Will this calliper /lever combination work?

[Salty seadog]

Hi, I have a single speed with appalling braking. I have changed all cables, put serious stop pads on, cleaned the rims too within an inch of their life but still rubbish.

It has bull bars with ITM levers that plug into the bar ends and Tektro callipers.

Would these levers work with a set of 105 callipers?

The only two changes I haven't made are new callipers and new levers.

Cheers.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

Provided the levers don't bottom out or squirm under pressure, they have no effect on braking performance at all.

Those are dual-pivot calipers on that bike with a high mechanical advantage. High mechanical advantage requires levers which give a lot of pull in the cable for little travel in the lever. If there's a mismatch, you'll quickly bottom out the levers before the calipers clamp properly.

Confirm if that's the case before we speculate wildly about all sorts of things that used to happen on Aunt Mabel's bike before she fitted XYZ cables or pads and stuff.

 

[Salty seadog]

Provided the levers don't bottom out or squirm under pressure, they have no effect on braking performance at all.

Those are dual-pivot calipers on that bike with a high mechanical advantage. High mechanical advantage requires levers which give a lot of pull in the cable for little travel in the lever. If there's a mismatch, you'll quickly bottom out the levers before the calipers clamp properly.

Confirm if that's the case before we speculate wildly about all sorts of things that used to happen on Aunt Mabel's bike before she fitted XYZ cables or pads and stuff.

Yes I can get the levers to the bars and it's still awful.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

No, what I'm saying is that if you CAN get the levers to the bar, then the levers are unsuited to the calipers.

 

[Salty seadog]

No, what I'm saying is that if you CAN get the levers to the bar, then the levers are unsuited to the calipers.

And I can.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

And I can.

Levers incompatible.

They will probably only work with single pivot brakes which have less mechanical advantage and less travel.

You will notice that if you start fiddling with your settings in order to take up more cable slack, you'll have to adjust the pads so that they touch the brakes before the levers are even activated. On then will you not bottom out. In other words, they can't give you an acceptable setting.

Sorry, but your fancy setup has to change.

 

[Salty seadog]

Levers incompatible.

They will probably only work with single pivot brakes which have less mechanical advantage and less travel.

You will notice that if you start fiddling with your settings in order to take up more cable slack, you'll have to adjust the pads so that they touch the brakes before the levers are even activated. On then will you not bottom out. In other words, they can't give you an acceptable setting.

Sorry, but your fancy setup has to change.

Haha, I wouldn't call it fancy. It was a bike given to me by Reg formally off this parish about a year ago.
New levers then. Maybe crosstop levers might be better.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

Haha, I wouldn't call it fancy. It was a bike given to me by Reg formally off this parish about a year ago.
New levers then. Maybe crosstop levers might be better.

Yup. Make sure they are designed for dual-pivot brakes.

 

[Nick Saddlesore]

I've considered these . They'd be useful with your bars, but don't know if the cable pull is suitable.
If you ever manage to flip your wheel you'll hardly need a rim brake.

 

[Salty seadog]

I've considered these . They'd be useful with your bars, but don't know if the cable pull is suitable.
If you ever manage to flip your wheel you'll hardly need a rim brake.

I will one day Nick, goes try these things

 

[Yellow Saddle]

I've considered these . They'd be useful with your bars, but don't know if the cable pull is suitable.
If you ever manage to flip your wheel you'll hardly need a rim brake.

They almost certainly won't work. Dia-Compe was absorbed by the conglomeration that is today known as SRAM, as far as I know. Or perhaps Rock Shox. Those levers were designed and probably made, before the dual pivot was even invented.

 

[chriscross1966]

You could fit Problem Solvers Travel Agents to the brakes, that will up the mechanical advantage.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

You could fit Problem Solvers Travel Agents to the brakes, that will up the mechanical advantage.

That sounds like a plan. However, I think those levers are too flimsy to do the job. I think they're little toy levers intended for bringing you to a slow stop after a 42km time trial.

 

[Vantage]

You could fit Problem Solvers Travel Agents to the brakes, that will up the mechanical advantage.

£20 ish a piece, a pita to fit, fugly and they kink the hell out of the cable thus adding a crap load of drag to the cable too.
New levers designed for the job wouldn't cost much more and would be far more effective.

 

[Salty seadog]

That sounds like a plan. However, I think those levers are too flimsy to do the job. I think they're little toy levers intended for bringing you to a slow stop after a 42km time trial.

I'm looking at some Tektro TL720, RX5.0 OR RX4.1 bar ends levers I've asked Tektro and they say they are for cantilever callipers.