I have two 80's bike that I converted to flatbar. Both have cheap Avid levers from Amazon. At first I had them set so I could turn in a barrel adjuster enough to open up the caliper. Now I keep the pads spaced off the rim just enough to squeeze the tire through. My tires are not a whole lot wider than the rims so it works good. The extra lever travel doesn't bother me, in fact I prefer the lever to almost bottom out at maximum braking force.