Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - question about traditional road brakes v. cross levers?

i dropped my bike off at my LBS a few days ago for some minor things. i gave them my cross levers and asked for them to install them for me. i got my bike back today, and the cross levels are attached - but so are the traditional road brakes that came stock on the bike. the brake runs through them as well, so i essentially have 2 working pairs of brakes on my bike.

not what i wanted at all. i don't want the road brakes, i only want the cross levers. i asked them about it and they kind of shrugged me off. anyway. my question is how to change the brakes so they do not work with the road brakes and how to get the road brakes off.

thanks for the help.

lolwut.

Just take a 5 mm allen key and turn whatever you can. Be prepared to use maximum force.

What's wrong with you? Go back to your lbs and get them to do what you wanted - what you PAID them to do. Problem solved.

inline levers arent really meant to be used without road levers. i think his problem is that he bought the wrong levers.

Cross levers work perfectly fine on their own.

they definitely can work just on their own. that was the whole point of why i got them.

my LBS here is way ****ty. i tried to explain i didn't want the road levers on there, and he just said 'well, that's what i did...'

cross/inline levers have way less leverage than any other brake levers out there. even with the brake set up super tight with the shoes a half a mm from the brake track, the lever would still go all the way to the bar before he started to slow down. you might get away with it if youve got cops who write tickets for riding brakeless, but whats the point.

A+ to this thread, would read again.

Scrod is right on both accounts. Take it back to your LBS and have them fix it. You did give them money to get your stuff the way you wanted it.

Yes cross levers can be used by themselves.

show me what cross levers can be used on their own. i think we are all talking about different things.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2360/2277812450_be587983d8.jpg

for instance.

Motorheadguy - what you're saying isn't true at all.

no... just you...

show me what cross levers can be used on their own. i think we are all talking about different things.

... all of them? I can't think of any that wouldn't work. Have you actually tried? No it's not "natural" but they work just fine.

Maybe head back over to the 41 before you hurt yourself here.

http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z96/specialyblended/GetAttachment-6.jpg

ah, can someone just tell me how i am supposed to cut the connection off to the road brakes and get them off? my LBS is really not willing to help with that.

maybe head back over to the 41 before you hurt yourself here.

awwww yeaaaaaaah discrimination!!!

ah, can someone just tell me how i am supposed to cut the connection off to the road brakes and get them off? my LBS is really not willing to help with that.

can you post pics? cause what I'm imagining is ****ing ridic.

ah, can someone just tell me how i am supposed to cut the connection off to the road brakes and get them off? my LBS is really not willing to help with that.

What the hell is wrong with your LBS? You'll have to pull the cable out, then remove and measure the housing, cut that to size, then cut the cable to size. If you REALLY don't have an idea of what you're doing, you should find another LBS.

Sighs all around.

Goodnight BikeForums.

i don't have pictures of mine right now, but what i essentially have is this:
http://www.socaltrailriders.org/gallery/data/610/medium/san_jose_levers_and_headset.jpg

and what i want is this:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2360/2277812450_be587983d8.jpg

can you post pics? cause what I'm imagining is ****ing ridic.

http://www.parktool.com/uploads/images/blog/repair_help/inlinebrake-615.jpg

it's the only LBS in my area.

Sounds like its worth a drive to find a new one...

@Jaytron: thanks... I wasn't too far off lol

It's not hard guava, this is all you need to do.


You'll have to pull the cable out, then remove and measure the housing, cut that to size, then cut the cable to size.

You'll need something to cut the cable as well and I guess a tape measure would help.

if it were me, i would

1) remove the brake cable at the caliper and

2) remove the standard brake lever from the handlebar

3) remove the all cable and housing from the standard lever and cross lever

4) run the cable through the cross lever (note: the cable stop that was in your standard lever will now be in your cross lever.)

5) thread on housing

7) attach end of cable to caliper

or something like that...

don't forget to contact your LBS and insinuate that they are a bunch of bozos. :o

BTW, this may be inaccurate in some ways inasmuch as i haven't run standard levers in about 25 years. but i do use standalone cross and bmx levers.

why not keep the standard levers? Its just another hand position that could be used. More options is a good thing imo

OP, you obviously don't know what you're doing. Also, as Scrod has pointed out, you paid the LBS to do something, and they didn't do what you said. Tell them to fix it. Don't be a pushover.

This thread is pretty great.

Do the old brake levers still function?

I agree that the LBS should do what you ask them to. Its a pretty simple job. However, I'm getting the vibe that you didn't effectively communicate what you wanted them to do, so I'm not convinced the LBS is totally at fault here.


Also why would you want to remove your road levers? Cross levers will work alone, but really aren't meant to function as the primary brake lever. Hooded road levers are far more effective as brake levers, they offer the best hand positions available with a drop bar, allow you to stand and climb much more effectively, and they allow you to brake from multiple positions. Plus road bars look stupid and don't work well without road levers...they are designed to work together, like rims and tires.

Suggestion...just leave the road levers on there. If you take them off, you'll probably find you want them reinstalled.

Minor point of clarification, but aren't you looking for MTB levers and not Cross ones? The difference being that Cross levers are installed in-line with the hoods and the MTB ones are for stand-alone installs.

^^^^^
what he said.


what the hell is the 41 and why should i go back to it? is that some bikesdirect thumping inside joke that ill never understand? probably.

Still on the same topic, I was just looking around and seem that there are MTB levers and BMX levels, what the hell is the difference?

