Favorite Brake Lever for Swept Bars - Tektro FL540

[David Person]

My all time favorite brake levers for swept bars are the Tektro FL540.  Riv used to sell them in all silver as Tektro Mountain Levers, though I know now why since they use a road cable instead of a MTB cable.  Unfortunately, Riv no longer carries them (Grant, are you listening), but thankfully they are still available on the web as Tektro FL540, though I've never seen them in all silver.  Closest is silver & black, as can be seen on my wifes Linus.  They are relatively inexpensive at around $25.  The graceful shape of the lever appeals to my aesthetics and my hand.  I picked up a spare pair this week on eBay, just to have a spare set.

[dougP]

Those look like the ones on my Atlantis.  The levers just say "Tektro", no model number that I can see, but the price sounds right.  I love that dual cable pull feature since it allows you to use either standard V-brakes or mini-Vs. 

BTW, Rivendell has something similar from Origin8 & it's all silver:

https://www.rivbike.com/products/origin8-duo-trigger-shorty-levers?_pos=1&_sid=88cdb78dd&_ss=r&_ke=eyJrbF9lbWFpbCI6ICJkb3VncG5pcnZAZ21haWwuY29tIiwgImtsX2NvbXBhbnlfaWQiOiAiTFZiNmFDIn0%3D

dougP

[Jack Barnes]

I like the FL750, which is a tad longer (I think).
It comes in a mostly-silver option. I got a pair of these from someone on the list awhile back, they've been great on Bosco bars with thumbies.
CL 740 is similar and meant for linear-pull.

On Friday, November 20, 2020 at 9:48:13 AM UTC-8 David Person wrote:

[Garth]

Tektro RX4.1 reverse levers for me as I find using them more intuitive.

[David Person]

dougP - the FL540s are short pull only, so canti or side-pulls (or Mini-V).

David P.

[David Person]

FL750 - an even more minimalist version than the FL540.

[Benz Ouyang, Sunnyvale, CA]

I actually have two bikes that use these brake levers. I like their simplicity and their mechanical leverage is nice for most cantilever setups; but they have a rather significant flaw (for me at least) – these do not use slotted cable end stops, so are a pain to take out or install. Please note that these also use road type cable end instead of mountain bike cable ends.

On Friday, November 20, 2020 at 9:48:13 AM UTC-8 David Person wrote:

[dougP]

Don't know the model number of the ones I've got.  I just know they have 2 places to connect the cable & that they work with both standard & mini V brakes. 

dougP

[Fullylugged]

 I like the TEKTRO reversed bar end levers. Leaves more room for hand position changes.