Help With Riser Handlebar and Lever Sizing
 

Hello everyone,

I'm new to riding and recently bought a Dawes SST AL to use as a commuter bike. I decided to change the handlebars to Norco Axiom Freeride riser handlebars. I just bought some 24 mm Tektro RL720 levers online and I asked the seller if they would fit a 25.4 mm bar and he said they would. Anyway, the levers just arrived and they don't fit (too big). It looks like these bars need something smaller, like 22mm. Can someone advise me here on what levers to buy? Or is there a way to get these 24 mm levers to fit this bar?

Thanks

Road levers are to fit a 15/16 tube 23 something mm , , commonly 26mm center

the other type in general is 7/8" with a 1" center clamp. 22.2/25.4mm

Tektro RL720 levers are "interrupter" levers, designed to fit in the middle of a cable run on drop handlebars. Using them as "stand-alone" levers on a straight handlebar can flex the brake cable in the incorrectly, leading to failure. (There was a posting some time ago where a rider had both cables break at the same time- fortunately when he was standing still.)

You need brake levers for your flat handlebar and caliper brakes, such as Shimano BL-R550: http://harriscyclery.net/product/shi...r4859-qc49.htm or similar.

You do realize your new handlebars will not fit the handlebar stem that you have on your bike now, do you not?

Hi Jeff, thanks for the info. I managed to get the levers on using a shim. They seem to work very well so far. I took everything to my LBS and they put everything on for $25. Also, the handlebars fit the stem just fine. Thanks for assuming they wont, though!

If you had "drop" handlebars originally, the diameter at the clamp should be 26.0mm. In general, "flat" handlebars are 25.4mm in diameter at that spot. That's 0.6mm discrepancy.
(Specs are here: http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/...rb_x.htm#specs )

I question how well the handlebars are clamped in the stem. It looks like a two-bolt design in the picture (the description is useless), so it could clamp on the handlebar... sort of. I've seen mismatched handlebars like this work loose and rotate because the clamp doesn't hold properly. Your shop might have installed the bars with a shim- perhaps it's good enough.

Also- the brake levers will work fine, for now. Like I said, there have been failures of the cable with this kind of lever when it's used as a "stand-alone" lever.