A Cycling & bikes forum. CycleBanter.com

Go Back   Home » CycleBanter.com forum » rec.bicycles » Techniques
Site Map Home Register Authors List Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read Web Partners

Brake Lever Return Springs or No



 
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old April 4th 05, 04:09 AM
Paul Kopit
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Brake Lever Return Springs or No

Campy Ergo levers have no return spring in the lever and Shimano
levers are sprung.

Would using a Shimano or other sprung lever with Campy brake arches
make any difference in actual brake function or feel of the brakes?
My preference is to have very solid feeling brakes.

Right now, I'm using Cane Creek SRC 5 brake levers with DA 7403 brakes
and I want to sell those and switch to Campy Chorus, front and rear,
dual pivot brakes. The 7403s look and work great but they are worth
more to others than I. The preference for Campy in this case is
subjective only.
Ads
  #2  
Old April 4th 05, 07:04 AM
Phil, Squid-in-Training
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Paul Kopit wrote:
Campy Ergo levers have no return spring in the lever and Shimano
levers are sprung.

Would using a Shimano or other sprung lever with Campy brake arches
make any difference in actual brake function or feel of the brakes?
My preference is to have very solid feeling brakes.

Right now, I'm using Cane Creek SRC 5 brake levers with DA 7403 brakes
and I want to sell those and switch to Campy Chorus, front and rear,
dual pivot brakes. The 7403s look and work great but they are worth
more to others than I. The preference for Campy in this case is
subjective only.


If you keep your cables and housing clean and friction-free, you should have
nothing to worry about. If anything, having an unsprung lever will increase
your ease of braking. I keep my MTB caliper spring tension just to the
point where the brakes will fully retract, and this allows fine-tuned
modulation.

Beginner riders will want to feel smooth, yet firm-to-pull brake levers on a
new bike because they "feel" stronger when in fact they are directly
reversing the forces they really want.
--
Phil, Squid-in-Training



  #3  
Old April 4th 05, 01:47 PM
Qui si parla Campagnolo
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Paul Kopit wrote:
Campy Ergo levers have no return spring in the lever and Shimano
levers are sprung.

Would using a Shimano or other sprung lever with Campy brake arches
make any difference in actual brake function or feel of the brakes?
My preference is to have very solid feeling brakes.


It will make the lever pull a wee bit harder but a very small amount.
Using sprung levers with Campag calipers will work fine.

Right now, I'm using Cane Creek SRC 5 brake levers with DA 7403 brakes
and I want to sell those and switch to Campy Chorus, front and rear,
dual pivot brakes. The 7403s look and work great but they are worth
more to others than I. The preference for Campy in this case is
subjective only.

  #4  
Old April 4th 05, 03:16 PM
James Thomson
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

"Paul Kopit" wrote:

Campy Ergo levers have no return spring in the lever and
Shimano levers are sprung.


[snip]

The brake lever of a Campag Ergo doesn't have its own spring, but the shift
lever below it is sprung. The brake lever presses on the shift lever, and
the shift lever's spring acts as the return spring for the brake lever.

James Thomson


  #5  
Old April 4th 05, 06:33 PM
Zog The Undeniable
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Paul Kopit wrote:

Campy Ergo levers have no return spring in the lever and Shimano
levers are sprung.

Would using a Shimano or other sprung lever with Campy brake arches
make any difference in actual brake function or feel of the brakes?
My preference is to have very solid feeling brakes.

Right now, I'm using Cane Creek SRC 5 brake levers with DA 7403 brakes
and I want to sell those and switch to Campy Chorus, front and rear,
dual pivot brakes. The 7403s look and work great but they are worth
more to others than I. The preference for Campy in this case is
subjective only.


Not a problem. I've used an old Weinmann non-sprung lever with a 105
dual-pivot and it felt, if anything, nicer than with a 105 lever. This
was just a front brake, however - a rear brake with full-length housing
might cause sufficient friction to stick.
  #6  
Old April 5th 05, 02:07 PM
Qui si parla Campagnolo
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

James Thomson wrote:



[snip]

The brake lever of a Campag Ergo doesn't have its own spring, but the shift
lever below it is sprung. The brake lever presses on the shift lever, and
the shift lever's spring acts as the return spring for the brake lever.

James Thomson



All correct but that spring, altho it may have a small affect on brake
lever pull force, is really to ensure the shift lever is 'out' after
braking.
  #7  
Old April 6th 05, 01:53 AM
Luns Tee
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

In article 42517921.0@entanet,
Zog The Undeniable wrote:
Not a problem. I've used an old Weinmann non-sprung lever with a 105
dual-pivot and it felt, if anything, nicer than with a 105 lever. This
was just a front brake, however - a rear brake with full-length housing
might cause sufficient friction to stick.


I took the springs out of my Shimano brake levers, front and
rear. They may make the brakes feel more 'solid' to some people, but I
find this reminiscent of putting a weaker return spring on a car's gas
pedal then believing the car is more powerful.

If the cable friction is too much for the caliper return
spring to overcome, something is wrong. Address the problem, don't
cover it up with a spring at the lever.

The only reason I can see for the springs to exist is to give
braking some immunity from shifter activity when both functions are
combined in the same lever. I get complete immunity by doing my gear
shifting at the downtube instead.

-Luns

 




Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Setting up a double brake lever: Mark Janeba Techniques 8 January 6th 05 04:39 AM
bar top brake lever installation Fred Hall General 14 August 17th 04 10:27 PM
Hayes Hydro Brake Lever Pivot servicing question ZeeExSixAre Mountain Biking 7 April 12th 04 04:11 AM
Brake lever options Tim Hall UK 6 September 15th 03 11:38 AM
ICYCLES Inventory List ICYCLES Marketplace 0 July 26th 03 08:25 PM


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 09:42 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.6.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004-2024 CycleBanter.com.
The comments are property of their posters.