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Next on the agenda was brakes. A Doodlebug only has a single brake on the rear wheel and that brake is pretty much what you would find on a medium-grade bicycle. For a bike that can do almost highway speeds, this is nowhere near enough stopping power.
This tiny caliper is the only thing stopping this bike. On top of being wimpy, our brake pads were completely worn out. We need to get this crap out of here! Two M6 bolts hold the caliper to the bike’s frame.
A allen single bolt clamps the handle to the handlebars. Slide off the grip and the handle, then unthread the cables to remove the brake in one assembly. Easy!
A quick and simple upgrade is Hot Rod Minibike’s hydraulic brake caliper kit. The kit comes with a new handle, master cylinder, hydraulic hose, and a hydraulic single piston caliper. Simply bolt onto the bike, and through the magic of hydraulics, receive an instant upgrade to braking torque. Best of all, HRMB sends you the unit pre-assembled and bled, removing the most obnoxious step of the installation.
The caliper itself (in silver) isn’t much bigger than the original (in black), but with the differential size in the pistons of the MC and caliper, you end up with more braking torque at the pads. Also, the hydraulic brake’s handle is about an inch longer than the cable brake handle, giving you more leverage over the braking system.
