Non Aero brake levers

I'm sort of hankering to revamp one of my Bangkok bikes to a "classic"
style and I'm looking for non aero brake levers for conventional drop
road bike bars.

I find that apparently Dia-Compe is now making them and I also see
reference to Shimano BL-Z304A levers which I think are NOS as I've
never seen them listed at a Shimano sales site.

I also believe I might have seen a set of either Dia-Compe or a
look-alike at the last TOT bike swap meet but the ones I saw
incorporated the "L" shaped levers that allow braking with the hands
on the center of he bars.

Anyone using non aero brakes and can advise the best place to look?
--
cheers,

John B.

On 12/27/2016 6:07 AM, John B. wrote:

I'm sort of hankering to revamp one of my Bangkok bikes to a "classic"
style and I'm looking for non aero brake levers for conventional drop
road bike bars.

I find that apparently Dia-Compe is now making them and I also see
reference to Shimano BL-Z304A levers which I think are NOS as I've
never seen them listed at a Shimano sales site.

I also believe I might have seen a set of either Dia-Compe or a
look-alike at the last TOT bike swap meet but the ones I saw
incorporated the "L" shaped levers that allow braking with the hands
on the center of he bars.

Anyone using non aero brakes and can advise the best place to look?


The GranCompe/SOMA lever is nicely done and replacement
covers are a common (available, cheap to expensive range)
pattern. Shimano's Z series from the mid-1980s is OK but
replacement covers are rare and nothing else fits.

That said, a walk through a bike club swap meet or to a used
bicycle shop may well turn up some classic levers.

The bulk of Saf-Tee levers from the 1960s though 1990s suck
in every way. If you want top of bars braking, try modern
'interrupter' levers which are cheap and ubiquitous. They
work well:
http://www.yellowjersey.org/rlcrslev.jpg
(ignore the word 'new' in that old photo)

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org/
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

On Tue, 27 Dec 2016 08:37:12 -0600, AMuzi wrote:

On 12/27/2016 6:07 AM, John B. wrote:

I'm sort of hankering to revamp one of my Bangkok bikes to a "classic"
style and I'm looking for non aero brake levers for conventional drop
road bike bars.

I find that apparently Dia-Compe is now making them and I also see
reference to Shimano BL-Z304A levers which I think are NOS as I've
never seen them listed at a Shimano sales site.

I also believe I might have seen a set of either Dia-Compe or a
look-alike at the last TOT bike swap meet but the ones I saw
incorporated the "L" shaped levers that allow braking with the hands
on the center of he bars.

Anyone using non aero brakes and can advise the best place to look?


The GranCompe/SOMA lever is nicely done and replacement
covers are a common (available, cheap to expensive range)
pattern. Shimano's Z series from the mid-1980s is OK but
replacement covers are rare and nothing else fits.

That said, a walk through a bike club swap meet or to a used
bicycle shop may well turn up some classic levers.

The bulk of Saf-Tee levers from the 1960s though 1990s suck
in every way. If you want top of bars braking, try modern
'interrupter' levers which are cheap and ubiquitous. They
work well:
http://www.yellowjersey.org/rlcrslev.jpg
(ignore the word 'new' in that old photo)

I should have been more explicit. I didn't want the so called safety
levers, thus didn't buy the levers I saw that incorporated them :-)

What I am looking for is something similar to the Dia Compe Gran Compe
202 levers but $50 a set, with shipping, seemed a bit high. But I
suppose I am being a bit stingy.
--
cheers,

John B.