Road brake levers: alignment tips?
 

I'm replacing my handlebars and brake levers (finally get rid of those nasty suicide levers), and I just realized I'm not sure how high or low I should orient them on the bars. I know that higher is generally better for riding in the hoods, and lower is generally better for riding in the drops. I'd like to ride in both a fair amount, is there a general rule or compromise to follow? Also, how do you make sure they are lined up vertically and horizontally?

Thanks.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...8/FILE0206.jpg

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I think the last photo shows your bars tilted up too much. The general opinion is that the bottom of the ergo bars should be horizontal but I like them pointed down so they point just below the rear brake pads with the tops horizontal. The position of the brakes on the bar is about right. After you have adjusted the angle of the bar, check that you can reach the brakes from the drops.

To get the levers at the same height on both sides I put a yard stick across the hoods and stand in front of the bike. When the yard stick is parallel to the bar top, the levers are at the same height.

Yeah, the top of the bar is actually horizontal, the perspective of the photo is just a bit skewed.

Thanks for the yardstick tip too.

It really doesn't apper to be the case :/ Draw a line from the top of the bar parallel to the top part and another parallel to the bottom straight section. You should try and split the difference. This will leave the top portion of the bar angled slightly downwards and the bottom part still useable and not angled up.

Here's a better picture of the actual angle.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...8/FILE0209.jpg

You'll notice the top of the bar is straight with the stem.

And, a few more, above and below:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...8/FILE0208.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...8/FILE0210.jpg

Get on the bike. Put your hands where you feel best while riding - so they are accessible quick enough from both the hoods and drops. Use a carpenter's level, with the bike as straight-up as possible, and tighten. Or you could get a laser-level. Make cats smash houses to pieces chasing the red dot.

My method is to put a straight edge ender the bottom of the bars sticking out to the brake lever tips. the distance from the lever tips to the straight edge should be the same.

People talk about this as if it's not a matter of preference... maybe it's cause they can't think of a way to ensure both levers are at the same height without their bottoms being level with the bottom of the drops...?

I say put your levers wherever you want them on the bars; experiment with different angles for bars and levers to see what suits you. When you've nailed it down and want to ensure both levers are at the same height, pull your stem off and put the bars on a flat surface, then move one of the levers until all four points (ends of the bars, bottoms of the levers) are on the same plane.

And I have NFI why people insist on pointing the levers straight ahead; I find them far more ergonomic when pointed in slightly. This also protects them a little from crash damage.

to add a bit to what Kimmo says, make sure the lever clamp screws are tight when you try the four point test. Also make sure you have a flat surface. This test will reveal ANY difference.

That's the way I do it too. It's fast and very accurate.

Pointing them in hurts my wrists after long stints on the hoods - to each his own.

That only works for traditional bend bars. Which the majority of OEM bars on bikes are not anymore, the OP does not have traditional bend either.

on a customers bike I do the basic trick of a spoke ruleron the drop and bottom of thever resting on it.

on my bikes I put one where it feels comfortable then use the yardstick method with a small level.

That's a personal fit issue.

Just because it helps you doesn't mean others should do it. Most people we fit 99% have the levers pointed straight forward. And this is how they *should* be fit unless they have an anatomical reason to put the levers in. It's not a natural angle. Are you sure your bars aren't too wide?

You don't need the level. As long as the top of the yardstick is parallel to the top of the handlebars, it doesn't matter if the bike is plumb or not.

Who said the bottoms should be level with the bottom of the drops ?


Why ? I'n not saying where they should be, just suggesting to take measurements & make them equal on both sides, which seems more accurate then eyeballing (not that there's anything wrong with that).

To each their own. I take Allen wrenches in my pocket and go out riding for a few miles. I start with adjusting the height and angle of the bars so that I can ride in the drops without crooking my wrists. Then adjust the height of the levers until it "feels right" riding on the hoods (with the Tektro/Cane creek levers you have, this usually works out to having the top of the hood level.) Then I wait a few days before I commit to wrapping the bars.

The tops look great, set about horizontal, but if the angle in the anatomic drop section right below the brake hood is too vertical, the bars won't be comfortable when riding in the drops. Those are actually "old-school" bars with a signficant rampdown angle that you've eliminated by rotating the bars upward. I setup the anatomic hook area first, then position the brake hood to be horizontal at the minimum.

In order to reach the brake levers from the hooks, the crook of my thumb is always just below the lower edge of the brake hood.

This is one reason I really don't like ergo bars that much. For me they seem greatly exagerated in the curve at the beginning of the drop section, and the
flat drop section is too long for my hands. Like I am having to think too much about keeping my hands near the top so I can reach the levers. To complicate
matters even further... If I'm in the drops, and can reach the levers comfortably, then the hoods seem too far down while on the hoods. I can never seem to find
that happy medium between having straight wrists, reaching the levers in the drops, and feeling like I am not bending my wrists too far forward on the hoods. Maybe
I need shallow drop ergos? I was eyeing a set at the LBS the other day, and they seemed to fit my hands better. And nope, I don't have small hands, lol.,,,,BD

This is a good idea when setting up any part of a bike so you can tweak things as you go.

On my 'cross bike I keep mine straight ahead but don't tighten them super tight. That way if I am to crash the levers can move instead of break. They are tight enough to stay put under normal circumstances, but if I wack 'em with my palm, they'll move slightly.

To ensure that both levers are mounted the same, I use a dowel rod or piece of PVC pipe to span beween the brake hoods, resting the rod where the crook of your thumb would rest. Measure from the front of the bar to the inside of the rod. It should be the same, just ahead of the bend from the tops, on both sides.

This is also good info when you buy new bars and want to compare the reach to old bars, or when you setup the same bars on a different bike. Record the dimension, so you can make both bikes the same.

I never measure the height of a brake lever off the end of a bar.

My bars aren't too wide; I take a 40. But that makes me realise it's prolly down to the fact I run my levers quite a bit lower than normal...

http://i45.tinypic.com/1085lk8.jpg

I even had one guy in a shop just start hoiking on my levers telling me where they should be... I stood stunned for a sec before I was like, dude, WTF. Get your hands off my pushie... a lot of trial and error went into finding the setup that suits me best. It's not great for climbing, but it seems better for everything else, and I don't do much climbing.

Everyone I've heard venture an opinion on the subject, and the vast majority of bikes out there are testament to the ubiquity of this philosophy.

I ride about 1/2 the time in the drops - and 1/2 on the hoods. This works for me:

http://i424.photobucket.com/albums/p...g/IMG_0558.jpg