Long Brake Levers
 

On my DaHon Speed TR folder, it had brake levers, branded DaHon with a
longer handle than other levers I've seen, about 1" longer. One of the
levers broke in half and I haven't been able to find a suitable replacement.

DaHon was no help in getting a replacement, ever since Pete Mole passed
away the company has been in decline in the U.S..

I replaced both of the levers with
https://www.bikenashbar.com/cycling/nashbar-deluxe-mountain-bike-brake-levers-ns-adbl-base
but the levers are too short.

Where can I find longer brake levers?

Long Brake Levers
 

On Tue, 20 Mar 2018 13:45:06 -0700, sms
wrote:

On my DaHon Speed TR folder, it had brake levers, branded DaHon with a
longer handle than other levers I've seen, about 1" longer. One of the
levers broke in half and I haven't been able to find a suitable replacement.

DaHon was no help in getting a replacement, ever since Pete Mole passed
away the company has been in decline in the U.S..

I replaced both of the levers with
https://www.bikenashbar.com/cycling/nashbar-deluxe-mountain-bike-brake-levers-ns-adbl-base
but the levers are too short.

Where can I find longer brake levers?

Amazon lists some that are called "4 finger" levers. Qikour is one
maker. $15.80 a set.
--
Cheers,

John B.

Long Brake Levers
 

On 21/03/18 06:37, John B. wrote:
On Tue, 20 Mar 2018 13:45:06 -0700, sms
wrote:

On my DaHon Speed TR folder, it had brake levers, branded DaHon with a
longer handle than other levers I've seen, about 1" longer. One of the
levers broke in half and I haven't been able to find a suitable replacement.

DaHon was no help in getting a replacement, ever since Pete Mole passed
away the company has been in decline in the U.S..

I replaced both of the levers with
https://www.bikenashbar.com/cycling/nashbar-deluxe-mountain-bike-brake-levers-ns-adbl-base
but the levers are too short.

Where can I find longer brake levers?

Amazon lists some that are called "4 finger" levers. Qikour is one
maker. $15.80 a set.

4 finger is longest I've seen these days, but be careful, mileage varies
and some are closer to 3 than 4.

Long Brake Levers
 

On 21/03/18 07:05, Tosspot wrote:
On 21/03/18 06:37, John B. wrote:
On Tue, 20 Mar 2018 13:45:06 -0700, sms
wrote:

On my DaHon Speed TR folder, it had brake levers, branded DaHon with a
longer handle than other levers I've seen, about 1" longer. One of the
levers broke in half and I haven't been able to find a suitable
replacement.

DaHon was no help in getting a replacement, ever since Pete Mole passed
away the company has been in decline in the U.S..

I replaced both of the levers with
https://www.bikenashbar.com/cycling/nashbar-deluxe-mountain-bike-brake-levers-ns-adbl-base

but the levers are too short.

Where can I find longer brake levers?

Amazon lists some that are called "4 finger" levers. Qikour is one
maker. $15.80 a set.

4 finger is longest I've seen these days, but be careful, mileage varies
and some are closer to 3 than 4.

bad form
E.g.

https://www.amazon.com/XLC-brake-lev.../dp/B000NUIHV6

Long Brake Levers
 

On Tue, 20 Mar 2018 13:45:06 -0700, sms
wrote:

On my DaHon Speed TR folder, it had brake levers, branded DaHon with a
longer handle than other levers I've seen, about 1" longer. One of the
levers broke in half and I haven't been able to find a suitable replacement.

No clue on a replacement, but if you still have the remains of the old
lever, it can be repaired in various ways. I had one I fixed by
drilling both sides of the break. On the thick side, I drilled it for
an interference fit for a roll pin. On the other side, I drilled it
loosely because it's very difficult to get the holes aligned on the
same centerline. I then filled the hole and mating surfaces with
structural epoxy and allowed to harden for over 24 hrs. I'll see if I
can find it and take a photo. However, there's not much to see. Just
a crack that goes around the lever.

Another way is to TIG weld the two pieces together. I haven't done
this, but have seen the results. If it's done professionally, it
should look good and hold together quite nicely. You'll probably need
to know the Al alloy. My guess(tm) is forged 6061-T6.



--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

Long Brake Levers
 

On Wed, 21 Mar 2018 07:05:36 +0100, Tosspot
wrote:

4 finger is longest I've seen these days, but be careful, mileage varies
and some are closer to 3 than 4.

Now that is weird. Thanks to two engineers and a Dremel Moto-Tool, I
have child-size brake levers on my bike, and I can put six fingers on
the lever. (Not while riding, of course.)

How things can change in only thirty or forty years.

--
joy beeson at comcast dot net
http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/
The above message is a Usenet post.
I don't recall having given anyone permission to use it on a Web site.

Long Brake Levers
 

On 3/21/2018 6:41 PM, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
On Tue, 20 Mar 2018 13:45:06 -0700, sms
wrote:

On my DaHon Speed TR folder, it had brake levers, branded DaHon with a
longer handle than other levers I've seen, about 1" longer. One of the
levers broke in half and I haven't been able to find a suitable replacement.

