What does "aero" mean?
Aman
Hello,
I'm curious as to what aero means as far as
bike parts go. I assume it is to imply aerodynamic;
but, it seems to mean something more specific when
applied to brake levers. I'm not quite sure what
though? Does an aero lever require specific
cables? Does it activate the brakes the same
mechanical way as a non-aero brake lever does?
Can aero levers be used with pre-aero brakes?
Thanks,
-Alex
Rick Denney
When describing brake levers, "aero" generally means brake levers that
feed the cable through the back of the lever body and under the
handlebar tape, rather than out the top of the lever body. Otherwise,
the brake levers are identical, and either will operate the same
calipers using similar cables and mechanical operation.
There is a difference, however, between brake levers designed for
dual-pivot brakes and those designed for single-pivot brakes. The
former eat a little more cable, as I recall, for a given amount of
pull. These are interchangeable only with compromised results. But
I've done it.
Rick Denney
Take what you want and leave the rest.
Henry the Traveler
Geeze, you guys got it all wrong.
'Aero' means: It's more expensive, or it weighs more, or both.
Some marketing genius coined this term, and all the Lemmings fell for
it.
Yep, some MBA Guru is sitting at his computer right now going
"BWA-HA-HA-HA"
All we can be thnakful for is that it couldn't have been Mike as he
simply isn't that creative.
:-)
Andrew R. Coggan
da...@erinet.com wrote:
> I can think of no disadvantages, but you might check with
> Sheldon Brown on this. He was whining endlessly about some tom-fool
> something to do with aero levers.
Trivia: when "aero" levers first came out, Greg Lemond crashed at Junior
Nationals one year when his hands came off the bars on a sharp bump (he
got up and won the race anyway). Perhaps having the cable there IS an
advantage for some people! ;-)
Lo...@the.sig
In article <3458a328...@nntp.erinet.com>
da...@erinet.com writes:
> I can think of two advantages of aero levers. First, they provide you
> with an additional hand rest position -- right on top of the hoods.
> Second, if you get into a crash, there are no cables to tangle or
> snag. I can think of no disadvantages, but you might check with
> Sheldon Brown on this. He was whining endlessly about some tom-fool
> something to do with aero levers.
One disadvantage is that the cables have more friction due to the
sharper bend angles. This is usually compensated by a return spring in
the lever itself. That said, the aero levers on my Chorus 9 speed are
the smoothest I've ever tried.
Richard Kaiser
In article <3458a328...@nntp.erinet.com>, da...@erinet.com wrote:
<snip>
>I can think of two advantages of aero levers. First, they provide you
>with an additional hand rest position -- right on top of the hoods.
>Second, if you get into a crash, there are no cables to tangle or
>snag. I can think of no disadvantages, but you might check with
>Sheldon Brown on this. He was whining endlessly about some tom-fool
>something to do with aero levers.
>
> ....................dave
One disadvantage of aero levers is no place to clothpin a route slip. I now
cable-tie a binder clip to my bars for organized rides.
Richard Kaiser
hau...@mbi.org
In article <61imv2$2k5$1...@quasar.dimensional.com> rka...@dim.com (Richard Kaiser) writes:
>From: rka...@dim.com (Richard Kaiser)
>Subject: Re: What does "aero" mean?
>Date: Thu, 09 Oct 97 13:41:28 GMT
>In article <3458a328...@nntp.erinet.com>, da...@erinet.com wrote:
><snip>
>>I can think of two advantages of aero levers. First, they provide you
>>with an additional hand rest position -- right on top of the hoods.
Hmm. I guess those who were riding on the hoods decades before aero levers
got popular were doing something wrong.
>>Second, if you get into a crash, there are no cables to tangle or
>>snag. I can think of no disadvantages, but you might check with
>>Sheldon Brown on this. He was whining endlessly about some tom-fool
>>something to do with aero levers.
Harder to install, and that annoying lump under the tape on non-grooved bars
come to mind.
Rich
da...@erinet.com
>> I can think of two advantages of aero levers. First, they provide you
>> with an additional hand rest position -- right on top of the hoods.
>> snag. I can think of no disadvantages, but you might check with
>> Sheldon Brown on this. He was whining endlessly about some tom-fool
>> something to do with aero levers.
>
>sharper bend angles. This is usually compensated by a return spring in
>the lever itself. That said, the aero levers on my Chorus 9 speed are
>the smoothest I've ever tried.
