brake lever meanderings (drop bar, sans brifter types)

[Brent Knepper]

ok internet bicycle community I'm looking for recommendations for drop bar levers that feel good for larger hands. my trials and tribulations are below but basically I got shallow crust towel racks, like how those feel exCEPT I can't find a good ramp-to-hood set up for my palms, and am wondering if folks got solutions in either lever placement with those bars, different lever recs, or a third option besides me going back to flat bars forever

background: last bike i had with drops had sram 10sp shifty levers in like 2014. I remember them feeling good to put my hands on. but I broke several versions of them over a coupla years?? so no plastic for me. I am to understand modern shifty brake levers have way different ergonomics than vintage brake levers, butttttt ↓

right now I've tried on various vintage levers that are fine (suntour superbes, diacompe aeros, other early-90s skinny shimano units) but like only the meat of my thumb really rests on the hoods. I bought the diacompe GC07H's because someone told me they had a lil more of a floor plan than the basic diacomps, but I didn't notice much more square footage and the pivot bushings on em squeak pretty bad despite greasing :-/ what's up with that am I right

any ideas? is it just those tektro rrl's lotus pod levers for those with big dumb hands? should I file the bodies on a pair of old levers so they clamp at a different angle to match the ramps of the crust bars??

I don't even know how to cross post to ibob, but I believe it is forum tradition to apologize for doing so.

so, sorry, bye, sorry, thank you <3

[Orc]

Tektro RL340 (not sure what the rrl's are -- a different model prefix for the rls?) or an older set of brifters without the shifty part connected  (you can still shake them as a fidget even if you don't use them for shifting) ?

Both of my non-briftered machines have RL340s on them, and even though they're a bit narrower than the di2 brifters I use everywhere else they're not objectionably so.

-david parsons

[njh...@gmail.com]

I like the TRP RRL levers - have them on a couple of bikes. They're pretty much the same shape as modern levers with integrated shifting. You can get them in either black or silver, drilled or undrilled, and the silver levers with either black or gum hoods. They also have a useful quick release button built-in, so if you are running fat tyres on narrow rims, the combination of quick release on both the lever and caliper gives additional clearance for the tyre when removing a wheel:

Nick

[ericni...@gmail.com]

+1 on the TRP RRLs. The hood shape is surprisingly comfortable, and the lever shape makes it easy to brake from the hoods. The quick release is a bonus for using wide tires under caliper brakes. 

They also come with a removable piece to adjust the angle of the hood as it meets the handlebars. One setting gets you a flat transition from bar to hood, the other kicks up the hoods at an angle. 

Eric in NH

[William Lindsay]

The OP asked for recommendations for brakelevers to use with Crust handlebars.  

Consider trying out a set of the brakelevers Crust sells.  They are super inexpensive.  I recently built up a Crust frame, used a Crust bar (Shaka), and so I decided to give their brakelevers a try.  They are totally fine, but my hands aren't huge.  For what it's worth, my ultimate favorite brakelever as of September 2, 2021 is Campagnolo Ergo 2 brifters with the shifting guts removed.  When those were going out of fashion, and retailers started dumping them, I bought them up, and have a good supply for my most special builds.  There are others that are just fine, including the Crust offering.  

The Hand Sanitizer Levers – Crust Bikes

Bill Lindsay

El Cerrito, CA

On Wednesday, September 1, 2021 at 6:34:12 PM UTC-7 in...@brentknepper.com wrote:

[David Dye]

SRAM Rival levers are about as good as it gets. Grab the S900 if you prefer a carbon lever blade.

https://planetcyclery.com/sram-rival-brake-levers-pair-br5958

[marsh monster]

If you can get your hands on a set of Cane Creek SCR levers, they were the most comfy by far for my chunky hands.

On Thursday, September 2, 2021 at 7:26:24 AM UTC-5 tape...@gmail.com wrote:

[Michael Wong]

Super unimaginative answer follows:

I switched from Shimano R6700 10s integrated shifters to 11s integrated *specifically* and *solely* for the shape of the hood.

The R8000, R9000 and RX600 all allow me to wrap more of my hand around the hoods when I stand up than anything else I’ve ridden, including Red.

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[Dave Small]

I'll second Marsh's suggestion.  The Cane Creek SCR-5 levers are wider than Shimanos, giving a bigger platform for my hands.  The same (or very similar) levers are also marketed by Tektro but I can't remember the model number.  

