[CR]Modifying brake levers??

(Example: Racing:Jean Robic)

Date: Sat, 16 Aug 2003 07:42:29 -0700 (PDT)
From: "Neill Currie" <neill1234@yahoo.com>
To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
Subject: [CR]Modifying brake levers??

Hi A while ago, people would sometimes modify(say) a Record brake lever, non-aero, to make it aero. To accomplish this they would string the cable from the top of the lever body, going down through the body, with the housing coming up through the lever blade. Often a small hole would need to be made in the lever blade to permit the egress/entry of the housing.

My question is: has anyone seen a modification which seems more like current aero levers. That with the cable and housing exiting the lever towards the bar, and making it possible to tape over the housing? And if they have seen this, woth what levers is this possible, and what are the modifications necessary to the lever body to facilitate this? ------------------ Question #2. I have an old bike which has been ridden for decades, which has long horizontal steel dropouts on the rear. Over the decades, and probably as the result of too zealous tightening of the rear wheel, there has been some deformation of the faces where the rear axle sits in the frame, making it somewhat difficult to achieve correct chain tension(it is set up as a fixie), as the wheel want to move when tightened to the thinnest part of the dropout. To rectify this situation, am I correct in assuming that I will need to get a couple of beads of steel welded to the area, and then grind/file away all the excess to make the dropouts flat again? Brazing material would be too soft in this area for this purpose, right??

Many thanks in advaance for any help.

===== Neill Currie, Portland, Me 04102, USA. The Mountain Goat website is at: http://www.geocities.com/neill1234/index.html?1011568933040

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