vintage 600 brake lever hoods?

maxo <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

The dia-comp generic hoods on my lovely circa 78-9 Shimano 600 levers
are splitting--though still quite nice and rubbery. They never fit
well in the first place--though they feel fine in hand, just look odd.
The rubber hangs too far over the lever.

I'm thinking about a replacement--I'm sure I could modify some of
those old dia-comp type hoods to sorta fit with an exacto knife--but
curious if something else might fit better.

I could also just grab a pair of cheapie Tektro levers for fifteen
bucks and be done with it--but I do love the drilled look of the old
600s (I can lock a wheel from the hoods, so they function just fine).
Have also peeked at the Cane Creek scr-5s (made by tektro) which are
campy ergo minus the shifter clones--they look quite nice too--but it
seems silly to replace the entire lever for want of hood.

Anybody know if modolo hoods fit these or did Shimano have strictly
their own hood shape?

My 600EX levers (2nd generation, ca. 1984 or so) are Campy clones. I
picked up some generic hoods from LooseScrews.com and they worked great.

That said, the 1st gen ones you have look like the hoods are a cross
between Dia-Compe and Campy. I have a feeling that your idea to get Dia-
Compes and cut off the excess rubber is probably your best bet. I think
if you went with Campy clones (or Modolos) you'd leave about a quarter-
inch of aluminum from the lever body exposed.

I saw this thread at Bikeforums.net
http://www.bikeforums.net/archive/index.php/t-85985.html
and this guy, doing a restoration of his (1st gen) 600EX bike wound up
finding NOS sets of levers more easily than he found hoods. They list
some current ebay auctions for levers w/hoods.

FWIW, I'd go with the Cane Creeks, or their Tektro-branded Ergopower
knockoff brethren (that go for about 10 bucks less than the Cane Creeks,
or only slightly more than the pointy-top Tektros), if only for the
return springs, which make any brakeset feel much snappier.

I was sad to give up out-the-top cable routing, though. They had style,
but were not compatible with cyclocross levers.

-Hank

Hank Wirtz said:

That said, the 1st gen ones you have look like the hoods are a cross
between Dia-Compe and Campy. I have a feeling that your idea to get Dia-
Compes and cut off the excess rubber is probably your best bet. I think if
you went with Campy clones (or Modolos) you'd leave about a quarter- inch
of aluminum from the lever body exposed.

Sounds about right--the dia-compe clones are pretty cheap--I'm not going
to want to spend fifty bucks on some Campy rubber that *might* fit

Quoted message said:

FWIW, I'd go with the Cane Creeks, or their Tektro-branded Ergopower
knockoff brethren (that go for about 10 bucks less than the Cane Creeks,
or only slightly more than the pointy-top Tektros), if only for the
return springs, which make any brakeset feel much snappier.

Yeah those Tektro "Ergopower" clones sure look comfy. I don't have a
problem with mushy return though--part of the beauty of great cable
routing and quality cables.

Seems they would add a virtual inch to the height of the hood riding
position since they appear to mount higher up on the bar compared to
traditional levers.

Quoted message said:

I was sad to give up out-the-top cable routing, though. They had style,
but were not compatible with cyclocross levers.

Yup, it's a style issue--I do love the loops coming out the tops for some
reason. :P I also like how the drilling looks. Wonder if they did that to
save weight or just to be stylish?

Here's the levers btw:
http://photos17.flickr.com/20772845_1ede4a8bf2_o.jpg

maxo said:

The dia-comp generic hoods on my lovely circa 78-9 Shimano 600 levers are
splitting--though still quite nice and rubbery. They never fit well in the
first place--though they feel fine in hand, just look odd. The rubber
hangs too far over the lever.

... Have also peeked
at the Cane Creek scr-5s (made by tektro) which are campy ergo minus the
shifter clones--they look quite nice too--but it seems silly to replace
the entire lever for want of hood.

Not as silly as you might suppose!

Upgrading to those levers would result in a MAJOR improvement in braking
on your bike, especially while riding on top of the hoods.

See: http://sheldonbrown.com/gloss_aa-l.html#aerobrake for a detailed
explanation.

http://harriscyclery.com/brakes

Sheldon "Aero" Brown
+--------------------------------------------------+
| Take sides! Always take sides! |
| You will sometimes be wrong--but the man who |
| refuses to take sides must _always_ be wrong. |
| Heaven save us from poltroons who fear |
| to make a choice. --Robert A. Heinlein |
+--------------------------------------------------+
Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts
Phone 617-244-9772 FAX 617-244-1041
http://harriscyclery.com
Hard-to-find parts shipped Worldwide
http://captainbike.com http://sheldonbrown.com

Sheldon Brown said:

Upgrading to those levers would result in a MAJOR improvement in braking
on your bike, especially while riding on top of the hoods.

I can already lock the brakes at will from the hoods--does this
"improvement" involve doing a really [censored]' endo? :P

I'm aware of the mechanical advantage, so it *might* be worth it to make
the braking feel lighter.

maxo said:

I can already lock the brakes at will from the hoods--does this
"improvement" involve doing a really [censored]' endo? :P

I'm aware of the mechanical advantage, so it *might* be worth it to make
the braking feel lighter.

Yeah, but you are ignoring the "baguettes" issue.

Bob said:

maxo said:

I can already lock the brakes at will from the hoods--does this
"improvement" involve doing a really [censored]' endo? :P

I'm aware of the mechanical advantage, so it *might* be worth it to make
the braking feel lighter.

Yeah, but you are ignoring the "baguettes" issue.

The fact that I "get" that comment makes me feel uber-cool. LOL

Good for carrying golf umbrellas too!

In article <[email hidden]>,
Hank Wirtz <[email hidden]> wrote:

[...]

Quoted message said:

I was sad to give up out-the-top cable routing, though. They had style,
but were not compatible with cyclocross levers.

I was too until I felt the relief of not having to avoid the
cables when moving my hands around; both riding and at rest. Now I
prefer it. Still, for a modern bicycle, it resembles the older
style very much.

--
Michael Press

Michael Press <[email hidden]> wrote in news:jack-18161C.01015504082005
@newssvr14-ext.news.prodigy.com:

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>,
Hank Wirtz <[email hidden]> wrote:

[...]

Quoted message said:

I was sad to give up out-the-top cable routing, though. They had style,
but were not compatible with cyclocross levers.

I was too until I felt the relief of not having to avoid the
cables when moving my hands around; both riding and at rest. Now I
prefer it. Still, for a modern bicycle, it resembles the older
style very much.

I hear you. That's one of the many reasons I decided on Ergopower rather
than STI.

(The main reason was that putting something non-European on a 30-year old
Peugeot seemed heretical.)

-Hank

Sheldon Brown said:

Not as silly as you might suppose!

Upgrading to those levers would result in a MAJOR improvement in braking
on your bike, especially while riding on top of the hoods.

Well, I didn't feel like throwing $40 at my brakes so I checked to see if
the Cane Creek SCR5s were available branded as Tektros.

Sure enough my PFABS (pretty far away bike shop, Allanti in Brentwood TN)
was able to get a set of Tektro R200A's for $25. Can't beat that--and the
hoods don't have those annoying "lizard bumps".

So if you're looking for excellent levers sans shifters and for
cheeep--have your LBS order some. 🙂

Here they are at Lickbike--at a fair 26.95:
lickbike.comproductpage.aspxOpen ↗

Harris has the Cane Creeks if you like the lizard bumps on the hoods. 😄