Suntour levers (non aero routing) seem to give pretty good braking response, but they are somewhat hard to find these days.
The late (and much missed) Sheldon Brown pretty much despised all older non-aero brake levers. I concur with him regarding the effectiveness of braking from the hoods with aero levers.
One can increase the effectiveness of non-aero levers with better brake pads. I have Mathauser pads on my 31yr old Motobecane Grand Touring which has Dia Compe Gran Compe (side pulls) and I can easily lock up the wheels (sometime too easily!) braking from the hoods - even going down hills!!!
But remember" Brakes are only meant to slow you down, not to stop you!!! :-)
All the best,
Chuck Brooks Malta, NY NEUSA
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