[Berm Peak] tested wireless brakes on a fat-tire bicycle that use an electronic system instead of a hydraulic line. In the setup, which operated with ESP32 microcontrollers, actuators taken from car door locks controlled the brake calipers.
The prototype was made functional with higher-quality calipers, a change in the actuator angle, and longer arms. The system also offered features not found in conventional brakes, such as ABS, remotely slowing children’s bicycles, adjusting brake-force distribution, and a “derp” mode that does not engage the brakes until a certain threshold is reached.
Why it matters
While this experiment shows that electronic control can be used instead of mechanical connections in bicycle brakes, it also presents an approach in which braking behavior can be adjusted through software and hardware. Options such as ABS, brake-force distribution, and remote slowing transform the system from a component that only enables stopping into a setup that can be configured for different usage scenarios. On the other hand, the fact that the prototype had to be modified with calipers, a change in the actuator angle, and longer arms to become operational shows that this type of solution remains dependent on the selection of suitable components and mechanical compatibility. The fundamental question that remains is how reliable and practical this electronic control will be under different conditions of bicycle use.