Brifters and compatibility

[Jeffrey Zelevansky]

After some very fun gravel rides on my Hillborne, I am considering a change from bar ends to brifters but it seems like I am running into compatibility issues at every turn. I have made many changes to this bike since I purchased it secondhand and finally feel that I'm coming to some conclusions. 

I'm a drop bar devotee (Crust Shaka). The stock Silver 38/24 cranks are great.  Currently running a Microshift FD and a Deore 9-spd RD. The brakes are Paul Motolites, which I like very much.  I have old Dura Ace bar end shifters and some kind of Tektro levers, which are prbly not a good match for the Pauls...very squishy and perhaps not long pull? 

I want to somehow unify the drivetrain and stop doing things by half measure. I'd like to keep the brakes but feel like everything else could be changed up.

Thanks for any suggestions. 

[Garth]

Jeff, Indexed or friction ? 

Tektro makes long pull drop bar brake levers, the RL520 I believe is the model. Tektro levers have the model designation often on the underside of the levers themselves.  There aren't any long pull indexed brifters. For shifting you could use say either a Dia-Compe ENE stem mounted shift mount for DT levers or even their wing mounted shifters. What sets their stem mount is that the position of the cable angle is adjustable. 

https://www.diacompe.com.tw/product/ene-stem-mount-shifter/

https://www.diacompe.com.tw/product/ene-wing-shifter/

Then there's these levers with DT shift mounts. Short pull only. https://www.gevenalle.com/shifters/

DT shifters though off the most crisp shifting from my experiece, night and day difference from bar top shifters and their long housed cable run with their inherent additional friction.

[Jeffrey Zelevansky]

Thanks for the reply. I'm kind of agnostic on indexed vs. friction. My goal is to get to an integrated shifter/brake lever solution in as few steps as possible, which suggests an indexed system. I'd also like to clean up the cockpit as much as possible.

 The Tektro levers I'm currently running are the RL341s, which seem to be short pull aren't actually compatible with my brakes. I have pretty big hands and, ergonomically, these aren't great anyway. They're just what I had around when I went to a drop bar.  

If I get almost any brifter, it seems I could use a travel agent or similar, but I'm looking to streamline and simplify. As much as I like the form and function of the Paul brakes, if they are the limiting factor, it might be time for a change. Maybe a set of Shimano V-brakes and brifters would be simplest?

[P W]

I think if you’re going brifters and want options, I would ditch the V-brake completely and opt for either a cantilever or mini V-brake. If you like the Motolites, you’ll love the Minimotos!

Running those would mean you can run any short pull brifter your heart desired.

P. W.

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(917) 514-2207

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On Jul 8, 2025, at 5:40 AM, Jeffrey Zelevansky <jeff.ze...@gmail.com> wrote:

Thanks for the reply. I'm kind of agnostic on indexed vs. friction. My goal is to get to an integrated shifter/brake lever solution in as few steps as possible, which suggests an indexed system. I'd also like to clean up the cockpit as much as possible.

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[Nick Shoemaker]

If you want to keep your current brakes, look into Travel Agents combined with whichever Shimano 9s brifters you fancy. Should work without much fuss, but I can't personally vouch for the solution (maybe others can chime in with real-world experience?)

I did once have a bike with Cane Creek Drop V levers (out of production?) and v-brakes that worked perfectly well, but that obviously doesn't solve for the integrated shifting piece.

[Garth]

Jeff, it sounds like brifters is the way to go, with either mini-v type or cantilevers. Some users can't figure out the cable adjustment of cantis though, so maybe the mini-v brake with less things to adjust would be best, given they have the clearance you need. The closest brake only lever to a brifter lever body in size/shape is the TRP RRL. I have those, as well as some Tektro 340's and the prior generation before that. I can't say I'd favor any particular version. I mean, they're brake levers and they work and the body on them is notable larger than the traditional small lever bodies. I'm not a fan of the dogleg lever style however, a widened straight lever with or without a slight flare would be better, like brifters use. Doglegs are too abrupt for my liking.

Brake levers need a bar to mount on though, and that bar can have an influence on the ease of use and comfort of the levers. With such a wild variance of drop bar flares and sweeps today I can see where finding a good spot for them could be challenging !

[Russell Duncan]

My preference leans towards Campagnolo brake/derailleur systems. I paired a Chorus 11-speed set up with Paul MiniMoto calipers on my Surly Cross x Check and found them to be lacking in their stopping power. Paul does say that they’ll work with most short pull levers. I then added Travel Agents and they worked really well.

Russell Duncan

Connecticut River Valley, MA

[Ben Miller]

Jeff,

My vintage Ritchey Outback frame presented a similar set of circumstances as your conundrum. I too prefer drop bars and wanted the Crust Shaka bars on there. I'd tried cantis, but the frame lacks most of the good cable stop placements, so I went with a stem integrated cable stop that with the fork, head tube and stem flex introduced a lot of dissatisfying jutter to the front brake. There are no DT shifter bosses and for "reasons", I didn't want barend shifters. (I didn't really consider stem mounted shifters, but given my setup I don't think they'd work either.)

