timing of kicking and coasting, the best thing for me is the pace of travel. On the scooter I go fast enough to increase my range, I scoot farther than I'd be prone to walk, yet I'm still at a pace where I notice things. On the scooter stopping never seems to interrupt the flow, the stops are part of the flow. Dar Williams has a lovely phrase in her song The Blessings where she speaks of "the gift of what you notice more." The scooter brings blessings to me but each day when I roll out I'm never quite sure what they'll be.

It's a beautiful morning as I scoot along Gilman Boulevard.

I stop at Trader Joe's to get more of my favorite snacks. Thanks to my scootering, walking and biking, I count all these snacks as fuel.

I stop by the Maple Street pond.

Quiet moments like these are definitely blessings.

I roll towards home on the shaded trail.

This new family can tell I'm no threat. They're perfectly happy to be one more blessing, one of the gifts I have the time to notice more.

#30DaysofScootering: Sunday Morning Scootering

This morning brought a bit of sun, a bunch of clouds, some wind and the threat of rain. I figured my best bet for good scooter riding was to get out early, before my afternoon shift at the bike shop. I've been playing around more with my camera's timer and my mini tripod.

I'm dressed for rain. My Rivendell MUSA pants (AKA "the best damn pants I've ever owned") dry in a flash if they do get wet. They look pretty normal, have super deep pockets and reflective tape at the ankles. OK, aside from the reflective tape, they look pretty normal.

It usually takes me a few passes to get the timing right so I actually show up in these shots.

Here I am blazing down the trail. I'm usually not in any danger of exceeding the posted speed limit.

See the shadows and the clouds? Very mixed weather this morning.

I roll and walk along some of the trails in Sammamish State Park.

It's good rainbow weather.

Right after I took this shot, it started raining.

This bridge over the Issaquah Creek was pretty rain slicked.

Looking out on Lake Sammamish.

A goose swam by as I took this shot of the Issaquah Creek

More birds of prey. The park is home to various eagles and hawks.

Note the clearing skies.

A bit further on, it's back to cloudy weather.

It's raining again by the time I get home and pouring when I scooter off to work.

8.57 miles of scootering today, bringing my April total to 229.98 miles.