Hugh Thornton wrote: I read that these levers can fail mid-ride. Has anyone had experience of this and what is the cause?
The tang on the spring (actually not a spring at all but a friction clutch) breaks off so that it no longer works as a clutch to release the friction. Doesn't end the ride or anything, just no longer works as "retrofriction". The fix is to push the guts out of the lever and replace the "spring". Back in the day, the "spring" was sold as an individual part, so somewhere out there is probably a supply of them.
Much easier than the fix is to just buy a new one on eBay.
Chuck Schmidt South Pasadena, Southern California http://www.velo-retro.com (reprints, timelines & kool retro t-shirts)
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