Originally Posted by
TejanoTrackie
If you have drop bars, why don't you just buy a set of hooded drop bar levers, which will look a lot better on drop bars ? You will gain an additional hand position on the hoods, and will be able to operate the brake(s) from either the tops or the drops.
Also, FYI the bar is 25.4mm only where the stem clamps to it, and is 23.8mm elsewhere. So, you should be able to use any lever with a 23.8mm clamping diameter anywhere on the bar, including the flats on top.
I realized I only needed 24 (or I guess 23.8). See my edit above. To answer your question, honestly I just love the minimal look of a small brake lever on the top of the drops. I rode fixed gear for many years before I bought this raleigh and had it pretty much dialed in exactly the way I wanted. I didn't use the front brake much but it was nice to know it was there and that's all I'm really looking for now. Add that to the admittedly arbitrary superiority of the looks and that's it.
Thanks for the info! I would have been pretty annoyed if I hadn't thought to remeasure. I was basing my measurement on my mid-80s Schwinn and a much older fuji, and for some reason I just never thought to double-check and make sure the Raleigh had the same size handlebar.
Is that your bike in the photo? It's in unbelievable shape. If mine was that nice I would feel bad turning it into a fixed gear, but mine's pretty banged up.