I'm putting an older 105 dual-pivot road brake on my fixxie. I don't have a lever yet and was wondering if you can use a MTB v-brake lever with a road bike brake? I always heard you couldn't due to length of cable pull or something like that. Can you?

adjustable pull or not? If it is you can probably get away with it adjusted all the way down. If it isn't you won't be able to apply as much braking pressure as you would with the correct brake.

get a cantilever brake lever. i'm doing the same thing..i'm just waiting for it to come in the mail.

What about the inline levers from Perfomance Bike? Will they work by themselves or do they have to be inline?

They work but there is more drag then with a real lever. More of feel issue then an actual function one.

I'd really like to use some v-brake levers, because they're dirt cheap on ebay. What should I look for other than bar size? Adjustable pull?

You cannot use v brake levers on sidepulls. Get cantis.

It's really not a good solution. Just get a bmx lever.

Why? I ran an inline lever as a primary lever for a couple of years. Works just fine.

I hadn't thought of a BMX lever. I think that's the way I'll go. Thanks.

he was referring to the solution of buying a v brake lever and adjusting it to minimum pull. really not the best way to go.

inline lever ~ bmx lever ~ cantilever lever = gravy

cross levers arent especially ergonomic, in comparison to bmx or canti levers. I use a TT lever, and I can't imagine actually using a cross lever for a sudden stop. You'd flip over the bars! No bracing! Maybe for scrubbing speed or something, but then we are talking about fixed gear bikes here...

I was talking about the long pull lever not the inline. The bmx is a better option then the inline too though. No drag issues and more leverage depending on which you choose.

Ah yes, that makes far more sense.

Paul just came out with a nice looking lever just for us....



https://paulcomp.com/index.html

$50 for a pretty ****ty lever with a cool brand name **** yeah.

Is it *****ty? Has anyone actually ridden with one? I was thinking about one, but as dutret already mentioned, the price is pretty ****ty.

It has a crappy adjustment screw and no hinged clamp. It doesn't look comfortable to squeeze with more then one finger. Clearly this is a style issue as well but no short pull brake works all that well with one finger so it is a practical one too. Unacceptable as far as I'm concerned for such an obscenely expensive little brake.

You don't mention what bars you are using.. If you are using road bars, BMX and Mtn levers have a smaller clamp diameter than road bars.

Im using a Real Products mtb lever with an old Campy brake and it works fine

I'm kinda dissappointed nobody has turned this into a "brakes are stupid anyway" post lol

I have liked the Salsa in-line lever I am using pretty well. It does not have quite the feel of an aero lever, but it works well and has a hinged clamp (a big plus for a compulsive bar swapper like me).

Here is a Nashbar inline lever stripped an polished.

I talked to some guy at Nashbar and he said those levers had to be used inline and wouldn't work by themselves.

he lied.

don't listen to Nashbar tech people...They don't know what they are talking about. Any inline lever will work by itself just fine. I have three bikes set up with inline levers....