Hailing from Korea, Outbraker has created an inline power adjuster for hydraulic disc brakes that lets you set the limit as to how much rotor they’ll grab.
The device plugs into the brake hose, either directly at the lever or anywhere in between it and the caliper, and adds a cut-off valve that limits how much pressure is sent to the caliper. While they were mum on how exactly it worked, we asked another brake brand to speculate and the consensus it that works as a secondary master cylinder that limits the hydraulic pressure by closing off a check valve at some point between 0% and 100%. That point is user adjustable, letting you find the sweet spot of powerful braking without locking up the front wheel…
A spring loaded valve is pushed toward a port inside the Outbraker’s piping. Once the valve covers the port that flows fluid down the line toward the caliper, the system is closed and the pressure remains constant until you let off the lever. So, no matter how hard you grab the lever beyond that point, braking force won’t increase.
The limit is set with a special 5-sided “hex” key. The entire body (colored blue on this one) can swivel, allowing the brake hose to move freely with the bike and suspension movement.
Normal hose hardware is used to run the device inline on the brake hose.
The five-sided allen key means your friends can’t take their mini-tool and screw with your braking power when you’re not looking.
These gauges show the difference in pressure before the valve and after, with the higher pressure being what’s coming from squeezing the lever really hard, and the lower one (bottom right) being the static brake pressure maintained at any point past where the limit was set.
It’s designed to work for road bikes and mountain bikes, and works with DOT fluid or mineral oil equally well. Unit weight is just 39g, and it’s meant for front brakes only and primarily to prevent endos.
While performance riders may not flock to such a device, the potential for casual riders, commuters and newbies to have what’s effectively an antilock braking device is very good. It works exactly as advertised, something I tested on a short loop with many, many attempts to brake extremely hard. The range of adjustment is whole, allowing you to set it exactly how you want it. They recommend putting it somewhere around the 80-90% range for solid braking performance just shy of wheel lock, but it really does let you set it anywhere you want. For the right rider, it’s an impressively simple but effective piece of hardware.
