Which Brake Levers Do I Need?

[blown240]

On my Klunker build I am going to have a Disc brake in the front, and a drum brake in the rear.

I know that I need a brake lever for V-brake/disc for the front, but will that work on the drum, or do I need a canti style lever for the drum?

 

[Schwinnspastic]

Schwinn had specific levers for drum brakes that have an offset pivot and a long pull, I prefer to use a lever for motorcycle drum brakes. They have a long pull and a long lever and can be had dirt cheap at a cycle salvage, that's what I'm running on my Klunker build .
Mark

 

[Bicycle808]

Which drum are you running out back?

 

[RustySprockets]

There's always this little doohickey that permits the use of short-pull road levers with long-pull V-brakes. It's called a "travel agent." I would think that the long levers would work with anything...but maybe TOO well.

 

[blown240]

It's an Atom drum brake. I ordered some long pull. Hopefully they will work!

Thanks for the Replies!

 

[clamdigger]

http://bikesmithdesign.com/tips/drum-brakes.html

 

[blown240]

Thanks for the link clamdigger!

 

[Bicycle808]

While we have a tendency to think of all brake levers as being either "short pull" or "long pull", in reality there is some gray area in between. Modern road levers, for instance, pull a lot less than vintage upright levers designed for single-pivot rim calipers. Vintage motorcycle levers for use with cables pull more than either. I've found that drums seem to work well with early 4-finger mtb levers (FWIW, Alan Bonds suggests motorcycle levers, much like @Schwinnspastic does above), designed for use with canti brakes; newer road levers for dropbars don't work as well... that little extra bit of pull is a good thing. But the long-pull levers designed for v-brakes and most cable-actuated discs, they're intended to pull a lot of cable, and they didn't really exist in the pedal-bike world until direct-pull brakes hit the scene (late 80s/early 90s)... So, long-pull brake levers will probably do very well in terms of stopping the bike, but i'd expect them to lead to some noise, and premature wear/destruction of the actuator arm and possibly the brake plate. Basically, by the time you've pulled the lever halfway thru it's arc, you'll already have maxed out the brake, and the rest of the pull will go towards bending break components.

 

[clamdigger]

My "go to" levers are the Avid Speed Dial under $19 a pair shipped. ( amazon , pricepoint) . Has anyone used these for this drum brake ?

 

[user 135]

Speed dials are nice because you can adjust the pull. I also like them lots.