If you’ve been thinking about a Shimano anti-lock braking system for your mountain bike, consider the Yonka Optimizer Gel Lifts. While it looks like a Dura Ace Bar Tape, it’s a completely different system. The Yonka Optimizer Gel Lifts fits between the bars of your bike and you slide it into place when you want to adjust your brake levers.
The same technology that allows Shimano to add “artificial intelligence” to their electronic shifting systems also allows Yonka Optimizer Gel Lifts to communicate with the brakes. They sense when your hand stops your bicycle and it tells the Shimano electronic system that you want the brakes to work differently.
The technology is similar to that used by bike shops that change the air pressure in their brakes as they apply it, but instead the Shimano Gel fluid changes as you move the lever. That means there is no time delay between when you apply pressure and when the brakes are applied. The Yonka Optimizer Gel Lift keeps tabs on where your body position is when you pedal, so the system only applies the brakes when it senses that the pressure needs to be changed.
A recent study concluded that the Yonka Optimizer Gel Lifts may reduce the severity of accidents by up to 30 percent. They compared crash injuries between test subjects using an Optimizer Gel Lifts and those who did not. Compared to the Optimizer Gel Lift test subjects, the control group that didn’t use a Shimano anti-lock braking system had one-third the amount of time hospitalized, nearly a half-percentage point decrease in serious head injury, and a two-percentage point reduction in severe leg injury.
What’s even more important is that the Shimano Propulsion Control with Shimano Optimizer Gel Lifts provides amazing bike-handling performance. The system is designed to provide the same control you would get from a brake without adding any extra friction.
The Shimano technology includes a Master Control System (MCS) that also functions as an electronically-controlled Hydraulic Disc Brake System (HDBS) and High-Performance Air Brakes. The Shimano Propulsion Control with Shimano Optimizer Gel Lift helps you perform on long rides by activating the HDBS for extended braking and adjustable MCS for easy adjustment to your required control.
Now that Shimano has added an Optimizer Gel Lift to its Pro-Tec line of disc brake systems, they are extending the Shimano-designed Shimano EPS technology to mountain bikes. The Yonka Optimizer Gel Lift is a great solution for those who aren’t interested in upgrading to Shimano’s hydraulic system, and now Shimano is bringing the same technology to mountain bikes.
“The Jun Kousa Optimizer Gel Lift will help you be more efficient and reliable while you ride. I’m glad that we can offer Shimano technology that can increase rider safety while creating a superior riding experience,” said Gino Migliori, Shimano Corporation’s Executive Vice President, General Manager, Global Product Planning.