No clue on a replacement, but if you still have the remains of the old
lever, it can be repaired in various ways. I had one I fixed by
drilling both sides of the break. On the thick side, I drilled it for
an interference fit for a roll pin. On the other side, I drilled it
loosely because it's very difficult to get the holes aligned on the
same centerline. I then filled the hole and mating surfaces with
structural epoxy and allowed to harden for over 24 hrs. I'll see if I
can find it and take a photo. However, there's not much to see. Just
a crack that goes around the lever.

Another way is to TIG weld the two pieces together. I haven't done
this, but have seen the results. If it's done professionally, it
should look good and hold together quite nicely. You'll probably need
to know the Al alloy. My guess(tm) is forged 6061-T6.

That probably sounds terribly risky to some people, as in "But what if
the lever breaks at the repair???"

But in any normal use, the force on a brake lever is quite small. A
strong person can bend many designs fairly easily. I did that on the
levers on my wife's touring bike, to better fit her smaller grip. They
don't have to be super-strong because you'd go over the bars if you
squeezed too hard.


--
- Frank Krygowski

Long Brake Levers
 

On Wed, 21 Mar 2018 21:20:19 -0400, Frank Krygowski
wrote:

That probably sounds terribly risky to some people, as in "But what if
the lever breaks at the repair???"

I'm sure the TIG welding will hold together if there's sufficient
penetration. The epoxy glue job is a bit risky depending on
temperature. The difference between the coefficients of thermal
expansion for aluminum at 23 PPM/C and epoxy[1] at 95 PPM/C could
easily tear apart the glue joint when hot or cold.

Looks like Masterbond has several low CTE range epoxies:
https://www.masterbond.com/properties/epoxies-low-coefficient-thermal-expansion
which are a bit too low but should work. If that's too much work,
just mix in some powdered aluminum into the epoxy mix, and it should
bring the CTE of the epoxy down a little. If that's still to much
work, use the largest diameter roll pin as possible.

But in any normal use, the force on a brake lever is quite small. A
strong person can bend many designs fairly easily. I did that on the
levers on my wife's touring bike, to better fit her smaller grip. They
don't have to be super-strong because you'd go over the bars if you
squeezed too hard.

Agreed. I don't think grip force is going to bend or break the levers
(under normal use). More likely, impact damage from dropping the
bicycle on the brake levers will break the joint. Epoxy is rather
brittle and will crack before it bends. If that's a problem, a thin
strip of aluminum, glued over the joint, should help protect the glue
joint.

[1] MG Chem 9200 structural epoxy adhesive:
https://www.mouser.com/ds/2/265/tds-9200-2parts-1149953.pdf


--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

Long Brake Levers
 

On Thursday, March 22, 2018 at 12:42:05 AM UTC+1, Joy Beeson wrote:
On Wed, 21 Mar 2018 07:05:36 +0100, Tosspot
wrote:

4 finger is longest I've seen these days, but be careful, mileage varies
and some are closer to 3 than 4.

Now that is weird. Thanks to two engineers and a Dremel Moto-Tool, I
have child-size brake levers on my bike, and I can put six fingers on
the lever. (Not while riding, of course.)

How things can change in only thirty or forty years.

--
joy beeson at comcast dot net
http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/
The above message is a Usenet post.
I don't recall having given anyone permission to use it on a Web site.

Because brakes/cables and housing got so much better that only two fingers are needed to apply enough pressure on the pads to get you over the bars.
Lou

Long Brake Levers
 

On Wed, 21 Mar 2018 21:20:19 -0400, Frank Krygowski
wrote:

On 3/21/2018 6:41 PM, Jeff Liebermann wrote:
On Tue, 20 Mar 2018 13:45:06 -0700, sms
wrote:

On my DaHon Speed TR folder, it had brake levers, branded DaHon with a
longer handle than other levers I've seen, about 1" longer. One of the
levers broke in half and I haven't been able to find a suitable replacement.

No clue on a replacement, but if you still have the remains of the old
lever, it can be repaired in various ways. I had one I fixed by
drilling both sides of the break. On the thick side, I drilled it for
an interference fit for a roll pin. On the other side, I drilled it
loosely because it's very difficult to get the holes aligned on the
same centerline. I then filled the hole and mating surfaces with
structural epoxy and allowed to harden for over 24 hrs. I'll see if I
can find it and take a photo. However, there's not much to see. Just
a crack that goes around the lever.

Another way is to TIG weld the two pieces together. I haven't done
this, but have seen the results. If it's done professionally, it
should look good and hold together quite nicely. You'll probably need
to know the Al alloy. My guess(tm) is forged 6061-T6.

That probably sounds terribly risky to some people, as in "But what if
the lever breaks at the repair???"


If it is 6061-T6 then the proper method of repair would be to anneal
the broken lever; then weld using the appropriate rod; then heat treat
and age harden to the original T-6 strength.

I'm not up on today's costs in the U.S. but I would guess that a
"proper" repair would exceed the cost of a set of new levers :-)

But in any normal use, the force on a brake lever is quite small. A
strong person can bend many designs fairly easily. I did that on the
levers on my wife's touring bike, to better fit her smaller grip. They
don't have to be super-strong because you'd go over the bars if you
squeezed too hard.

I, and I'd guess that most road bike riders, brake using the first two
fingers, which shouldn't break a lever..
--
Cheers,

John B.