# Fitting new brake levers to an old Brompton



## coffeehound (27 Aug 2020)

Hi all. I've found that my bike has the old 'open clevis' brake cable couplings, and so I need to replace them for safety. 

Can anyone advise please whether there is any problem with fitting the newer/newest brake levers to an older P-type?

Thanks


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## berlinonaut (27 Aug 2020)

There isn't one.


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## coffeehound (27 Aug 2020)

Good to know, thanks.


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## 12boy (28 Aug 2020)

I replaced mine with $20 Tektro clones and they work better than the originals on my 2010.


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## Gunk (30 Aug 2020)

coffeehound said:


> Hi all. I've found that my bike has the old 'open clevis' brake cable couplings, and so I need to replace them for safety.
> 
> Can anyone advise please whether there is any problem with fitting the newer/newest brake levers to an older P-type?
> 
> Thanks



Can you explain a bit more what the problem is?


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## berlinonaut (31 Aug 2020)

Gunk said:


> Can you explain a bit more what the problem is?


Brompton changed the brake lever in 2008 from an so called "open clevis" to a "closed clevis" construction. The open clevis required nipples of a certain size on the brake cables. In case a non appropriate cable would be fitted to such a lever it could under bad circumstances work loose rendering the brake useless. In 2012 Brompton, in outlook to the new 2013 levers, changed the design of their standard brake cables that their nipple from thereon would no longer sufficiently fit the open clevis levers (bot both, the 2013 levers as well als the older closed clevis construction). As a consequence they released a product warning to their dealers about that fact and recommended that the brake levers on older bikes should be changed:



> A running change will be made to a standard dimension brake cable nipple; which is shorter than the existing version used on our bikes. The two nipples are shown in the image below (Pic 1). (...)
> This could cause a safety issue with bikes produced before September 2008, where the new smaller nipple will not be properly secured in the brake clevis and could result in the brakes not working. These bikes were fitted with a brake lever using an open clevis design; this is shown below (Pic 2).
> The new cable nipple is compatible with both the newer closed clevis design (Pic 3) and the new 2013 brake lever (Pic 6).
> 
> ...



You may be able to find the original pdf on the net - it's title is "Product_Change_Notice_Brake_Cable_Nipple_Final_v2_1.pdf", dated from
12/09/2012. The pictures in this document illustrate the issue better than words can.

So technically it is still possible to run and use the older levers, however, size does matter here and the newer constructions are clearly more safe towards a not so experienced mechanic whereas the older construction relies on a competent mechanic (which may not be a given and a hobbyist may potentially neither be aware of the problem nor the existence of different nipple sizes at all, let alone of the consequences).


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## Gunk (31 Aug 2020)

Shimano BL-R550 levers are nice reasonably priced upgrade. On my Mk2 I use these with the later Brompton 2018 on dual pivot Callipers, it’s a really good upgrade on an older model.


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## alicat (31 Aug 2020)

^^^^ that pic is of an M/H type whereas the OP's bike is a P-type. Will the Shimano BL-R550 levers fit the bar?


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## berlinonaut (31 Aug 2020)

Gunk said:


> Shimano BL-R550 levers are nice reasonably priced upgrade.


Yeah, these were the standard upgrade path before Brompton invented the new levers they used from 2013 onwards. Before That the Shimanos were a massive improvement, reasonably cheap and compatible with the fold. Today I perfer the Brompton ones, nonthelast because they look nicer.


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## berlinonaut (31 Aug 2020)

alicat said:


> ^^^^ that pic is of an M/H type whereas the OP's bike is a P-type. Will the Shimano BL-R550 levers fit the bar?


Yes. The P is very unproblematic regarding that and the Shimano 550s have been a standard upgrade path for Brompton owners for ages.


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## Gunk (31 Aug 2020)

alicat said:


> ^^^^ that pic is of an M/H type whereas the OP's bike is a P-type. Will the Shimano BL-R550 levers fit the bar?



yes, but you’ll need to open them up slightly and use a longer bolt.


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## shingwell (31 Aug 2020)

I have been using my pre-2013 levers perfectly ok for ages, blissfully unaware that there is anything better. But now the seed has been sown...


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## coffeehound (31 Aug 2020)

Here's a [LINK] to the document berlinonaut references which illustrates the different types of lever.

