My old blue Trek came with Suntour Superbe non-aero levers (drilled) with melting hoods. I don't know whether I should find replacement hoods or go aero levers.

Has anyone tried fitting the Cane Creek brown hoods on Superbe levers? How was it? Not interested in Euro-Asia hoods due to shoddy quality.

I also have aero Dia Compe Gran Compe in all white (look weird, kinda regret buying them). Is the white on the lever paint or anodizing? I'm thinking about removing it as I prefer shiny metal.

Any old aero levers with Cyclocross interrupter brakes up by the stem.

Best of luck
Simon

Does your white Aero Grand Copmes look like this??:



Personally, I really like the white on white Diacompe AGC levers as you see them on my Peugeot in the pic. I've had them on there since the late 80's and they still look brand new. The hoods are especially good as they never seem to deteriorate at all even after all these years and different conditions. I think they're made of silicone instead of natural rubber.
I think the levers are powdercoated white as the finish feels very durable, almost like the porcelain finish you find on stoves. You can send those unwanted white Diacompe levers to me if you really do not what them!

Chombi

The Fuji I just redid had DC AC2600 levers originally:



I really didn't like the shape or feel of them (even after getting them reasonably clean). Then I found a set of Shimano BL-R400 levers at a local fixie shop:



I believe these are the Tiagra level levers. Built damned solid and I REALLY liked the feel compared to the DC levers. You can find them < $30 at Outside Outfitters.

I got a pair of Dia-Compe BL-07 levers, their pretty good for the price...

I should add the levers I indicated above certainly don't have a vintage feel to them, granted, but they were a world more comfortable and rock solidly made. Anyway...

Go for comfort and functionality -- Tektro

My GC levers look exactly like those without the drill holes. There's only one to access the inner bolt.

I've tried the Tektro/Can Creeks but they seem to resist pull more than I'd like. Could be the combination of AGC300 brakes and aero Araya rims too but they feel sluggish.

The many slots on the levers was what initially attracted me to them. I think I only seen only one other set out there that looks exactly like mine in a pic in all these years. Maybe they didn't make too many of these particular model of white levers??

Chombi

That's possible. I think I'd like them more if they looked like yours.

I was thinking about getting old DuraAce aero levers that look like the ones you showed but felt odd putting it in a full Suntour Superbe setup.

Has anyone tried Cane Creek hoods on Superbe levers?

I used Dia Compe non-aero hoods on Superbe levers. Someplace I think I read that Dia Compe and Cane Creek are part of the same company or some such. Sorry but I don't have a picture of mine, but they look like what's shown here, which I stole from the VO site. Anyway it was a good fit. I believe the Superbe lever is virtually identical to a Campy fwiw; perhaps that will help you figure out what will/won't fit.

Those hoods look perfect but don't look the same as the Cane Creek ones.

I agree that Dia Compe= Cane Creek. LooseScrews lists these hoods as compatible with Dia Compe models 144 and 166 AND Weinmann model 144 but no mention about Campy/Superbe's.

I like the Tektro levers myself. They are inexpensive. They don't look vintage but they work pretty well, especially when paired with their calipers. They work much better than the Modolos they replaced.

I like these older Tektros very much. I think it was Kurt that told me told me that they're copies of Dia Compe Gran Compes. I don't like to put modern parts on my vintage bikes, but I built it for my daughter and she insisted on interruptor levers. She also wants index shifting, but that's where I draw the line!

Brake levers are a very subjective choice. My hands are fairly small, and I found the Universal levers that came with my Super 68s back in the early 70s much too large. Campy levers fit very well and I've stuck with those (and their clones) in the years since. SunTour Superbe levers were shameless copies of Campy levers, so I like those as well. Any hoods that fit Campy levers will fit your Superbe levers, too. I've found the Modolo "Anatomic" hoods (and the clones from Am'e) to be very comfortable.

Wrong one. What you've got there is a hood for the lower level Dia compe brake lever that was on a bazillion low-midrange bike boom bikes.

Is there a place that sells Superbe compatible replacement hoods?

Could these possibly be them?
https://cgi.ebay.com/ROAD-BIKE-DROP-B...item439db5f0eb

They're not the same but they are very similar. Cheaper copies of cheap copies?

Like JohnDThompson and I said earlier, look for something that fits Campy and it will fit Superbe. But you already said you don't like the cheap Campy copy hoods, so I don't know where to send you. For the price of legit. Campy hoods you could buy a couple pairs of Superbe levers with hoods on them, so that doesn't help. Plus you'd have Italian hoods on Japanese levers, and you didn't even want to mix and match Japanese levers/calipers.

On the aero side, lots of people like the Tektro levers and I have a pair on a bike, but they're not my favorite. They are well made and work well but I find them too wide, and I have fairly large hands. I especially don't like them if I'm out of the saddle and grabbing around the hoods; eg. when climbing. Just too much muscle memory from Campy brakes I guess.

I like the Dia Compe Gran Compes, old 105 Aero, etc. better than Tektros, but ymmv.

Thanks for the input. I'll take a look into those.

I just got the levers and I have to admit, the hoods are very nice. Relatively easy to clean but super durable. But as I thought, I don't have a bike that matches the all-white levers.

Would it be frowned upon to remove the white paint off the levers? I feel pity changing these relatively unique Gran Compe's but the white paint kinda makes them look cheap.