strange Dia-Compe aero brake levers

I picked up a pair of Dia-compe aero brake levers at a garage sale
today. Now that I have them home, I am wondering what it is I really
bought.

The hoods and clamp look normal- black rubber, embossed R or L on one
side, Dia-compe on the other.

The levers look fine until you get to the pivot area.. There is a
black plastic semi-circle that wraps around the top a bit, held in
place by a small allen bolt. This bolt bottoms out before the plastic
piece is held still, so I wonder if there is a piece missing. The top
of the bolt has an unthreaded section, and it looks like a washer
(quick release lever??) would fit into a recess in the plastic piece.

This bolt also captures a large aluminum block that has a recess at
the top edge for the cable mushroom and a slot of the cable to go
through a hole in the base of the body.

This block pivots (when the bolt isn't holding it in place) around a
point about 3/4 inch beyond the lever pivot point.

At the pivot point there i a small set screw holding the axle (?) in
place.

The allen bolt for the clamp is tucked underneath the pivot point, and
it looks as if I will need to remove the lever in order to clamp the
body to the handlebars.

Any ideas? I have searched for photos/descriptions, etc. of Dia-Compe
levers but see nothing that looks similar. Are these usable as
standard aero brake levers on a road bike, or are they specifically
designed for another use?

Thanks for any help.

Sounds like you have 287 V brake levers which pull more cable. Good for V
brakes and some canti's.

Seems to me that when used with road calipers you lose modulation.

Gary Jacobson
Rosendale, NY

"Dan Daniel" wrote in message
...
I picked up a pair of Dia-compe aero brake levers at a garage sale
today. Now that I have them home, I am wondering what it is I really
bought.

The hoods and clamp look normal- black rubber, embossed R or L on one
side, Dia-compe on the other.

The levers look fine until you get to the pivot area.. There is a
black plastic semi-circle that wraps around the top a bit, held in
place by a small allen bolt. This bolt bottoms out before the plastic
piece is held still, so I wonder if there is a piece missing. The top
of the bolt has an unthreaded section, and it looks like a washer
(quick release lever??) would fit into a recess in the plastic piece.

This bolt also captures a large aluminum block that has a recess at
the top edge for the cable mushroom and a slot of the cable to go
through a hole in the base of the body.

This block pivots (when the bolt isn't holding it in place) around a
point about 3/4 inch beyond the lever pivot point.

At the pivot point there i a small set screw holding the axle (?) in
place.

The allen bolt for the clamp is tucked underneath the pivot point, and
it looks as if I will need to remove the lever in order to clamp the
body to the handlebars.

Any ideas? I have searched for photos/descriptions, etc. of Dia-Compe
levers but see nothing that looks similar. Are these usable as
standard aero brake levers on a road bike, or are they specifically
designed for another use?

Thanks for any help.

Sounds like you have 287 V brake levers which pull more cable. Good for V
brakes and some canti's.

Seems to me that when used with road calipers you lose modulation.

Gary Jacobson
Rosendale, NY

"Dan Daniel" wrote in message
...
I picked up a pair of Dia-compe aero brake levers at a garage sale
today. Now that I have them home, I am wondering what it is I really
bought.

The hoods and clamp look normal- black rubber, embossed R or L on one
side, Dia-compe on the other.

The levers look fine until you get to the pivot area.. There is a
black plastic semi-circle that wraps around the top a bit, held in
place by a small allen bolt. This bolt bottoms out before the plastic
piece is held still, so I wonder if there is a piece missing. The top
of the bolt has an unthreaded section, and it looks like a washer
(quick release lever??) would fit into a recess in the plastic piece.

This bolt also captures a large aluminum block that has a recess at
the top edge for the cable mushroom and a slot of the cable to go
through a hole in the base of the body.

This block pivots (when the bolt isn't holding it in place) around a
point about 3/4 inch beyond the lever pivot point.

At the pivot point there i a small set screw holding the axle (?) in
place.

The allen bolt for the clamp is tucked underneath the pivot point, and
it looks as if I will need to remove the lever in order to clamp the
body to the handlebars.

Any ideas? I have searched for photos/descriptions, etc. of Dia-Compe
levers but see nothing that looks similar. Are these usable as
standard aero brake levers on a road bike, or are they specifically
designed for another use?

Thanks for any help.

On Mon, 26 Apr 2004 00:53:49 GMT, "Gary Jacobson"
wrote:

Sounds like you have 287 V brake levers which pull more cable. Good for V
brakes and some canti's.

Seems to me that when used with road calipers you lose modulation.

Gary Jacobson
Rosendale, NY


OK, found them. The first couple of places I went for the 287-v had
the wrong picture.

Any idea if they will work with dual pivot brakes?

How about side pull brakes? I have an old pair of 105 standard reach
brakes that will fit on the bike.

