Attached some pics to detail the setup. To clarify what I said about braking from the brifters being ineffective, I mean that when I get in the drops and yank hard with four fingers, it's as if I were pulling lightly with my pinky only on a normal road brake. Barely braking at all, though the pads connect without bottoming out the lever. When I pull on the crosstop levers it does what it ought to, and I can stop in a reasonable distance.
Originally Posted by
fuzz2050
Sometimes the cable stop mounted on the steerer tube comes with a noodle, ostensibly to provide a better cable run. Often they just make for a messy routing, and the routing is often better just doing without.
I have the noodle. I'll try without, though I'm not sure the housing will reach to the cable stop then. I'll buy some more housing if that's the case.
Originally Posted by
DannoXYZ
Yeah, brifters needs to be used from the drops for maximum lever-leverage. Trying to use the brakes from the hoods don't give anywhere close to the same braking-power.
I do 90% of my riding on the hoods though, and I've never had problems braking from there on my road bike. c'est la vie.
Originally Posted by
joejack951
Crast, when you grab the levers on the brifters, how far down the lever are you grabbing?
If braking from the hoods, about halfway down the lever; I hook my thumbs around the hood and pull with my four fingers right where the lever makes its inward curve.
solution: put your cross tops at a wider stance to ease the cable bends, get a steerer tube cable stop that sits lower.
Also check that your cable housing doesn't move around on the bars and that they are bottoming out between the levers.
One thing which occurred to me is that when I pull the crosstop levers, the housing moves, but when using brifters, the housing stays where it is. It could be that I am getting a better cable bend (especially on the front brake) when it's being pulled vs. when it's not. My bars are about 40 or 42cm wide, though I'd prefer 44's. Maybe I'll consider new bars, re-doing the levers, cable runs and tape all in one shot.