Braided brake hoses

[harpmeister]

I am just about to get some brake hoses made up and was wondering if there was any disadvantage in having them made with swivel ends, the top where it fits into the splitter is obviously an advantage but what about at the calliper end where there already is a swivel end on the rigid brake pipe that connects into the calliper, any thoughts.

 

[Dellortoman]

I've never seen them with swivel ends. As you say, the caliper end can usually be rotated to take any twist out of the hose before it's tightened up.

It might be an advantage on a hose that has a crimped banjo fitting at each end, such as a hose between master cylinder and splitter. If a banjo is crimped on at the wrong angle you could end up with a bit of a twist in the hose. Depending on the type of fitting, banjos can sometimes be rotated in the hose end of you put it in the vice and turn the outside of the crimped part with pliers.

These days I make my own brake hoses with olive type fittings. Pretty simple to do and you get exactly what you want. You can also loosen off the compression nut and rotate the fittings to the correct orientation.  However, home assembled hoses may not comply with regulations. Whether you can use them may depend on where you live and how fussy the transport inspectors are.

 

[breganzane]

In the mid 90's I got a set of crimped hoses made up by a mob in Sydney.  Tthey made a big song and dance about them being ADR approved, which was not common at the time.  They were a 2-hose set made to eliminate the splitter unit on the forks, and thus had banjos each end.  One end came with a banjo that could swivel 360 degrees, I've never seen the like of them since.
These days I get my hoses made up by a local rally car shop, using goodridge fittings.  You have to advise the 'clocking' of the banjos on a hose of that type.  Piet has shown a method of twisting the banjo within the crimped joint, but I've not needed to try it thus far.

 

[motoddrob]

I brought Venhill hoses for the Motodd. The hose screws onto the banjo so any orientation is available. Been on over 5 years now with no problems. Pretty good kit.