I tend to agree, the real issue here is cable pull, and most regular cross levers are short pull, and the Avid Mountain BB7's are made for mountain bike levers which generally are long pull (as for v brakes)

(my example notwithstanding)

this is generally how I understand the whole long/short pull thing. When I got road hoods and levers as part of Gevenalle shifter lever setup, I had to specifically buy the long pull versions, as I had mountain BB7s which are long pull. There are Gevenalle dropbar levers that have a neat inner thing to reposition the brake cable end, and therefore can work for both long and short pull brakes--I specifically wanted 9 speed , and they only came in one or the other. I think it is the 10 speed ones that have the option for both----lots of blah blah that is not connected to the type of levers this guy wants to use, but it illustrates the importance of having the right cable pull levers for your braking system.