elunty

So if i was to purchase some cowhorn bars, such as these:

https://www.jensonusa.com/store/produ...op+Tt+Bar.aspx

would i be able to use them with TT brakes such as these:

https://www.jensonusa.com/store/produ...ke+Levers.aspx

the whole "Fits bar I.D. of 19-21mm" part confuses me. Im assuming I.D refers to internal diameter, but i dont see any bars telling me that number.

Dstreelm

Those levers are for road use and that is a road bar so it should work...that doesnt mean that they absolutely will.

what type of bike they are you going to put these on?

elunty

Yeah i just realized that, they probably wont work with v-brakes, will they. Bike comes with Tektro TS384A brakes originally, maybe i can shove those on the end of the horns somehow lol

Dstreelm

I am working on my old mountain bike to turn it into a comfortable commuter by replacing the irritating flat bar. It's a '97 Specialized Rockhopper and has standard mountain components which includes v-brakes.

I found this bullhorn bar (Crow Cycle Bullhorn Bar):

It's the same diameter as mountain bars (22.2mm) so my shifters and brakes should fit. I'm slightly worried about the clamps being able to slide around the bends, but they should open up enough. Im using shimano rapid fire shifters, but I havent decided what to do about the brake levers. I was considering the Tekto RX 5.0 they are v-brake compatible but probably wont fit in the end of the smaller diameter bar.

I'll probably use my old mtb. brakes for the time being, I do know that DiaCompe, Tektro and Cane Creek all make v-brake aero levers that I might switch to at some point.

I got all the stuff on order, Ill post pics when I'm done!

Good luck, let us see it when your done!

BCRider

Elunty, do you realise that the bars you've selected are for 31.8mm stems?

And note the fairly long "swell" in the middle. That'll make it harder to tuck the shifters in tight if you're using mountain bike shift levers. Meanwhile dstreelm will be fine because the small center bulge will allow the rapid fire shifters to mount in really close.

elunty

im aware its a 31.8, but i want to mount the brake levers on the underside of the 'horn' part of the bar, similar to how a TT brake would be mounted

BCRider

Well, that's fine and the levers you show are what you want for that. Those bars and levers are all intended to work with each other even though it doesn't say so specifically.

Dstreelm

Yeah that will work but again, the RX 4.1 is designed for short-pull road brakes, the 5.0 is compatible with v-brakes.

But if you're going to use your current levers and mount them on the underside (what I'm probably going to do), you cant use that handlebar because the clamp diameter (not the center, the rest of it) is 23.8mm and all mountain bike hardware is all 22.2mm

elunty

really, ALL mtb stuff? Well that i didnt know.

Dstreelm

Check out these links, a couple of hours on Sheldon Brown's website and her have already saved me loads of cash from ordering the wrong parts.

General Handlebar Info:
https://www.sheldonbrown.com/deakins/handlebars.html

Sheldon's handlebar size crib sheet:
https://sheldonbrown.com/cribsheet-handlebars.html

elunty

Hey man, i also found these cowhorn(ish) bars that would work for both of us

https://www.jensonusa.com/store/produ...Ergo+Bars.aspx

Dstreelm

yeah those would work, but theyre out of stock

My Crow Bullhorns are in the mail though, I cant wait till the get here!

elunty

Bro, that site is so shady Every time i try to do something after i add items, it says i have nothing in my cart

Dstreelm

haha really? I think its one guy, I used the contact form before I ordered and he got back to me the next day...We'll see what the bars look like when they get here, but the price sure was right

Dstreelm

Bullhorns just came in the mail.

Im just waiting to install them until the other components arrive. I did test fit them and they fit perfectly. My brake levers were a little snug at first but i opened them up with a flathead and the slid right on.

BCRider

Your first post made it look like you were going to use the proper levers. Yeah your MTB stuff won't fit without some serious hogging out of the mounting areas with a big half round file or some serious Dremel time. But the good news is that when sized to fit the shifters will be fine. I don't recomend modifying the MTB brake levers the same way since this removes a lot of metal from a rather seriously important place on the levers. If the levers are good ones there typically isn't much metal to work with. But if you file or Dremel out the shifters they can be persuaded to fit around the bend and sit in close to the stem nicely.

Dstreelm

they didnt need to be filed down, they were just a little snug. I took a small nut and wedged it into the opening of the clamp...that let me slide them right around the bend no problem. I probably will switch to some v-brake aero levers sooner or later.