The detangler, Gyro or rotor is an invention for the

freestyle BMX Freestyle BMX is bicycle motocross stunt riding on BMX bikes. It is an extreme sport descended from BMX racing that consists of four disciplines: street, park, trails, and flatland. The sport made its Olympic debut at the 2020 Summer Olympics. E ...

bicycle, allowing the handlebars to turn a complete 360° rotation without the brake cables getting tangled up. A detangler is usually only used for the rear brake cable. The front brake cable can be routed through the

stem Stem or STEM most commonly refers to: * Plant stem, a structural axis of a vascular plant * Stem group * Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics Stem or STEM can also refer to: Language and writing * Word stem, part of a word respon ...

, via a hollow stem bolt known as a Pott's mod bolt, and fork steer tube to avoid the tangling problem.

How it works

The single

cable Cable may refer to: Mechanical * Nautical cable, an assembly of three or more ropes woven against the weave of the ropes, rendering it virtually waterproof * Wire rope, a type of rope that consists of several strands of metal wire laid into a hel ...

from the handlebar's rear brake lever divides into two cables which are routed to opposite sides of the

or fork steer tube and into cable stops. The inner cables connect to metal tabs on a disc attached to the upper side of a

thrust bearing A thrust bearing is a particular type of rotary bearing. Like other bearings they permanently rotate between parts, but they are designed to support a predominantly axial load. Thrust bearings come in several varieties. *''Thrust ball bearing ...

placed around the stem or steer tube. Squeezing the brake lever pulls the inner cables and causes the bearing assembly to rise. A second disc is attached to the bottom of the thrust bearing such that the entire assembly moves together up and down the steering axis while each disc can rotate independently around the axis. A second set of cables are attached to tabs on this lower disc and pass through cable stops mounted on the either side of the head tube. The two lower cables merge back into one and then are routed to the rear brake. The cables are split in this way to ensure that the detangler mechanism moves equally on both sides. A simpler, less common variation of the system, termed a dual cables brake, does away with the splitters for the upper and lower cables, instead simply running two cables from the brake lever to the detangler and from there to the brake. While this may improve reliability, it may need more maintenance.

References

{{reflist Bicycle parts BMX

How it works

See also

References