On Mon, 26 Apr 2004 00:53:49 GMT, "Gary Jacobson"
wrote:

Sounds like you have 287 V brake levers which pull more cable. Good for V
brakes and some canti's.

Seems to me that when used with road calipers you lose modulation.

Gary Jacobson
Rosendale, NY


OK, found them. The first couple of places I went for the 287-v had
the wrong picture.

Any idea if they will work with dual pivot brakes?

How about side pull brakes? I have an old pair of 105 standard reach
brakes that will fit on the bike.

I looked at photos on the web too, even though I have two pairs, and it
could be that there is a newer cleaner looking version. Or maybe the photos
I saw where the older cleaner looking version. I think that these extra
cable pull levers were once called 287 and the "V" came later when V brakes
became popular.

There's a spring in the lever which seems to easily break.
Just broke one yesterday, and a used set I bought had a broken spring. Not a
big deal if tension in the caliper spring is good. But I wish I could find
replacement springs anyway.

Gary Jacobson
Rosendale, NY

Gary Jacobson
Rosendale, NY


"Dan Daniel" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 26 Apr 2004 00:53:49 GMT, "Gary Jacobson"
wrote:

Sounds like you have 287 V brake levers which pull more cable. Good for V
brakes and some canti's.

Seems to me that when used with road calipers you lose modulation.

Gary Jacobson
Rosendale, NY


OK, found them. The first couple of places I went for the 287-v had
the wrong picture.

Any idea if they will work with dual pivot brakes?

How about side pull brakes? I have an old pair of 105 standard reach
brakes that will fit on the bike.

I looked at photos on the web too, even though I have two pairs, and it
could be that there is a newer cleaner looking version. Or maybe the photos
I saw where the older cleaner looking version. I think that these extra
cable pull levers were once called 287 and the "V" came later when V brakes
became popular.

There's a spring in the lever which seems to easily break.
Just broke one yesterday, and a used set I bought had a broken spring. Not a
big deal if tension in the caliper spring is good. But I wish I could find
replacement springs anyway.

Gary Jacobson
Rosendale, NY

Gary Jacobson
Rosendale, NY


"Dan Daniel" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 26 Apr 2004 00:53:49 GMT, "Gary Jacobson"
wrote:

Sounds like you have 287 V brake levers which pull more cable. Good for V
brakes and some canti's.

Seems to me that when used with road calipers you lose modulation.

Gary Jacobson
Rosendale, NY


OK, found them. The first couple of places I went for the 287-v had
the wrong picture.

Any idea if they will work with dual pivot brakes?

How about side pull brakes? I have an old pair of 105 standard reach
brakes that will fit on the bike.

On Mon, 26 Apr 2004 02:04:50 GMT, "Gary Jacobson"
wrote:

I looked at photos on the web too, even though I have two pairs, and it
could be that there is a newer cleaner looking version. Or maybe the photos
I saw where the older cleaner looking version. I think that these extra
cable pull levers were once called 287 and the "V" came later when V brakes
became popular.

There's a spring in the lever which seems to easily break.
Just broke one yesterday, and a used set I bought had a broken spring. Not a
big deal if tension in the caliper spring is good. But I wish I could find
replacement springs anyway.

Gary Jacobson
Rosendale, NY


Thanks for the help.

If the levers won't do much with dual or single pivot side pulls, I
might have a pair for sale very cheap With working springs in
each!

On Mon, 26 Apr 2004 02:04:50 GMT, "Gary Jacobson"
wrote:

I looked at photos on the web too, even though I have two pairs, and it
could be that there is a newer cleaner looking version. Or maybe the photos
I saw where the older cleaner looking version. I think that these extra
cable pull levers were once called 287 and the "V" came later when V brakes
became popular.

There's a spring in the lever which seems to easily break.
Just broke one yesterday, and a used set I bought had a broken spring. Not a
big deal if tension in the caliper spring is good. But I wish I could find
replacement springs anyway.

Gary Jacobson
Rosendale, NY


Thanks for the help.

If the levers won't do much with dual or single pivot side pulls, I
might have a pair for sale very cheap With working springs in
each!

On Sun, 25 Apr 2004 19:11:05 -0700, Dan Daniel wrote:

If the levers won't do much with dual or single pivot side pulls, I
might have a pair for sale very cheap With working springs in
each!

If these are the "V" levers (that is not entirely clear, there is a
similar non-V lever that will work fine on most sidepulls), then don't
sell them too cheaply. They are fairly expensive (around $40-$50 if
memory serves) and much in demand.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | We have a record of conquest, colonization and expansion
_`\(,_ | unequaled by any people in the Nineteenth Century. We are not to
(_)/ (_) | be curbed now. --Henry Cabot Lodge, 1895