Drop bar suspension remote

thingiverse

This remote lever for suspension forks is used in conjunction with road bike drop handlebars. It can also be adapted for use with rear suspensions. Like the dropper remotes it's based on, this lever provides riders with easy access to controls from either the brake lever hood or the curve of the drops. To make it work on the right-hand side of the bars, I had to mirror all the parts using the same basic files. This design includes a latch that holds the lever in two positions besides being fully released. Pressing the button on the side releases the lever to its full slack position. The total cable travel is about 24mm. In addition to needing a shifter/brake lever clamp and 608 bearing, you'll also need a small safety pin as the spring for the latch. This safety pin might be leftover from running events where numbers are pinned to shirts. To get to the wire spring inside the head, pry apart the sheet metal. Bend the pointed side in half, insert the other side into the hole by the latch, and bend over the wire to hold it in place. The pictures show an earlier version that had problems with bar tape clearance, especially when releasing the latch. The newer version (v9) makes the body of the part a bit thicker, which might make it harder to thread the nut onto the bar clamp. You may need to thread the nut onto the bar clamp with the body and the lever sandwiched between them, then slide that whole unit onto the bar. Modifications have been made to inset the latch, which should give another 3 or 4mm of clearance for bar tape. This part has not yet been tested on the road or trail. However, I've installed a slightly earlier version on my bike and can start riding it again. Update: It works well from the hoods but interferes with grip in the drops. I was worried about it interfering with my fingers if it's lower down, but since it's on the inside of the bar, my fingers will get a decent amount of wrap around the bar. I'll redesign this to sit lower on the bar, not nestled right up against the brake hoods. Update 2: The bar clamp places the housing too far from the bars to make placement lower on the drops feasible. Instead, I've slid the clamp up underneath the brake lever. It still interferes a little with my hand placement, but it works well from the hoods and is a fine compromise to make since I'm not in the drops that often. This part was designed using Autodesk Fusion 360, and files are available at https://a360.co/2LABbIY.