Those Shimano levers look good quality, Gunk; if I didn't have an eye on resale value I would go for those or the Tektro ones as they look better for the money. As it is, I may need to sell the bike so am aiming to use only stock Brompton parts as I suspect buyers might be scared of aftermarket mods.



shingwell said:


> I have been using my pre-2013 levers perfectly ok for ages, blissfully unaware that there is anything better. But now the seed has been sown...



Yeah, I'm suffering from mission creep, too. Now thinking, well if I'm changing the levers, it would be a good time to upgrade to the integrated shifters, too . . .


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## T4tomo (11 Sep 2020)

Safety problem I was unaware of aside, I found the "new" Brommie brake levers much better at braking than the old style when upgraded my 2005 model.


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## roley poley (13 Sep 2020)

I bought some new ones from brilliant cycles to replace the 2002 ones...quite an improvement from the old "fisher price" ones that served me well for years as I have now been able to adjust the reach of the levers to my smaller hand span


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## coffeehound (15 Sep 2020)

Good to know, folks 



roley poley said:


> ...quite an improvement from the old "fisher price" ones that served me well for years as I have now been able to adjust the reach of the levers to my smaller hand span



Yes the older ones are pretty crap quality for a medium-priced bike aren't they. Good point about the adjustability -- well worth having. I've gone the whole hog and bought integrated shifters, too -- should really improve the function and looks of the venerable P-type. Just got to fit them now . .


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## a.twiddler (24 Oct 2022)

I thought the pre 2013 levers on mine were OK but even a duffer like me was able to change them easily using the original outers and one of the original inners (one of them was frayed) for a Shimano set. Result; much nicer looking, and more efficient, and with cable adjusters. I put the old ones on ebay thinking that even if they didn't sell I had lost nothing. Surprisingly, someone snapped them up very quickly. 

My only regret is that if I'd done a bit more research I might have gone for some with a built in quick release, to make getting the wheels off easier, though if you are removing a wheel while out on the road, it's most likely because it has a flat tyre already. Otherwise you have to let the air out if you want to get a wheel off eg for some maintenance.


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## berlinonaut (24 Oct 2022)

a.twiddler said:


> I might have gone for some with a built in quick release, to make getting the wheels off easier


You might like "Shimano sm-cb90": https://bike.shimano.com/en-EU/product/component/shimano105-r7000/SM-CB90.html


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## ExBrit (24 Oct 2022)

berlinonaut said:


> You might like "Shimano sm-cb90": https://bike.shimano.com/en-EU/product/component/shimano105-r7000/SM-CB90.html



Funny thing, way way back I posted a question about these and no-one answered so I assumed they wouldn't work on my Brompton for some reason. I frequently remove my rear wheel when cleaning the bike and I would use these if they worked. What can you tell us about them?


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## T4tomo (24 Oct 2022)

ExBrit said:


> I frequently remove my rear wheel when cleaning the bike and I would use these if they worked.



probably best off using the tried and tested method of "deflating the tyre a bit and reinflate after fitting". After all if its cleaning you'll be at home with your track pump to hand and probably checking pressures anyway.


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## berlinonaut (24 Oct 2022)

ExBrit said:


> What can you tell us about them?


That one is lying on my desk currently, after I pulled it from my parts collection to grab the model number for this post.  Did not mount it yet, for quite some time already. So no practical experiences, it is even still inside packaging. But I see no reason why it shouldn't work on a Brompton.


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## u_i (24 Oct 2022)

berlinonaut said:


> You might like "Shimano sm-cb90": https://bike.shimano.com/en-EU/product/component/shimano105-r7000/SM-CB90.html



I had these on and took them off. The amount of cable release they provided was minimal, so in practice you still needed to deflate the tires, just not completely. They are heavy and at times open up on their own. In the end, I decided that they were more bother than gain.


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## ExBrit (24 Oct 2022)

T4tomo said:


> probably best off using the tried and tested method of "deflating the tyre a bit and reinflate after fitting". After all if its cleaning you'll be at home with your track pump to hand and probably checking pressures anyway.



I do that, but for some reason the sound of deflating a tire scares the crap out of my cats. I also had an issue once with a new tire blowing off the rim as I was pumping it up which really freaked them out so that whenever I reach for my floor pump now the cats run and hide. So I would prefer not to have to do that.


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