Originally Posted by
LarDasse74
Certainly if you install the levers as per the (almost universally accepted) starting point, and they don't feel good, people can put the goddamn levers wherever they want. But Most shops and most bike manufacturers set bikes up very closely to this and most people like it.
Also, this standard makes perfect logical sense, regardless of what type of levers are used. If the tip of th elever is in line with the flat, then the middle of the lever will be lined up with the middle or middle-bottom portion of the drop, and this will put your hand in the right place for maximum braking power when in the drops.
This makes no sense when some bars have 20-30mm more drop in the hooks than others. Even my shallow drop EC90-SLX3 bars require the end of the brake lever to be a little above the bottom of the bar. If the hooks were 20mm deeper, then the brake lever ends would be even higher, relative to the bottom of the bar. Regardless of the shape or depth of the hooks, when I'm descending a mountain, I keep my hands relatively high in the hook, with my index finger near the lower edge of a Campy brake hood. With short fingers, any other position makes the brake lever unreachable.
Most riders spend far more time with their hands on the brake hoods than anywhere else, so the brake hood angle and the transition onto the bar top are the most critical things to get right. That's the way I set mine and I've never had any problem with the position of the brake lever, relative to the hooks. I never give the brake lever end any consideration in the setup process.