Originally Posted by
Wiggles_dad
My commuter bike ..has Sturmey Archer drum brakes..My question is whether or not I'm stuck with only one choice in type of brake lever. I ..would love to somehow fit road levers on my bike so that I can run mustache bars. My instincts tell me that the leverage would not be enough to stop the bike.
It pays to careful with wording here. MTB levers move more cable, but at less force than road brake levers. According to the traditional definition, road levers have better/more leverage than MTB brakes, but less throw/pull/travel.
Best I can tell, the S-A website doesn't say anything about lever throw. But old Sachs drums specifically asked for short travel levers.
What type of Avids to you have? The Speed Levers have adjustable throw, in which case it'll be an easy experiment.
Turn the travel down maybe 1/3 and you'll have road brake lever throw. Adjust brake, go for a ride. See how it feels.
If you're not happy with that, and find out that you actually do need the travel of a MTB lever then there's a fix for that too.
The same
Travel Agent brake adapter which allows people to use V-brakes together with canti/caliper levers can be run in reverse to let you use a long-pull brake together with a short pull lever.