Does anyone use a bar end brake lever for their track bike? I spend about 90% of my time in the drops, so the clamp on, cross-style brake lever is not the most practical. I'm wondering how easy this set-up would be to remove, since I do race this bike at the velodrome, as well.

Pics appreciated!

Couple years ago I test rode the Jamis Sputnik complete, which had drops with bar end levers.



Nice bike, but... riding in dense urban traffic I'm mostly on the flats so it makes no sense. Dudes at the shop thought the same. It was not well received, so Jamis changed it back to cross levers. However if you're mostly in the drops as you're saying, could be different. FWIW In urban riding the bar end levers I see are on bullhorns.

BTW man your handle, avatar and sig all get props.

I suggest you get a separate set of road drop bars with hooded road drop bar levers, and simply swap them with your track drop bars when you go to the velodrome to race. You can disconnect the brake cable at the brake caliper and leave the caliper mounted to the fork, and the track officials won't mind, since the brake won't be operational. It takes me less than a minute to swap the bars on my track bike.

Thanks!

i have a bar end lever and a cross lever on my compact drops to allow me to have multiple braking positions depending on where im riding. But thats not practical for quick removal at the track.

I'm wondering about doing something similar on a road bike: eighter bar end brakes and thumb lever clamp shifters, or bar end shifters with cross brakes on the drops. That can slim the bike by 200g, and I dont ride on the hoods anyway. Also I dont care about integrated shifting. Any thoughts?

Try the road forum. We don't have shifters in here.

So nice of you. My fixie has no shifters, that doesn´t make me an *******.

Ok.

You did specifically ask for "any thoughts." My thoughts are that it's a dumb idea and you shouldn't bother.

how the what?

I should have omitted the "any thoughts" part, and just asked if anyone had done something like that. People rode similar setups before STI's, but with levers that had badly shaped hoods and 150g more, so its not that far away really. Just looks weird and no hoods. Anyway, if someone has seen it, please let me know.