Brake lever for drop bar
 

Hello, I'm very new to the whole road/cyclocross/hybrid bikes.

I currently have a road bike which I want to add a bar top brake lever so that it will be easier to brake.

My bar is the Easton EA50
http://www.cambriabike.com/Images/pr...rop_06_bar.jpg
• Clamp diameter: 26.0 & 31.8mm.
• Widths: 40, 42, 44cm center to center


I'm actually deciding between the
- Salsa
- Cane Creek
- TRP CL956
- Tektro 3.0 or 3.1

So sorry for the new question, but where exactly do I clamp these levers on my bar? Should I get one for the 26.0mm or 31.8mm?


Thanks!

The Salsa comes with shims for 26.0 or 31.8 and is light, good looking, and the housing entry hole is slightly angled which helps cable routing a little. Only fault is that it lacks a spring, but with good routing you'll be ok anyway.

With those bars you'll want to situate the brake clamps as far outboard as possible on the wide center section of the tubing.

Wow. With that price difference I can't imagine buying anything other that the Salsa ones.

Does the lack of the spring on the lever significantly change the feel compared to the others with a spring?

I prefer the feeling with a spring, since the levers pops back into place fasterer after braking, and the springs in the levers make less work for the springs in your brake arms.

However the spring in the drop levers is non-essential assuming you've done your cable housing and brake set-up correctly. The latter is not necessarily easy if you're doing it for the first time.

Your bar can't be 26.0 and 31.8, this is the deciding factor and that's what you have listed. You can also get a 24.0 clamp cross lever (a la tektro) that mounts on the thin part of the bar.