Midwest clutch and front brake levers review︱Cross Training Enduro

Gnarly dirt riding means a lot of clutch slipping which can be tough on the left hand - our group recently tried the Midwest Clever Levers out to see how much lighter they made the clutch, and had a go at the front brake lever as well. We swapped these between our bikes to get impressions from six different riders. Visit the Midwest Mountain Engineering website for more information: http://www.midwestme.com/

MIDWEST CLUTCH LEVER CLAIMS
- 50% reduction in actuation force
- Less fatigue, less arm pump and more endurance
- Allows one or two finger operation
- Ball on lever end meets safety requirements
- Lever width reduces blistering

MIDWEST BRAKE LEVER CLAIMS
- Uses stock pivot geometry for same action as stock brake lever
- Same "shorty" length for one or two finger grip
- Adjust for a short or long reach
- Same ergonomic width as clutch lever
- Ball on lever end meets safety requirements.
The clever levers from Midwest are getting a reputation for being a cost effective way to lighten your clutch action, and also allow one or two finger use of each lever so you can hold on to the bars better.

We swapped the levers among several bikes so that we could get overall impressions from six riders. Here's a summary of Midwest's claims from the website.

First, everyone agreed the clutch is noticeably lighter, especially when feathering the clutch. We measured the clutch pull required at the same spot on both levers and agreed the initial pull is about 50% easier. From the halfway mark to full disengaged it was about 30% easier, at least on the Beta RR300 when tested. The consensus was this could only be a good thing in terms of less fatigue for the clutch hand.

The lever works on the basis of using more leverage, so generally you need to pull the lever all the way into the bars to disengage the clutch. This took some adjustment for everyone and there was some bike stalling until we adapted to the longer pull. Some felt this would be good in terms of finer clutch control, others weren't so keen but thought the lighter clutch action made it worthwhile.

A big plus in our book is the lever encourages one finger clutch action, generally the ideal for technical dirt riding. Set up properly, there is no danger of crushing the lever against your other fingers against the bars.

The wider lever felt comfortable for everyone, only rider questioned this as his gloves got wet then started to slip on the lever a bit. He felt it wasn't a big issue, but in the long run would consider roughing up the lever a little for more grip if it was an ongoing issue.

Plenty of european bikes like katos are known for their dragging clutches even when warmed up, the increased length of the clutch pull usually means a bit of adjustment of the lever to avoid clutch drag even when the lever is fully against the bars.

MIDWEST BRAKE LEVER CLAIMS
- Uses stock pivot geometry for same action as stock brake lever
- Same "shorty" length for one or two finger grip
- Adjust for a short or long reach
- Same ergonomic width as clutch lever
- Ball on lever end meets safety requirements.

The Midwest brake lever. As Midwest states, it has exactly the same action as the stock lever and is adjustable. The big advantage we saw was again that it encourages a one finger grip for better grip on the handlebars, or two fingers if you move the lever outward. With the possible exception of the guy with wet gloves, we all liked the thick lever again... the ergonomics are well thought out. our research on forums indicated that there is occasionally a rider who doesn't gel with the thicker levers but they usually just cut and file them down to a width they like, but the vast majority prefer the thick lever design. At around US$70 we feel the clutch lever is especially worthwhile if you'd like to lighten your clutch pull without forking out a lot of money, then if you like the ergonomics of it consider getting the matching brake lever as well. And of course if you are one of the very small minority who wind up not liking it, it simply becomes a spare lever in your kit if you break the stock lever.

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