Originally Posted by
tiger1964
Also BTW, is there an ideal measurement for the height of the brake cable loop above the bars? I've always done it by eye, and what I have currently looks a little low.
Actually there is an ideal for this, or there was. Make the rear brake housing as short as possible, with the possibility that the bars are able to rotate fully in both directions until they touch the top tube, without stretching or straining the housing. IOW make the housing as short as you can while still being able to full turn the bars in both directions. Then make the front brake match the rear in height. In practice usually I did the above but added an inch or so, as did most people.
This is another one attributable to Eddy Merckx. He always had crazy short housing. It saves weight...