Classic & Vintage - brake levers--upright bars: Suggestions?

Can someone tell me a good brake lever to use on a mixte frame that I'm building into a singlespeed with upright/North Road-style handlebars for a friend of mine? This one has Weinmann centerpulls, but the next one, I plan on doing the same, and I'll be using dia-compe sidepulls. Can I use traditional Raleigh 3-speed style levers? If so, where can I get some of those? If not, what else could I use for smaller-handed friends who don't want drop bars?

Thanks.

Aaahh, don't use those crap Raleigh levers. Weinmann made levers for upright bars -- think Schwinn Racer or Suburban -- and you can usually find some on eBay. Later ones had ball-end levers; earlier ones were 'eye-stabbers'. Nice alloy housings and levers.

Aaahh, don't use those crap Raleigh levers. Weinmann made levers for upright bars -- think Schwinn Racer or Suburban -- and you can usually find some on eBay. Later ones had ball-end levers; earlier ones were 'eye-stabbers'. Nice alloy housings and levers.

Depends on which Raleigh levers you are referring to. From the '40s all the way up until 1972, they used a stamped & casted variant that works quite well. As for the later self-adjusting versions, they work pretty well too when not used in conjunction with the self-adjusting mechanism, or if the self-adjusting mechanism is disabled (remove spring and glue adjuster barrel shut).

As for those Weinmann upright levers, I suggest the pointed-end variants, for they have a slightly longer pull then the ball-end levers.

Take care,

-Kurt

I might have a pair in my parts bin - PM me if interested and I'll check.....

If you want the best functioning levers, you can't beat modern MTB levers for cantilever brakes. (The ones for Linear Pull AKA V-Brakes won't work, not enough leverage.) They also have reach adjusters for small hands and cable adjusters.

If you want something looking more fitting on an older bike, just straighten out the levers on an old set of dropped bar brake levers. http://www.bikesmithdesign.com/MyBikes/Taylor/pages/02.html shows CLB levers, but I've done the same to Weinmann and Dia Compe.

To straighten them, I strap the clamping band around a sturdy piece of 7/8' tubing, with the lever sticking out past the end of the tubing. Then I stick the lever in a vice with 2 pieces of soft pine protecting it from the jaws. Start at the top of the bend and use the tube for leverage straighten a part of the curve, then pull the lever out a bit and work your way down to the end. Hard to describe verbally, I should have an instruction video. :D

Depends on which Raleigh levers you are referring to. From the '40s all the way up until 1972, they used a stamped & casted variant that works quite well. As for the later self-adjusting versions, they work pretty well too when not used in conjunction with the self-adjusting mechanism, or if the self-adjusting mechanism is disabled (remove spring and glue adjuster barrel shut).

As for those Weinmann upright levers, I suggest the pointed-end variants, for they have a slightly longer pull then the ball-end levers.

Take care,

-Kurt

Hi Kurt,

Thanks for the info (to you and all.) I have a pair of Raleigh ball-enders, and I put a little naval jelly on them to get off some bad rust--it worked as far as the rust went, but the lever bodies themselves turned a copper-ish color. They don't seem all that sturdy. Should I assume that these are the "crap" variety? What do the "self-adjusters" looks like? How could I tell?

Bigbossman, I'm sending you a PM.

I just ordered Dia Compe Tech 77 levers on my wife's Raleigh Super Course mixte. They're the ones with a "parking brake" to keep the bike from falling over when it's leaned against something. It's her first bike without a kickstand so It may avoid some damage. I don't like the black color, so I plan to strip and polish them. I have the Shimano BL-R440s on my Gitane with north road bars. Shimano claims that those levers were designed for use with road calipers. Loose screws used to sell them for $17.95. I didn't like the plastic adjusters, so I replaced them with aluminum parts. I replaced the black painted reach adjusting screw with a stainless allen head. They have a nice, quality feel.

http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/brake-levers-up.html

http://community.webshots.com/photo/315574737/1315671150068014369vcvaOw

Sorry, but the Weinmann levers don't belong on a good bike, IMHO. They look cheap and they feel cheap, with lots of play in them.

Hey! I like the "straightened" lever look, nice to have that option. A video is a great idea, maybe you can get someone with a digital camera to shoot a clip of you next time you do this job...I for one would love to see it, and I bet others would too.
The Raleigh levers with the self-adjusters are very hard-to-miss: they have a chunky black plastic gizmo held on the front of the body with a thin wire clip/bail...diabolical...

Hard to describe verbally, I should have an instruction video. :D

Why? Most hoboes don't own a VCR.

For the brakes you have, find something that can pull far. On my raleigh with northroads, I have the normal northroad levers, and I have to keep the brakes close to the wheel for them to work.

Hi Kurt,

Thanks for the info (to you and all.) I have a pair of Raleigh ball-enders, and I put a little naval jelly on them to get off some bad rust--it worked as far as the rust went, but the lever bodies themselves turned a copper-ish color. They don't seem all that sturdy. Should I assume that these are the "crap" variety? What do the "self-adjusters" looks like? How could I tell?

Bigbossman, I'm sending you a PM.

Navel Jelly essentially strips the part of everything including chrome - you probably stripped the chrome down to the nickel. Giveaway/garbage item at this point.

The self-adjust variety have a black delrin attachment at the end with a metal adjuster barrel built into the delrin piece. One can remove the complete delrin self-adjust attachement, or for sake of originality, retain it with the modifications I mentioned above.

I've attached a photo of the '73 self-adjust variant, couldn't find a closeup of the earlier model on hand.

Take care,

-Kurt

Navel Jelly essentially strips the part of everything including chrome - you probably stripped the chrome down to the nickel. Giveaway/garbage item at this point.



Yeah, kind of what I thought had happened: they were rusted to hell, anyway, recovered off a rust-covered beater a friend gave me.



The self-adjust variety have a black delrin attachment at the end with a metal adjuster barrel built into the delrin piece. One can remove the complete delrin self-adjust attachement, or for sake of originality, retain it with the modifications I mentioned above.

I've attached a photo of the '73 self-adjust variant, couldn't find a closeup of the earlier model on hand.

Take care,

-Kurt

Alright, I'll look into all these varieties. What do newer 3-speeds have on them, since these older styles don't seem to be made new anymore?

I have upright bars on almost all of my bikes (due to a chronic neck problem) and have had good success using various mtb brake levers w/ sidepull and centerpull brakes. I really like any of the Shimano SLR models. They feel much sturdier than the alloy Weinmanns that came on North Roads bars.

Neal

Alright, I'll look into all these varieties. What do newer 3-speeds have on them, since these older styles don't seem to be made new anymore?

Newer 3-speeds have MTB brakes, sorry to say. Other then the Weinmanns, not one manufacturer, to my knowledge, has bothered to develop a high-quality, traditionally styled, upright-bar brake lever.

When working with a higher-end, North Road-equipped machine though, I usually opt for the later Raleigh calipers minus the self-adjusting device. They look and feel quite nice and work well.



If you want something looking more fitting on an older bike, just straighten out the levers on an old set of dropped bar brake levers. http://www.bikesmithdesign.com/MyBik.../pages/02.html shows CLB levers, but I've done the same to Weinmann and Dia Compe.

Isn't there a risk of severely weakening the aluminum via this method? Not only is the lever being bent outwards from it's original bend, constant usage of the lever will result in similar forces in the opposite direction, after bending, of course.

The effect, I must admit, is stunning though.

-Kurt

I've got a pair of the self-adjusting Raleigh levers in my parts bin I could part with.

mswantak

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