Also within MTB, certain ones are labeled for use with V-Brakes while others are not. So basically, what type of level is compatible as a stand-alone with a caliper brake?

(I ask because I am about to order a Langster and too wanted to loose the hoods and just use an MTB-style front brake)

what the hell is the 41

Because I'm a nice person (note the number in the URL):

http://i.imgur.com/4SL9F.png

road bikes are cool too.

some mtb levers dont pull enough cable for linear pull/v brakes to function properly.
some mtb levers dont pull enough cable for cantilever brakes to function properly.
the main difference between mtb and bmx levers are how long the levers themselves are and how many of your grubby little fingers fit on them.

ok so if the caliper brakes need less of a pull distance, then any MTB or BMX brake levers should, in theory, work fine right?

Some of you people are really something else. A typical cross (in line) lever has no less pull when used on it's own than it does when used as a secondary lever with a cable running straight through it. It pushes the housing (and in turn closes the caliper) just the same.

For the record, I just checked the pull distance on a bike that's currently in the shop - which is using only a cross lever - and it moved about a cm when squeezed as tight as I possibly could. Motorheadguy needs to stop dipping into Lemmy's stash.

inline levers arent really meant to be used without road levers. i think his problem is that he bought the wrong levers.


Cross levers work perfectly fine on their own.


A+ to this thread, would read again.

Scrod is right on both accounts. Take it back to your LBS and have them fix it. You did give them money to get your stuff the way you wanted it.

Yes cross levers can be used by themselves.


show me what cross levers can be used on their own. i think we are all talking about different things.


Some of you people are really something else. A typical cross (in line) lever has no less pull when used on it's own than it does when used as a secondary lever with a cable running straight through it. It pushes the housing (and in turn closes the caliper) just the same.

For the record, I just checked the pull distance on a bike that's currently in the shop - which is using only a cross lever - and it moved about a cm when squeezed as tight as I possibly could. Motorheadguy needs to stop dipping into Lemmy's stash.

motrheadsroadie had my laughing my a55 off reading this on a Tablet...for the record MTB levers have waaaay too much leverage on a road caliper, a slight touch means locked wheels, below is yet another example of Cross levers being used alone
http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k271/aikigecko/storage/myride.jpg

for the record MTB levers have waaaay too much leverage on a road caliper, a slight touch means locked wheels


ahhh ha! thank you!

Some of you people are really something else. A typical cross (in line) lever has no less pull when used on it's own than it does when used as a secondary lever with a cable running straight through it. It pushes the housing (and in turn closes the caliper) just the same.

For the record, I just checked the pull distance on a bike that's currently in the shop - which is using only a cross lever - and it moved about a cm when squeezed as tight as I possibly could. Motorheadguy needs to stop dipping into Lemmy's stash.

Stash or no stash, Lemmy himself would never be nearly as confused as Motorheadguy.

Edited by Santaria:

I should mind my own business.

No - he's a roadie for the band Motorhead.

i'm not a guy, haha.

anyway, i've already mentioned on here my LBS is crappy. i was sized for a 43cm frame, and when i asked them if you had any/could do a special order for me, they told me no. so, they really aren't helpful. i did tell them when i brought my cross levers in that they were the only brakes i wanted on my bike, i did not want the road levers. i don't care if you all think it's ugly or dumb or whatever. that's just how i like it. i only really use my bike for simple commuting to and from work. my commute is pretty much flat. i like the cross levers because i sit upright and ride on the straights more than anything else. it's what it comfortable for me, it's most practical for me, etc. it can be as ugly as you want to think it is, but i probably wouldn't ride a bike as often as i do if i had to sit/brake in any kind of uncomfortable way. i'm by no means a hipster, i'm just someone who bought a bike so i could start biking even more and using my car less. the problem with my LBS is that IT IS FULL OF HIPSTER DUDES. they aren't nice, they aren't particularly helpful - but it's really all that my area has. the next closest bike shop is about a solid hour away.

and thanks for the few people that actually answered my question.

Edited by Santaria:

I should not offer even the most simple of legal advice.

guava - where do you live? Your LBS sucks but - once again - you need to go back there and get what you paid for.

... I was just looking around and seem that there are MTB levers and BMX levels, what the hell is the difference? ...

i haven't found any difference between them, except that MTB levers seem to be more robust. now cross levers to bmx/mtb levers? yes, there is a difference. the clamp on BMX/MTB levers (which i now use on my singlespeeds) have an ID that is NOT compatible with most road type bars nor do most of them have a convienent "clamshell" clamp. OTOH, cross levers are and do.

i haven't found any difference between them, except that MTB levers seem to be more robust. now cross levers to bmx/mtb levers? yes, there is a difference. BMX/MTB levers (which i now use on my singlespeeds) have a ID that is NOT compatible with most road type bars nor do most of them have a convienent "clamshell" clamp. OTOH, cross levers are and do.

also seems the MTB ones come in a Long Pull version which won't work right on Caliper brakes.

This thread is a great example of a cluster****, and a good example of a problem of online forums.

A couple guys spread wrong information, then we have to rush to correct them, and then everyone gets confused in the process. Trouble is, it's not even relevant to the OP.

I actually wish this thread could be cleaned up so that only the answers pertaining to the OPs question are left. That way they know what in the hell they are supposed to do.

... A couple guys spread wrong information, then we have to rush to correct them, and then everyone gets confused in the process. Trouble is, it's not even relevant to the OP...
that's right. those of us that are right all the time find this frustrating. :p