I cannot call any lever with an exposed cable "grail". In my racing days of the '70s, I was putting in long miles and spending those hours fantasizing about a surgery that would open up my hand between my fingers so I could slide my palms over the hoods. When aero levers came out, I was on board as soon as I saw my first pair and never rode exposed cables again. Good riddance!

In my book, good lever have to have nicely rounded undersides so I don't rub all the skin off my middle finger above the knuckle. Mafac Racer levers were very good in that regard. The much better made and good looking 2000s were lousy.

Tektros are a solid "good" so all my bikes are there or will be soon. I know, totally liarg.

Edit:



The DiaCompe/Grand Compe version of these levers with their cheaper swing out releases were a huge blessing in a race once. I crashed and got back up to a wobbly front wheel, hitting the brake shoes. I was focused on getting back into the race and the bike was shaking enough that I really didn't want to reach down for the caliper release but I could easily flip off the lever release and ride the rest of the race with full braking power. (Got back on and placed. One of my last races. Felt good.)

Ben