Bicycle Mechanics - One cross lever

My Felt Z90 came with cross levers. I like them for commuting (and in general), but mostly use them at slow speeds. I bought a new Surly Long Haul trucker, and decided I'd pull a cross lever off the rear brake of the Z90, and put it on the front brake of the LHT. The levers are designated as right and left, but the only difference as far as I can tell is aesthetic, not functional. Any potential problems using the right brake on the left side that I am overlooking? I've pulled it off the Felt, but haven't put it on the LHT yet.

My Felt Z90 came with cross levers. I like them for commuting (and in general), but mostly use them at slow speeds. I bought a new Surly Long Haul trucker, and decided I'd pull a cross lever off the rear brake of the Z90, and put it on the front brake of the LHT. The levers are designated as right and left, but the only difference as far as I can tell is aesthetic, not functional. Any potential problems using the right brake on the left side that I am overlooking? I've pulled it off the Felt, but haven't put it on the LHT yet.

Besides the lever being "upside down" when mounted on the wrong side they are functionally identical. For example, yours should look something like this:

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31g70a2JWCL._SS500_.jpg

It'll be fine reversing them.

It'll be fine. When I bought my pair I accidentally got two right-side levers, and they turned out to be the last the shop had in stock. I've been using them for months without problems.

The lever blade of some cross levers are shaped so that they are more ergonomic, so the top extends closer to the bar than the bottom. Other cross levers are symmetrical, like the ones operator showed. I'm using one of the asymmetrical levers on the wrong side on one bike, and while I can certainly feel the difference, it is not a problem for me, but if you have shorter fingers then it could be a problem because it requires very slightly more reach when upside down.

I finally got around to doing this. No problems, you can't tell it's the "wrong" lever unless you look very closely. I love having just one lever. It gives me 99% of the function with half the handlebar clutter, and let me outfit two bikes for the price of one. Thanks to all who chimed in.

I finally got around to doing this. No problems, you can't tell it's the "wrong" lever unless you look very closely. I love having just one lever. It gives me 99% of the function with half the handlebar clutter, and let me outfit two bikes for the price of one. Thanks to all who chimed in.

that's really not a bad idea, although I admit the lack of symmetry would bug me. Then again, I used to run a dummy shift lever on my 1X9, just to keep it even. I think I may have a problem.