Olof Stroh wrote:
>
>I ride my bikes with traditional non-aero levers, Superbes and
>Triomphes. I reach them from the drops, I can squeeze them
>easily from above just stretching a couple of fingers over them.
>No problem.
>
>But my wife is a lot shorter than I am. She is well trained, but her
>hands are nonetheless smaller and weaker. The NRs on her
>beloved Colnago Super didn´t suit her.
They don't suit me, either, and I'm a big guy with long fingers.
Never could stand the older Campag brakes, they are not good for
people who don't have strong hands, not enough mechanical advantage.
>Not from the tops, nor
>from the drops. But she is a strong rider, uses frequently all
>positions of her drop bars,she wouldn´t be well served by a
>"hybrid" with straight bars and high position, she wants and takes
>advantage of a first class road bike.
>
>We have - shame - installed Shimano death grips. They are cheap
>and I have looked upon such paraphernalia with a very lifted nose,
>but they function well and are quite easy to install with full braking
>power (using NR calipers). Comfortable to use and her position
>braking is still more balanced than on the usual utility bike when
>braking hard.
>
>Having found this: are they really so bad? Properly made and
>installed? What is a rider in her position to do? (Granted, we
>have got smaller aero Dia-Compes from fellow list member Mark
>Koepke, are yet to try these, but the question still remains).
>Try the Dia-Compes, she'll never want to go back. You say she "uses
>frequently all
positions of her drop bars," but I doubt it if she has extension
levers...does she _really_ use the top-of-the-hoods position with the
hardware pressing into her thumb joint? For most properly fitted
riders using drop bars, this is the primary cruising position.
Any "aero" type lever is a huge improvement over the old exposed-cable units, though Shimano is notably superior to Dia-Compe. (I shouldn't say "any"...the first puropose-built "aero" levers I ever owned were some horrible plastic Modolo things with a sharp "aero" edge that cut into my fingers almost like a knife!)
Before "aero" levers were on the market, I used to use traditional Weinmann levers with the cables rigged upside down, so they came out the bottom. I learned this cool trick from Col. John Vanderpoel, a legendary local cyclist.
Sheldon "No Cables In The Way Of My Handlebar Bag" Brown
Newtonville, Massachusetts
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