Dave

Boston/Indy

[William Lindsay]

Dave Small seconded the suggestion of the Cane Creek SCR-5 and couldn't remember the model number under the Tektro brand.

The Tektro model number was R200A.  Sometimes shortened to R200.

Bill Lindsay

El Cerrito, CA

[Dave Small]

Yes, that's it, Bill.  Thanks.  I think the R200 was for "normal-sized" hands and the R200A was for smaller hands....or vice versa, so they're not the same although I don't know what the specific differences were.  I've used Cane Creek SCR-5's and Tektro R200's and they feel the same.  

Dave

Boston/Indy

[John Hawrylak]

Dave Small and Bill Lindsay commented on the Tektro R200/Cane Creek SCR-5.  Others mention the Tektro R340

I believe the Tektro R200 is same or very, very similar to the R340s. I have the R200 on 1 bike and the R341 (small hands version) and the shape and feel are identical.  The QR button is nice when you get flats with canti's.   No so much with DPs with cam on the caliper.

John Hawrylak

Woodstown NJ

[Chris Cullum]

-1 on the TRP RRL levers. They don't sit level with the bar tops even with the the add on piece (that doesn't fit flush and has a poor transition when installed). The tops of the levers where your hands rest has a weird pointed ridge instead of flat area. I even tried filing it down to make them more comfortable, to little success. Plus the hoods wear extremely fast. Like 3x faster than Shimano or Campy easily.

It's like they copied the "look" of brifters without actually thinking about ergonomics. Plus they're heavy and expensive. Not a fan. I don't really get what's to like?

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[Max]

The R340 levers are a bit different from SCR-5. The latter are essentially an identical shape to the Campagnolo 10 sp Ergo 2 levers. Despite the pivot pin needing to be pushed back in every couple of rides (easy to do with my thumb while riding), I find the SCR-5 far more comfortable than any other brake lever. The SRAM S500 / S900 / Rival levers are a very close second for me – the shape is great, but minor deduction for lack of a quick-release / wobbly wheel button on the lever. 

Another point is that these levers "want" thicker bar tape than the classic cotton bar tape, which I prefer with the skinnier Shimano / Campagnolo / DiaCompe "aero" and non-aero style levers. 

- Max "and I am unanimous in that" in A2 

[Michael Wong]

Whichever you decide on, make sure you’re aware of the cable pull for your brakes. 

Shimano’s newest caliper brakes are higher leverage. The levers are variable leverage (cable pull) but generally low leverage (more cable pull).

V-brakes and Spykes require even more cable (less leverage). Most cantis, less cable pull (more leverage). Paul’s are a bit mystery to me but I think they require less pull.

Conversions with calipers will lose a lot of braking mechanical advantage/leverage and I prefer higher advantage (less cable) levers unless I have a drop bolt adapter.

Pull back the hood and measure the distance from the pivot to the cable anchor. ~20mm for low pull cantis, ~40mm for high pull Vs

https://www.google.com/amp/s/bike.bikegremlin.com/1419/bicycle-mechanical-brakes/%3famp=1

Another consideration is where your fingers go. Increasing the distance from that spot to pivot gives more leverage

On Wednesday, September 1, 2021, Brent Knepper <in...@brentknepper.com> wrote:

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[Brent Knepper]

thanks for all the suggestions, I wanted to report back that a month later I haven't done any of em 🤠 didn't hunt for cane creeks or drop $80 on the predator vs alien brake levers. but! here's what I got after painting myself into this corner with arbitrary preferences

it was time for the weekly trip to the hardware store to load up my truck that's 4 stories tall with a six door cab and a 3ft bed with the usual purchases of dog food, a plank that says 𝓦𝓮𝓵𝓬𝓸𝓶𝓮, and other suburban detritus. on the latest trip I spent $6 on 3/4" woodruff keys and a 3/4" oak dowel rod. poplar dowel is cheaper but rowdy rough road rompin demands the resilience of a hardwood

backfile the woodruff keys where it sits against the bars, jam it in behind the brake lever body to pitch it downward. that's part 1

spacer left a weird gap from the ramp to the edge of the lever body, so cut a chunk of dowel, scribe it up with a pen, sand-fit-sand-fit, poco a poco, til it fills the gap. super glue the woodruff to the dowel bit and thats part 2!

before:

:-/

some pics of the bits:

and here's what I ended up with. primo comfort, no need to get a 3d printer or develop trypophobia , brakes somehow still work:

k bye!

[marsh monster]

haha, awesome! 

[Dan Vee]

Cool! Looks good.

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