hi all, I have found plenty threads on using inline brake levers, either as auxiliary or primary. However I just got one and can't quite figure out how the lever/cable situation will work out when I install it as a primary lever, since it doesn't pull on the cable in the same way a standard lever does.

Does anyone know of an online diagram or instruction I could refer to?

(keep in mind I am a flaming newbie. this will be the first brake I have ever installed.)

How they work when used as primary is to spread the housing away from the end of the cable.

I use the dual purpose cables so I just used the shifter end (or the one that has a flat spot to rest against the brake handle). Then just thread through the housing into the brake. I'll try to post a pic when I get home (and dig the brake lever out of the parts bin).

ok, so the housing goes into the barrel adjuster, and the cable goes through to the little recessed hole and stops there. I can see that...it's just hard to imagine that it actually works, but I will install it and find out. Thanks a lot. If you can post a photo that would be great. I've been scanning the FGG and such, but no one zooms in on their brake levers...

here's mine, it is a little strange setting up, the whole deal seems kinda backward, but i've been riding mine for a month or so now and it works great.

doesnt get much simpler than that! thanks for the pic. I am going to give it a shot tonight.

I guess the reason it's so confusing is cuz when it's an auxiliary lever, it works by lengthening the housing; but here, as a primary, it seems to work by making the housing _shorter_.

probably one of those things that is better to do than to think about. Kind of like riding a bike!

I was just about to order a set of them. I read that you could hook both up to the same line so you could have a bar top cx style lever and then put the other at the end of the bullhorns for a TT style lever... I don't see how it would work then because the cable housing would have a hard time pushing through an extra lever wouldn't it?

the housing doesnt go through the auxiliary lever...you cut the housing in two. one part goes from the main lever to the aux, the other from the aux to the brake.

In a further development, I've just discovered that the levers I got (Tektro RX 2.0) are a little small on the handlebars I have. A strange phenomenon since these are road bars and I thought they were supposed to fit on road bars.

I'm gonna hijack this thread for a second ... does anyone have an extra inline lever they want to part with? I only need one, so ordering a set seems slightly wasteful, and someone here probably has one they aren't using. I'll throw a few dollars your way via paypal, in addtion to covering any shipping costs. PM me or email me: sssasky(at)gmail(dot)com

If I was back home in TO I would split a set with you... but I'm in Paris right now... But if I was back in TO I probably wouldn't be putting on a brake anyways...

Look at it this way..... instead of the lever 'pulling' the cable, the lever 'pushes' the cable housing instead. The cable basically remains stationary. You'll see for it yourself.

I think most of us build another whole new fixie around that extra second lever...

i have an extra tektro somewhere you can have, but it's been chopped down to a two finger shorty and drilled out. it's ultra minimal but and looks like the one in the pic. mine works great. if you want it pm me.

Just tonight I put a setup like this together with a TT bar and Nashbar inline lever. A few observations:

1. Yes, it's weird. When setup like a conventional bar-top lever, the brake cable remains stationary when the lever is pulled and instead the housing is moved to actuate the brake. Still it seems to work.

2. What's super nice is that CX brakes are designed to pull canti's. For us luddites who still run sidepulls, this means that you gots TONS of pull. I like that. I generally like to have lots of head room so I can snap the cable if I'm feeling super-gorilla. Or if my brakes aren't quite as tightly calibrated as they should be.

3. My levers are also a bit small to really be on the bar top, despite being advertised as such. Rather they fit over (clamp on, sweet!) the small diameter of the bar. When it's butted up to the full 26mm, that's a bit too fat to fit in the clamp. That's too bad because I really like to tuck my brake lever right up next to the stem. Ah well.

4. Yes, I have an extra lever. No you can't have it. I'm planning on building another bike for that lever.

fixer i got my silver supertype seatpost today. man is it tasty lookin'..

That's great.........where did you find a silver one?

i got this one on ebay but i did find out that www.repartocorse.com now has 27.2mm silvers in stock for those searching.

I installed my brake and brake lever last night, and it all worked as advertized. It is very strange, but it makes sense, somehow, when I watch it work. And it works well, though I found out that my brake reach is too long, so stopping power is pretty lousy.

Anyway, what I realized (as most of you probably know) is that it's not "You have to slow down by using the pedals!" (negative connotation), it's "You can slow down by using the pedals!" (positive connotation, and amazement). So I'll fix the brake at some point and just use it as a helper for now. It's great to be on that bike.

Thanks everyone for all your help.

Same here--after I fiddled with it and removed some of the tape, I found that the bar narrowed further from the stem than I expected. SO the brake is a little further out than I would like. I'm probably going to change out the handlebars anyway, so...I shall tinker forth.

Ressurecting this thread here, I get the idea behind how to setup the corss levers as your primary ones. What I can't figure out is where to clamp the end of the cable onto the lever on my tektro rx 2.0. It works if I hold onto the end of the cable, so I think its set up fine otherwise. Thanks for any help!

Whoops, I figured it out. The old too-obvious problem.

here's a pictorial on my old conversion w/ Syntace bullhorns:
http://www.slopvehicle.info/inline_lever.jpg

Sorry im attempting this on my bike now , same situation. can you re post the pic of this as i cannot see it

That post is 8 years old and the poster hasn't been active in nearly a year.

http://static.lfgss.com/attachments/...8022009038.jpg

/rocketscience