Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Bullhorn Bar Brakes

Why are the brakes on this bike's bullhorns on the flats rather than at the ends of the bars? I'm coming from a road bike, and I'm almost never on the flats, even when commuting. Is there some type of advantage that I'm not seeing, or is it simply a matter of preference?

Could these brakes be repositioned to go at the very end of the bars, or would I have to buy new brakes for that?

Placement of the brakes is just personal preference.

They can be installed at the end, however, it's not ideal to have it there.

Why are the brakes on this bike's bullhorns on the flats rather than at the ends of the bars? I'm coming from a road bike, and I'm almost never on the flats, even when commuting. Is there some type of advantage that I'm not seeing, or is it simply a matter of preference?

Could these brakes be repositioned to go at the very end of the bars, or would I have to buy new brakes for that?

its preference. you can have either, neither, or both if you run the top bar brake inline with a tt-lever brake lever.

Placement of the brakes is just a personal preference.

They can be installed at the end, however, it's just not ideal to have it there.

idk about being "ideal" though. think it really does come down to the rider, because i find myself almost never riding on the tops, mostly on the sides of my bullhorns which makes getting tt-levers oohh soo tempting.

I have bullhorns but spend more time on the flats, so that's where my lever is. I only use the horns for accelerating, climbing, or pulling off awesome skidzz.

I think Vixtor is saying that it's not ideal to have a cross lever installed at the end of your horns, although it is possible. That's what TT levers are for.

I ran my crosslevers on the bull part of my bullhorns for few days. It's really not that smart. The pull power is reduced, you can't wrap your bars correctly, and the cables would be a PITA. Invest $20 and get yourself a TT lever.

idk about being "ideal" though. think it really does come down to the rider, because i find myself almost never riding on the tops, mostly on the sides of my bullhorns which makes getting tt-levers oohh soo tempting.
What I meant is that cross levers "droop" a lot when they are at the end, stretching your fingers quite a bit to grab them.

You're right though, different riders prefer different set ups, totally up to the person when it comes to it.

I kinda wish I mounted my brake on the flat part. I find myself needing to brake a lot more often when I'm just "cruising" then when Im on my horns makin an effort.

Btw Vix, what kind of bullhorns do you run on your bike? They look like you took them off of a real bull. They're huge.

:lol:

I have no idea what brands they are, I grabbed them from my bike co-op. They look huge because my bike is kind of tiny in contrast, I love this bike though. It fits me quite well despite having 10ft of seat post, top tube length is spot on. Seat tube and head tube are both on the smaller side, but I'm generally okay with it. :)

Btw, one reason some people have their brake on the flat because cross lever can be taken off just by loosening a bolt and it is convenient for people who switch bars or go to the velodrome with the bike.

Last hijack - are you still clipless?

Yup, and I love it, helps a ton on the hills. The pictures in my VeloSpace is from the beginning of the summer...LOTS of changes has been made since then, mostly stem adjustment, seat post height, aft/for etc etc.

http://www.pedalroom.com/bike/monsieur-lapin-1610 This is somewhat recent, still, different set up from today.

Back to your regular program.

Yup, and I love it, helps a ton on the hills. The pictures in my VeloSpace is from the beginning of the summer...LOTS of changes has been made since then, mostly stem adjustment, seat post height, aft/for etc etc.

http://www.pedalroom.com/bike/monsieur-lapin-1610 This is somewhat recent, still, different set up from today.

Back to your regular program.


http://img818.imageshack.us/img818/3819/advicesq.jpg

if youre interested in horns, heard these were good. as yummygooey he has a one.

http://www.nashbar.com/bikes/Product_10053_10052_175554_-1_201511_10000_200389

Yeap. The Nashbar bullhorns are awesome for <$20 shipped. Nashbar also has a 20% off coupon right now.

I've been trying to sell those bullhorns for like forever, brah. Anyone wants em?

what size bike do you ride vixtor? that norco has strange st to tt lengths.

I usually prefer a bike with ~56cm top tube, seat tube doesn't really matter that much to me. Head tube length of ~150mm would be perfect.

This is a the smaller, 21" size of the old 70s/80s, it's actually a really common size. Nishiki, Apollo, Sekine, a lot of them were like that.

Here's my two cents. When you're on your road bike and your haulin' ass and you need to slow down you have no choice but to hit the brakes so your brakes have to be easy to get to in your haulin' position. Whether its an emergency stop of just a speed modulation you have to use your brakes.

When riding fixed and you're haulin' and you need to slow down you can just slow down your cadence. If you need to make an emergency stop you have your front brake but its best not to use that alone or you'll go over the bars. Its best to backpedal and use your brake together and backpedaling is easier when in a more upright position (for me at least) so you want your brake to be where you will be when you need it. When Im in my horns and I need to stop I start back pedaling and move over to my flats and I dont even run brakes anymore unless Im hauling loads.

On my road bike i'm rarely on the flats myself, but on the fixed gear (with bullhorns) I'm on the flats most of the time in traffic, unless i'm hammering the pedals or climbing, both times where I most likely won't need to do an emergency stop. I prefer my brake like the one pictured.

When I took the track racing class at the velodrome, the guy told us to hold the bars on the flats like a 'trackie' when you're not in the drops, not on the hood area (no hoods on track drops anyway) like a 'roadie'. There was a reason for it on the track... can't remember why, it's been awhile since I took the class or have been to the track.

http://i399.photobucket.com/albums/pp79/n1gh78un76r/IMG_3453.jpg
Mine.

As I see it, if I'm crusin through the parking lot and a car turns in front of me the cross top lever is good. when I'm mashing in the horns the bar end lever is good. That being said, I use all 3 "positions" on my bars...

In the velo, maybe it's because you might slip off?

I like aero levers, but the "oh $hi+" lever is nice to have too.

Yup, and I love it, helps a ton on the hills. The pictures in my VeloSpace is from the beginning of the summer...LOTS of changes has been made since then, mostly stem adjustment, seat post height, aft/for etc etc.

http://www.pedalroom.com/bike/monsieur-lapin-1610 This is somewhat recent, still, different set up from today.

Back to your regular program.

i was going to pm you about it but couldn't. why do you feel clipless is better, especially for hills?

i was going to pm you about it but couldn't. why do you feel clipless is better, especially for hills?

Vixtor is offline right now, so I'll take the liberty of responding to your question. Clipless pedals & shoes lock your feet on the pedals is a very positive way that clips and straps cannot, unless you are using old school cycling shoes with slotted cleats. When you are climbing hills standing out of the saddle, you can greatly increase your climbing ability by pulling up and well as pushing down on the pedals. When you pull up you also pull back, and there is a tendency with clips and straps with regular shoes to pull your feet out even if the straps are very tight. Clipless pedals also make it easier to backpedal on a fixed gear.

I like aero levers, but the "oh $hi+" lever is nice to have too.

From what I see you just run the bar-end cable through the cross lever and have 2 separate cable housings. Is it this simple or is there another special part I need to make this work?

It's pretty simple. Just do what your wrote.

Squeegeesunny: What size? I have the Nashbar bullhorns in 44cm, a bit too wide for my taste. They are good bars and I don't mind having narrower ones (ideally, 40).

From what I see you just run the bar-end cable through the cross lever and have 2 separate cable housings. Is it this simple or is there another special part I need to make this work?

Other than the cable length and routing, there is nothing special.