What is this lever for?
 

I picked up a handlebar/stem/brake lever combo at a swap meet last Sunday, and noticed that the left (front brake) side lever had a dual cable. What is the purpose of this? I've never seen anything like it.
http://jt.f0e.net/bike/lever1.JPG
http://jt.f0e.net/bike/lever2.JPG

The lever and hood are Dia Compe, and the bars and stem are GB.

so you can run both front and rear brakes with the same lever.

wow I havent seen that befor

Our tandem has a lever like that. It came with both front/rear rim brakes plus a rear hub brake, so one of the levers needed to operate two brakes.

The right side lever is standard, so this application would make sense. So this bar/stem/lever combo is possibly from an english tandem? Cool! Thanks for the input fellas.

yup, Mafac made them too.
I havent seen them on any other application than a tandem but I am planning on using one on a single speed runabout bike.

I've used this type of lever for one-armed cyclists to use 2 brakes.

I have no use for it, anyone need it? I'll trade it for a nice chrome bottle cage or something :)

I dont' have a bottle cage, but I have free? ;)

Maybe someone in the tandem forum would like it.

It would also be useful for bicycle polo players, many of whom use a Y-coupling to pull both brakes from one lever.

So the top of the lever/hood has room for two housings?

correct, finding a replacement hood probably mean just stretching the top of a normal hood though, it's no big deal.
http://velobase.com/CompImages/Brake...D9051F43E.jpeg

If you're still looking for a home for that brake lever, I may be interested. I've got a Burley Rock and Roll tandem with straight bars that has the same kind of functional Mtn type handle. I'd like to change to drop bars, but the brake handle was keeping me from making the attempt. Please let me know what I'd need to swap you for it.

NO! NOT THE RED LEVER! *boom*

Sorry, the first thing that popped into my mind when I read the title was the old cartoons where someone says "What does this button do?" "NO! NOT THE RED BUTTON!" *click*

It's funny, I just bought an old english tandem this past weekend, and it has a brake lever just like that. It activates both front and rear caliper brakes at the same time.

I had a 1971 Gitane 10-speed tandem with the same arrangement: one lever for front and rear brakes, the other for rear drum brake.