Brake Spacer - Which one?

[Rach1509]

hi,
This is my first post on here, so please be gentle with a bike (and this forum novice) -
I have bought my kids road bikes for Christmas as they did a couple of triathlons last year and loved it (they are club swimmers and runners and added the cycling on to see if they could manage it)

So... my 9 year old got an entry level Dawes 24 Inch Road Sprint 2015 Kids Bike - which fits great for her legs, but she is struggling to reach the brakes with her tiny hands, on the drop down handle bars -

I have read about the spacers, and tried ringing Evans cycles who we got the bikes from, but they could not advise which one was the right one.

This has (according to the spec) Brake Levers:Junior Alloy Lever
can anyone help advise which spacers I can buy for her? as all the ones I see seem to mention Shimano STI brake levers which I assume is a different type of brake? (as the video on how to fit looked different to her brake)

Sorry if this seems a real numpty question ...

 

[simon.r]

STI stands for Shimano Total Integration, which means the gear shifters and brakes are combined. It's possible the shims designed for STI units will work, but if there's any doubt please don't bodge it - if they come out mid ride the results could be catastrophic!

It looks as if the bike you're talking about has separate gear shifters and brake levers. There may be a screw / allen bolt to adjust the reach somewhere on the brake - try pulling the brake on and looking in the gap that is created at the top of the lever, or peeling the hood (the black rubber bit) off and looking to see if there's anything there.

If there's not then I'd suggest you have 3 options:

Talk to Evans again, preferably in store - I'd hope a professional mechanic would be able to suggest a fix.
Try another local bike shop, perhaps one that has experience of this kind of issue (could the tri-club suggest somewhere?)
Replace the levers with some smaller ones.

Hope you get it sorted and that your daughter enjoys her new bike.

edit - may be worth contacting Isla Bikes and asking them if they can help.

2nd edit - this thread may be worth a read http://singletrackworld.com/forum/t...-my-little-hands-will-shims-work-on-my-brakes

 

[13 rider]

Just looked on line they seem Shimano sti shifter to me .are the brake levers and gears on the same lever if so Shimano sti these can be adjusted so they come nearer to the bars . Search you tube for GCN then search how to adjuster sti levers apI am sure there's a video covering this . If not can you take it back to Evans .

 

[Ajax Bay]

Reaching brakes comfortably with small hands is a problem the industry hasn't really solved (maybe others will disagree). The shims you can get are for STIs (ie brake levers which have the gear shifters integrated (your daughter's new bike's shifters are separate and mounted near the stem)).

What you can do is to set up the brakes with tension in the brake cables (which pulls the lever closer to the handlebar, to allow a small hand, when braking's required, to transfer onto the bars (as opposed to being on the hoods) and then to hold the bar with two/three fingers and thumb (in the drops) and operate the brake lever with the index finger only (or index plus middle). So the brake calipers are actually pulled in a bit, but not enough to pull the brake blocks onto the rim until you pull a bit more. Modern, dual-pivot brakes should give enough force ratio for this: and you will have to see whether that's true on your daughter's bike. The wheels are new so the rims should be true too (which will help).

Anticipating the potential need for braking and dropping down onto the drops will need practice. There should still be enough (lever and caliper) travel to go from blocks not touching to blocks so hard on that the the braking force is sufficient (downhill!). My daughter when younger rode down some fast, steep hills with her brakes set up like this.

 

[13 rider]

Just looked on line they seem Shimano sti shifter to me .are the brake levers and gears on the same lever if so Shimano sti these can be adjusted so they come nearer to the bars . Search you tube for GCN then search how to adjuster sti levers apI am sure there's a video covering this . If not can you take it back to Evans .

Ignore me just had a proper look at bike they are not Shimano sti
Sound advice on post above

 

[Tom B]

Can't offer a solution but takes me back to about 1990 when I had the same issue on my Raleigh particularly on tb Drops . It was the cause of many crashes. That was in the days when the gearshift was separate and on the downtube.
I think in the end the LBS found some better levers that allowed me to reach from both positions.

As an adult I still have small hands (for a bloke) and can struggle, I had to change the tektro brakes on my commuter for shimano m615 to give some near adjustments.

 

[Rach1509]

Thanks Guys for your replies - I have printed these off and will take it to a local bike shop - Evans is not close to me, I got the bike online as this was the bike recommended, and we knew the size would fit, but I forgot about the brakes !! - there is an independent bike shop in Burnley, so will see If they can adjust as above for me - I appreciate the replies as I don't want her to lose confidence before she even gets going (its a big change from her normal mountain bike).. and the racing cycling is her weakest discipline

 

[vickster]

Add cross lever brakes to the handlebars? I have these on two bikes (adult female, tall but fairly short fingers). I also use SRAM not Shimano due to better hood shape for me

Although looking at spec, that bike has bar mounted gear selectors so space may be an issue on a narrow kids bar

 

[Rach1509]

oh, that might work - but I agree there only looks a small space - I remember those brakes when I had a racer bike as a kid and used that more than the ones that are fitted now - thanks

 

[Ajax Bay]

This bike is to be used for junior triathlon. She will not/should not be riding on the top of the bars. So do not think Vickster's suggestion would, on balance, be beneficial.

 

[vickster]

This bike is to be used for junior triathlon. She will not/should not be riding on the top of the bars. So do not think Vickster's suggestion would, on balance, be beneficial.

Why not? Bearing in mind I know nothing about triathlon, she'd only need to hold there when actually braking surely. Most of the time my hands are on the hoods, sometimes on the drops and I ride on busy SW London traffic 99% of the time!

I'd say safety is the most important consideration especially with a child

 

[Ajax Bay]

safety is the most important consideration especially with a child

Agreed. So she needs to be able to brake safely, and ready to brake, with her hands on the hoods and on the drops, and the reach of the bars and the issue the OP has asked about need to be designed to achieve that. You've already made the point about bar space being limited anyway.

 

[cyberknight]

Assuming you want to keep the bike you could look at changing the levers, no idea if these are any better, the ones from wiggle say in the review that a 7 year old could reach them ....
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/tektro-rl320-junior-road-racing-brake-levers/
http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/BLTEKRL340/tektro-rl340-road-aero-brake-levers

 

[Nibor]

There is a really good shop in Nelson who may well be able to help.