It doesn't take too many rides on the back for a child to notice the difference in rider compartments from the front to the rear. Its exciting to ride with mom or dad out on the road, but why does only the pilot get brake levers? Can't brake levers serve a purpose for a stokid too? Sure they can. They can ring bells.
Its not just cute, its functional too. The very first ride with brake bells, your child will develop numerous good applications for the bells. When starting out, one ring sounds when the stokid is ready to ride. Two rings when you're passing. Continous frantic ringing usually indicates that a foot has come out of the toe strap. All this fun is suprisingly cheap and easy.
The core components are brake levers and bells. Since stokid bars are usually flat, you'll need flat bar levers. Used flat bar brake levers are fairly easy to find. Most shops may have several pair in a recycled parts bin. You may even have a pair lying around in your own garage. Be sure that the pair you choose have reach adjustment screws. Brake levers are designed to accomodate the average adult hand, leaving a stokids fingertips just out of reach.
The bells should be decent thumb lever actuated rotor bells. These have a throw roughly equivalent to a brake setup, and also have enough return spring to keep things working smooth. Pictures of dinosoars on the bells are a definite plus.
It is safest to cut the stokid bar down to the correct width, so their arms are not extended too far to the sides. With the proper bar width, the elbows will be able to flex to accomodate any unexpected motion while riding. Check the reach of the brake lever while on the bar, using the stokid as the judge. In some cases, you may need to ditch the standard reach adjustment screw and swap it for a longer version. This is where the bike shop probably can't help. Take the adjustment screw to a good fastener store and have them match the threads on a longer screw. Once installed the long reach screw will allow you to bring the lever within comfortable reach for your stokid. Go ahead and mount the levers and grips.
Using a moto-cutting tool and a cutting disk, cut a slot in the thumb lever from the end of the thumb lever to the center. Make it wide enough to accomodate the brake cable. Because the bar is short, cable routing will get tight. Keep this in mind when you mount the bells. The extended stokid stem should have sufficient length to mount two bells. Be sure to mount them so the thumb levers are pulled toward the stokid's bar when ringing the bell. This is the direction the cables will be pulling.
Cable housing may be hiding in your garage as well. If not, a couple of dollars should get you enough housing from the bike shop. Used brake cables work fine, but if you must buy new cables, you will need two as the round cable end is required for each lever. Take the piece of housing and stick it into one brake lever's cable stop. While holding it in place, bend it into the path that will take it withing 1" of the thumb lever of a bell. Mark this spot and cut the housing.
Insert a brake cable into the measured length of cable housing and attach it to the brake lever. Hold the housing firm into the brake lever barrel adjuster while you bend it back into the path you took before when measuring. Using several zip ties, secure the housing along the stoker stem. Try not to kink the housing as this will impede smooth operation of the bells.
Pull the brake cable tight and pass it through the slot in the bell's thumb lever. Note this location on the cable. This is where you need to mount the cable stop. A small nut and bolt combination is fine, but if you can, a sloted cable bolt for holding a stradle cable holder works best. Tighten the nut and bolt onto the cable firmly to prevent any slip. Slot the cable back into the thumb lever, then take-up any slack in the cable by turning the barrel adjusters on the brake lever.
Test the system by ringing the bell feverishly. You need to ensure that the cable stop (nut and bolt) don't slip off of the thumb lever. If this does occur, move the brake cable/housing to where the cable does not pull off of the thumb lever. You may need to make several adjustments until the 'sweet spot' is found. You did it! Now one more time for the other lever and you're finished.
Suprising as it may be, the easy access to the bells does not get abused. If you help develop useful applications for the bells your stokid will quickly see the importance of the them, and use them only for those necessary times. Early on, they may be used to indicate a turn, the approach to a stop sign, or even a cow in a pasture. Eventully, as the newness wears off, the ability of your stokid to signal you with the bells will show what appears on the surface as a novelty, to actually be very practical.