So, want to do when you want dropbars, no cantis, and have limited shifter placement? I went with Paul Motolites and Gevenalle Audux "brifters." (Paul Minimotos were no-go cause I want to run 55mm tyres) I believe the Gevenalle's are based off the Tektro RL340 Brake levers. They're definitely short pull, but honestly they work very well with the Paul Motolites. Snappy with a ton of power, can easily send you OTB if you're not careful. I mounted some Diacompe friction shifters to them and loving my 3x7 DT. Really my only complaint is that shifting from the hoods you can sometimes also engage the brake lever to easily, something I do occasionally with the RD/Rear brake. 

To say this setup isn't for everyone is an understatement. But if you or anyone else out there are trying to make v-brakes, "brifters", and dropbars work, I can say that the Gevenalle/Paul MM setup works for me. 

Ben

[Jeffrey Zelevansky]

I still can't quite get my thick head around this...I guess I need it explained as if I were a four year old. 

I'd like to preserve the option of running the largest tires possible on my Sam (50mm?), though I am currently happy with the 43 GK SK tires I'm using. 

Let's say I get a pair of 2X9 brifters (Shimano, Microshift)...the only way I can use my current Motolites would be with a Travel Agent (about which I have heard mixed reviews)?

If I swap out the Motolites for MiniMotos, I lose tire clearance? I don't think I want cantis because I'd have to add hangers and I'm not sure I can use a short-pull brifter. 

If I go for short pull v-brakes, it sounds like I can use the aforementioned Shimano or Microshift brifters. Is there such a thing as a Shimano-level short pull V-brake that will allow good tire clearance?

Oooof. Thanks again for any guidance.

[Josiah Anderson]

If you're currently using Motolites with short pull levers (which is possible but not ideal) then brifters would keep a similar braking feel. Travel agents are what you need to get the brakes to feel like they would with v-brake levers while using short pull levers. They would make the lever feel firmer, although IME not more so than v-brakes do with the correct levers. They're not hard to set up if you read the instructions. 

For your other options, there are Tektro mini-V brakes (same idea as Minimotos) at a much-less-than-Paul price point. They do have pretty limited tire clearance though. And cantilevers aren't anything to be afraid of; they are compatible with short pull levers like brifters, and a good mechanic can get the braking feel to be more or less whatever you want. 

If I were you I would keep the Motolites and either use travel agents or stick with the super-high-MA braking you have with the short pull levers if you like how that feels. Either of those would work fine with brifters. Good luck with the project!

Josiah Anderson

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[P W]

I’ve used Mini Motos on 44s comfortably.

But 48 was a PUSH. 

It worked, but I swear I was getting a slight buzz from the knobby tread making contact with the cable!

I think a lot of this comes down to: you’re always going to have to sacrifice something.

It’s pretty rare to get the exact rim brake feel you want (for me, that’s the feel of a super dialed in and punchy cantilever with good modulation) with a wide tire (especially knobby) and a drop bar lever.

Every variation loses something, whether performance, feel, or aesthetic vibe.

This is why people end up with disc brake bikes, I guess.

They start off ugly, so who cares! And you can run whatever you want.

P. W.

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(917) 514-2207

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On Jul 10, 2025, at 8:13 AM, Jeffrey Zelevansky <jeff.ze...@gmail.com> wrote:

I still can't quite get my thick head around this...I guess I need it explained as if I were a four year old. 

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/f1329282-54f8-4831-b3ae-27a2848bae77n%40googlegroups.com.

[Ron Cramer]

Mini-Vs are short pull, but tire clearance might be an issue. I haven’t read through the whole email chain.  Have you considered cx50/70 cantilever brakes? 

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[Nick Payne]

On Wednesday, 9 July 2025 at 12:11:31 am UTC+10 Nick Shoemaker wrote:

If you want to keep your current brakes, look into Travel Agents combined with whichever Shimano 9s brifters you fancy. Should work without much fuss, but I can't personally vouch for the solution (maybe others can chime in with real-world experience?)

That works fine for me. On my Appaloosa with drop bars I'm using TRP RRL levers with Deore XT V-brakes and travel agents. The brake feel is good and the lever travel is much the same as on other bikes where I use the same levers with road dual-pivot brakes:

 

Nick Payne

[James Fune]

I can chime in on travel agents. I love them. I have a pair on my dirt drop setup to run sram brifters with Paul motolites. They look a little funny but work great! My build is similar to this one featured in theradavist 

https://theradavist.com/dirt-shark-dirt-drop

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[Jeffrey Zelevansky]

Travel agents and brifters ordered. Thanks to everyone who helped me figure this out!