BRAKE LEVERS - I got em off... now I need to put em back on!!

[lottafreaks]

My domain is single speed coaster bikes. I'm useless when it comes to hand brakes. I took the bars off a '70s Schwinn Varsity to put on some different ones, and now I can't figure out how to put the brake levers back on. Someone, please explain this to me like I'm a small child.

http://imgur.com/l6BKcZV
http://imgur.com/mtDX8PC

 

[Duchess]

Looks to me like the tabs on the sides of the flat piece fit into the square holes in the sides of the band and the bolt in the brake lever draws the assembly tight against the handlebar.

I don't really know how to talk to small children, but I'll do my best.

1. Insert the tabs of the tapped square piece into the square slots at the open ends of the band.
3. Insert assembly, square piece side first into back of brake lever lined up with the internal bolt in the brake lever (the one facing the viewer in your second photo).
4. Compress the brake lever to access the the head of that bolt and thread the bolt into that square piece just enough to hold it together (the ends of the band should be within the brake lever housing so that the housing will keep the assembly together and the tabs of the square piece should sit within the notches in the brake lever housing).
5. Slip the brake lever onto the handlebar and position it where you want it.
6. Tighten the bolt under the brake lever, which will draw the band assembly into the brake housing and against the handlebar.

 

[lottafreaks]

I was worried I was going to hear that. That's what I tried before giving up and posting here. The square piece doesn't snap into the band at all, and compressing the bare lever to get at that internal bolt is dang near impossible. The job seems to require more hands and eyes than I've got at my disposal.

 

[Wildcat]

I remember dealing with those more than a few times. An extra hand would be a good thing to have. But it can be done after a few tries. It may help to compress the band so the little tab is held in place by the band. Use a thin flat screwdriver to access the bolt might help also.
Coaster brakes are my choice.

 

[Chad T]

Get the band in the lever before you put the lever on the handlebars. Make sure the notches on the nut are angled towards the handlebars. Use the band to hold the nut to get the screw started. Those can be tricky.

 

[RustySprockets]

Duchess has it right. You can pre-assemble the parts off the bike to make things easier--there should be plenty of slack in the band to allow you slide the assembly up from the bar end. The proper placement is to run a straight edge along the bottom of the drop bar--the tip of the lever should be just shy of the straight edge.

 

[deorman]

Those things are kind of a pain (and you know where). Put the band on a handle bar to keep the curved part from collapsing, and squeeze the tab hole area together until the tabbed nut will stay in place, then pre-assemble and slide into position as noted above. There should be (barely) enough space to put a skinny screwdriver in and tighten it.

 

[Duchess]

The proper placement is to run a straight edge along the bottom of the drop bar--the tip of the lever should be just shy of the straight edge.

Interesting. I always try to install mine so that the hoods transition smoothly to the flats, but I spend most of my time on the hoods rather than the hooks because I'm old and my neck has the flexibility of an arthritic statue for anything more than a mile or so at a time. My bars are even at saddle height!

Back to the OP, I now remembered doing these before and it was kind of a pain. I got them on, but ended up replacing them with more ergonomic reach-adjustable modern levers (it was a bike for my sister and she shares a glove size with Trump or something, so it helped her to be able to bring the levers in).

 

[lottafreaks]

With persistence and elbow grease, I was able to do it... and now I'm going to tear the entire bike apart and put new stuff on. I figure it's time to start learning how to take care of bikes with cables and shifters. Thanks to everyone who replied!