Originally Posted by
RiddleOfSteel
As far as I understand, the springs in the brake levers were to expedite the calipers opening back up as well as the lever to go to their rest state, not to ease brake caliper spring loads. Suntour had their BRS system (brake return spring/system?) and Shimano their SLR. I've run Superbe Pro BRS levers without their spring, hooked to Superbe Pro hidden spring calipers and the spring effort was very little, thanks in part to the lack of return spring in the lever, as well as the exquisitely light and smooth caliper spring action. In both these cases, Suntour and Shimano eased up their caliper spring rates with these new systems, changed lever geometry, and put some of the lost spring rate into the levers themselves (sorta zero-sum).
Yeah, you're right. See my corrected responses above. The lever springs were to meant to make up for weaker springs in the calipers and improve 'feel'. Must have had distracted brain yesterday.
I still feel strongly that the OP should go to modern levers. I'm going to revise my recommendation to the TRP RRL levers. I've met people that were using them with campy NR calipers with success.
AFA the springs, I still think messing with them is asking for trouble. I'd adjust them close to the rims, put new koolstops on, and call it a day.
Superbe brakes were more or less clones, and IIRC they had weaker springs, so if you really wanted to find a weak 'campy' type spring, that's where to start. However, I seem to recall there was something slightly different about them that made them not fit Record calipers. Maybe it was the other way around. Been decades and I can't really remember to be honest, but I do recall there was something that made it not that simple.