I agree, and I forgot about friction. Another disadvantage is that if
you change something (calipers, stem height, whatever) you may
discover that your front cable housing won't reach. In which event,
you will have to untape your bars to change the cable housing. A
pain.
..............dave
Sheldon Brown
da...@erinet.com writes:
> > I can think of two advantages of aero levers. First, they provide
> you
> > with an additional hand rest position -- right on top of the hoods.
> > Second, if you get into a crash, there are no cables to tangle or
> > snag. I can think of no disadvantages, but you might check with
> > Sheldon Brown on this. He was whining endlessly about some tom-fool
>
> > something to do with aero levers.
The particular Tomfool advantage of aero levers is that, if you live in
France, they provide extra security when you are riding back from the
boulangerie with 2 or 3 baguettes carried crosswise atop your bars.Mark
Atanovich suggested:
> One disadvantage is that the cables have more friction due to the
> sharper bend angles.
I have not observed this to be the case. The better aero levers have
less cable friction than old-style exposed-cable units even when both
are new. Exposed cable housings are also very commonly damaged and
kinked where they exit the levers, considerably increasing their
friction.
In addition, "aero" levers have a slighty different pivot location. The
work approximately equally well when applied from the drops, but for
braking while riding on the hoods, "aero" levers are markedly superior,
and I wouldn't recommend anything else.
Before "aero" levers were generally available, I used to run old style
levers with the cables exiting the bottom, 'cause it looked cool, and
this kept the cables out of the way of my handlebar bag.
Sheldon "Whiner?" Brown
Newtonville, Massachusetts
+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| Warning: Objects in mirror appear smarter than they are. |
+--------------------------------------------------------------+
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/harris
Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts
(617) 244-1040 FAX 244-1041
Lo...@the.sig
In article <61jo3d$s...@sv073.SanDiegoCA.NCR.COM>
j...@sparc.SanDiegoCA.NCR.COM (Joseph Riel) writes:
> [someone wrote]
>
> : >One disadvantage is that the cables have more friction due to the
> : >sharper bend angles.
>
> What is a "sharper bend angle"? I suspect you meant to say smaller bend
> radius, however, that is incorrect. The friction depends on the bend angle,
> not the bend radius. For example, a complete turn around a pipe with a
> six diameter (3 inch bend radius) and a two inch diameter will have the same
> friction loss, the bend angle is both cases is identical, 360 degrees.
>
> Joe Riel
> --
> j...@sparc.sandiegoca.ncr.com
It should be "smaller bend radius". Since we're nitpicking, I wrote
it, I didn't say it. ;-) While I agree in theory, in real life your
assertion doesn't hold up. With a smaller bend radius the load is
spread over a smaller portion of the cable housing, increasing the
coefficient of friction. Try it.
Joseph Riel
Lo...@the.sig (Lo...@the.sig) wrote:
: ...While I agree in theory, in real life your
: assertion doesn't hold up. With a smaller bend radius the load is
: spread over a smaller portion of the cable housing, increasing the
: coefficient of friction. Try it.
: Mark_Atano...@email.sps.mot.com
I disagree. I've measured the friction loss through brake cable coiled
around a 6" diameter pipe and a 1" diameter pipe [this from memory,
the actual diameters differ somewhat]. The results were consistent
with theory, they had the same friction loss. If I remember I'll
dig up my notes on this.
Note that the friction loss is exponential with the bend angle, so changing
that, not the bend radius, is important.
Joe Riel
--
j...@sparc.sandiegoca.ncr.com
Charles Maurer
Sheldon Brown writes:
> The particular Tomfool advantage of aero levers is that, if you live in
> France, they provide extra security when you are riding back from the
> boulangerie with 2 or 3 baguettes carried crosswise atop your bars.
A latter-day heresy. Long before the days of aero bars God created
underarms and sensible cyclists fitted narrow handlebars.
--
Charles Maurer
5 Grandview Court
Dundas, ON L9H 5C8
Canada
telephone & fax: 905.627.7035
Habby guy
The inimitable Sheldon Brown wrote....
>da...@erinet.com writes:
>
>The particular Tomfool advantage of aero levers is that, if you live in
>France, they provide extra security when you are riding back from the
>boulangerie with 2 or 3 baguettes carried crosswise atop your bars.
Ah, but you'll have to alter the length of the cables to match
the number of baguettes you plan on carrying.....
But really, I thought everyone should know what "aero" really
means.
Another Example of Retrogrouch Objections...
Heh heh heh.......
Mark Hickey
Habanero Cycles
http://www.cynetfl.com/habanero/
Home of the $675 ti frame