Hi all - need a lil help please...

I am signed up for a 300mi in 24hr charity ride & on a challenge am planning to try it on my mid 90s Cinelli Pista: https://www.facebook.com/events/345534045599426/
They insist that I have brake(s) on my bike & I want the multiple hand positions from hoods for the ride anyway.

I found what I thought were the perfect Campy Record brake levers (to satisfy both the organizers & my own vain Italo-centric desires) but they are driving me crazy. Even after I adjust them for the closer reach (small hands here), it is still uncomfortably far for my stubby fingers when I’m in the hooks.

I’ve moved the levers up & down, over & over, again & again...& can't get it right. When they are lower on the bar making it easier for me to reach them from the drops, it makes an uncomfortable hood/bar interface. When I move them back up where it is comfy on the hoods, the reach to the levers is too long.

Yes, I am trying to use these ‘90s levers on a more modern compact bar. Maybe that is where I am going wrong? I like this bar & hope that these things won't only fit properly on a more classic shape handlebar?

Any advice/suggestions gratefully welcomed…

You might consider just getting "junior/youth" sized levers that will have shorter finger reach. Don't know if Campagnolo made such, but the French company, CLB certainly did. Do a search at eBay for them and they should come up......

Campagnolo was never known for small "grip" brake levers. These are later, and may not be Record, but this era of Campagnolo lever was not a good fit for short fingers.
One has to set up the brake "loose" to have the lever blade reasonably close to the bar when the pads make contact. At this point the mechanical advantage is diminishing.

As Chombi advised there are a few "Junior" sized levers around. They will not be Campagnolo.
Cycles de Oro had some at one point too.

This is why my otherwise all-Italian, mostly Campagnolo, Bianchi has Shimano brake handles, and why I am keeping the original Weinmann brake handles on my other road bikes. I simply cannot panic-grab Modolo, MAFAC, Campagnolo, and other long reach European brake handles as quickly and as firmly as i would like.

+1 IMHO, you won't get a satisfactory location for good leverage and fit. If it must be an Italia build, then you will have to suffer through the 300 mile event.
I recommend a pair of Tektro R341 aero levers. They are designed for smaller hands. The older R200a/100a version looks better, resembling Campy ergos. But they are no longer in production.
Perhaps Cane Creek still markets this small-handed version of their SCR5.

How often are you going to use the brake levers for braking?

On an older bike (1933) I have long-reach single-pivot calipers. The only position to get good leverage on those calipers is from the drops, you would need a grip like a gorilla to stop from the hoods.

So if you can only reach the levers from the hoods and you can stop, why do you need anything else? Aren't you going to remove them after the ride?

it might be possible to effectively change the reach by going to a different handlebar bend.

the original record levers, as launched in 1969, have a long reach. they changed them, long about 1976, to give a shorter reach. your set is much later and looks to have a still shorter reach.

let us know how you decide to work it out.

Cinelli has re-introduced their classic bars like the 64s and 65s. They have a normal bend that I believe will improve the reach from the drops. As an added bonus, the 65s would look great on a track bike, unlike the ones pictured.

As did Weinmann, Dia-Compe and others, but they're not abundantly available. Tektro makes one now, though:

I'm not sure why brake lever location is an issue since in the OP it sounds like you were prepared to ride without brakes until told you must have them.

I appreciate your responses, which unfortunately confirmed my fear that these levers, the bar's bend, & my small hands are a not match made in heaven

Since I was able to liberate myself from n+1 mentality & have been shedding bikes, this one became my 1-gear road bike as well as my stylin & profilin tarck bike. In case anyone is interested, I run several different bar/stem combos on it, depending on circumstances, & always use a brake on roadie group rides.

I have ridden many metrics & some centuries on this bike with semi-pursuit bars or Cinelli 64s & a cross-lever, but got interested in longer rides so had been wanting a road drop/hooded lever combo for the additional hand position. This seemed like the perfect time to finally get those Campy levers I always lusted after for a full-on Italian build. But considering the stress I'll come under on this ride, I need everything to be simple as possible. I already have some Tektro 341s in my spare parts bin. Will use them this time & decide later if/how to use my new Record levers.

Thanx again for all the help...