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Experiences with running only in-line brake levers

Tully

Monkey
Oct 8, 2003
981
0
Seattle, WA
I just put drop bars on my commuter, but much of my ride (and most of my braking) is in downtown traffic, so I slapped on some no-name, bargain-bin in-line levers. As far as braking power is concerned, suffice it to say I wouldn't exactly entrust my life to the current set-up. I should add that mine lack barrel adjusters, but I can't imagine that the difference would be night-and-day.

For the more experienced road and CX folks, are in-line levers always so ineffective, or do I just need to put down a few bucks for a better pair? Or am I an idiot for running them as my only levers?
 

Bicyclist

Turbo Monkey
Apr 4, 2004
10,152
2
SB
The problem is they push housing, they don't pull cable, so they never work very well. Seems like your position might be off if you're not comfortable riding in the hoods? Maybe shorten your stem 10mm and see if you really have a need for brakes on the tops.
 

Tully

Monkey
Oct 8, 2003
981
0
Seattle, WA
It's actually not a comfort issue, but the need to see traffic well that keeps me in the more upright position, with hands on the tops. The areas where I need to see traffic are also the ones where I do 99% of the braking on a typical commute. I don't have drop levers, so there are no hoods to ride on at this point. I'm thinking that would be the way to go, however, since drop levers should allow for fine visibility from the hoods.


For what it's worth, since they're currently my only levers, I actually tried inserting the cable in the opposite direction (so they pulled on the cable rather than pushing the housing), and the results were the same. Bummer.

Thanks for the feedback!
 

skunkty14

Monkey
May 29, 2007
175
0
Sounds to me like you really want a flatbar on your commuter. No hoods on a drop bar would be awkward IMO.

If you don't have hoods/regular brake levers why are you running inline levers? Just find some cheap v-brake levers and call it done.