brake lever adjustment

On Sun, 5 Sep 2004 20:52:27 -0700, pas <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

I had an epiphany moment on the bike when one of the guys moved the lever
on my front brake so I didn't have to reach with my fingers, wow what a
difference. I'd now like to open the discussion on how to adjust the
levers
for one's own hands. I know how, (what screws, page 128 of Zinn) plus I
got a little lesson from one of the guys. I mean, I was using the tips
of
my left hand fingers, and never realized that was something that couldbe
changed.

Now, I know these rules aren't hard and fast. The suggestion was made
that
when my two fingers are pretty much at a 90 angle, the pads should be a
hairbreadth from touching the rim. I haven't checked yet to see if that's
where I'm at, but I'm sure I'm a lot closer to that than I was before.

Zinn suggests mover the levers closer to the center of the handlebars,
so
you can actually use 1 finger instead of two, what do you think of that?

I'd like to hear anyone's thoughts on adjusting the levers for better
performance and comfort (?) especially if they've done it for small
hands
(Carla?)

Penny

I got size 7 hands, so I think I'm qualified ;-)

The first time I tried the moving the levers in towards the center thing,
was with my DH rig I built. It made a *huge* difference.

Basically, it's a leverage thing. You have much more leverage at the end
the the brake lever than you do towards the middle of it. So the idea is
to engage the brake lever as far at the tip as possible. That's why
levers have a hook at the tip to keep you finger from slipping off
<http://www.balleracing.com/GRC_Levers.htm>

You still might not be able to one-finger it due to hand strength, brake
type, rotor size... etc., but it will still be a big improvement.

--
Slacker

Slacker wrote:> The first time I tried the moving the levers in towards the
center

Quoted message said:

thing, was with my DH rig I built. It made a *huge* difference.

Basically, it's a leverage thing. You have much more leverage at the
end the the brake lever than you do towards the middle of it. So the
idea is to engage the brake lever as far at the tip as possible.
That's why levers have a hook at the tip to keep you finger from
slipping off <http://www.balleracing.com/GRC_Levers.htm>

You still might not be able to one-finger it due to hand strength,
brake type, rotor size... etc., but it will still be a big
improvement.

I understand the leverage thing, and after I wrote the initial post, I
realized I have the rapid fire shifters as a seperate inside deal, so how
far to the center I can move the the brakes is limited. It's more the reach
adjustments I'm interested in... I'm still astounded by how changing that,
bringing them in, affected my braking ability.

penny

Slacker wrote:> The first time I tried the moving the levers in towards the
center

Quoted message said:

thing, was with my DH rig I built. It made a *huge* difference.

Basically, it's a leverage thing. You have much more leverage at the
end the the brake lever than you do towards the middle of it. So the
idea is to engage the brake lever as far at the tip as possible.
That's why levers have a hook at the tip to keep you finger from
slipping off <http://www.balleracing.com/GRC_Levers.htm>

You still might not be able to one-finger it due to hand strength,
brake type, rotor size... etc., but it will still be a big
improvement.

I understand the leverage thing, and after I wrote the initial post, I
realized I have the rapid fire shifters as a seperate inside deal, so how
far to the center I can move the the brakes is limited. It's more the reach
adjustments I'm interested in... I'm still astounded by how changing that,
bringing them in, affected my braking ability.

penny

Quoted message said:

I understand the leverage thing, and after I wrote the initial post, I
realized I have the rapid fire shifters as a seperate inside deal, so how
far to the center I can move the the brakes is limited. It's more the
reach
adjustments I'm interested in... I'm still astounded by how changing
that,
bringing them in, affected my braking ability.

penny

Well, the less you have to work the muscles in your finger/hand, the less
fatigued you'll get, and stronger the pull.

--
Slacker

pas said...

Quoted message said:

I understand the leverage thing, and after I wrote the initial post, I
realized I have the rapid fire shifters as a seperate inside deal, so how
far to the center I can move the the brakes is limited. It's more the reach
adjustments I'm interested in... I'm still astounded by how changing that,
bringing them in, affected my braking ability.

penny

That's an adjustment I've never put much thought into. But I'm always
interested in improving fit and ergonomics. Maybe I'll have to get the
Zinn book after all. I'm lucky in a way, because my incredibly average
dimensions mean that out of the box set-ups are usually workable for me.
But since you mentioned it, I could move the levers a little closer and
probably benefit from it. I also like the shift levers as far inboard as
possible. It seems like most riders, including me until recently, don't
put a lot of effort into fit and ergonomics, but little adjustments can
make a big difference.

"pas" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I had an epiphany moment on the bike when one of the guys moved the lever
on my front brake so I didn't have to reach with my fingers, wow what a
difference. I'd now like to open the discussion on how to adjust the

levers

Quoted message said:

for one's own hands. I know how, (what screws, page 128 of Zinn) plus I
got a little lesson from one of the guys. I mean, I was using the tips of
my left hand fingers, and never realized that was something that could be
changed.

Now, I know these rules aren't hard and fast. The suggestion was made that
when my two fingers are pretty much at a 90 angle, the pads should be a
hairbreadth from touching the rim. I haven't checked yet to see if that's
where I'm at, but I'm sure I'm a lot closer to that than I was before.

Zinn suggests mover the levers closer to the center of the handlebars, so
you can actually use 1 finger instead of two, what do you think of that?

I'd like to hear anyone's thoughts on adjusting the levers for better
performance and comfort (?) especially if they've done it for small hands
(Carla?)

Penny

I've switched to single digit braking after getting disc brakes and it was
ackward at first but worth it.

Single digit makes sense assuming you can generate enough braking power.
The middle finger through your pinkie is the power grip fingers and your
index is your touch finger.

Adjusting your brakes levers higher, horizontal, not pointing down will
also bring fingers closer to the levers.

Sram's new trigger finger, Shimano compatible versions, can be mounted on
either side of the brake lever.

"pas" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I'd like to hear anyone's thoughts on adjusting the levers for better
performance and comfort (?) especially if they've done it for small hands
(Carla?)

Here's a quick trials trick...loosen your brake levers just "very slightly"
enough so they can move on your bars, ride your bike around the
neighbourhood and hit your brakes lightly every once in a while, after
riding around for a bit, your hands will force your brake levers into their
natural position on your handlebars. Once you have dialed in your natural
position of your brakes according to your hands, tighten your levers and
you're ready to ride on...

- CA-G

Can-Am Girls Kick Ass!