Hydraulic Brake Levers

[BretonM]

Hello all,
Just a quick query I had about hydraulic brake levers.
I am running tektro hydraulic brakes and would like a shorter lever on each side to work on my one finger braking (always tempted to use two or three).
I am aware that there are many different types of shorter brake levers but I'm not sure whether they are compatible with a hydraulic setup.
1) Does the lever itself on hydraulic brakes have to be sepecific ?
2) Does the brake lever and its design effect the feel of braking ?
3) If I can just replace the lever with minimal hassle, what lever would you recommend ?

Thanks !!

 

[jay clock]

i think you need to be more specific. Is this flat bar or drop bar with or without gears the levers. I would be amazed if it was that easy

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

Hello all,
Just a quick query I had about hydraulic brake levers.
I am running tektro hydraulic brakes and would like a shorter lever on each side to work on my one finger braking (always tempted to use two or three).
I am aware that there are many different types of shorter brake levers but I'm not sure whether they are compatible with a hydraulic setup.
1) Does the lever itself on hydraulic brakes have to be sepecific ?
2) Does the brake lever and its design effect the feel of braking ?
3) If I can just replace the lever with minimal hassle, what lever would you recommend ?

Thanks !!

1)Yes
2)Absolutely but don't ask me how
3)Different systems use different fluids so it would likely be easier to replace the entire brake inc caliper rather than a bodge. Brakes are a safety critical component afterall

And after all that, with either DOT or mineral oil based systems will likely need bleeding

 

[BretonM]

i think you need to be more specific. Is this flat bar or drop bar with or without gears the levers. I would be amazed if it was that easy

Flat bar and 1x10 gearing on an mtb.

 

[BretonM]

1)Yes
2)Absolutely but don't ask me how
3)Different systems use different fluids so it would likely be easier to replace the entire brake inc caliper rather than a bodge. Brakes are a safety critical component afterall

And after all that, with either DOT or mineral oil based systems will likely need bleeding

Yes I was thinking that due to the nature of the part I will most likely be getting a new brakeset.
In that case, do you have a suggestion for a good pair of hydraulic brakes (not including discs) in the £100 region.
Many thanks

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

Yes I was thinking that due to the nature of the part I will most likely be getting a new brakeset.
In that case, do you have a suggestion for a good pair of hydraulic brakes (not including discs) in the £100 region.
Many thanks

Can't help you there

 

[BretonM]

Can't help you there

Ah thanks for the help anyway !!!

 

[Crackle]

Yes I was thinking that due to the nature of the part I will most likely be getting a new brakeset.
In that case, do you have a suggestion for a good pair of hydraulic brakes (not including discs) in the £100 region.
Many thanks

I think it's normally calipers and levers together as it's a closed system. Shimano M395'6 hit your budget but if you can up it a bit Deore XT's will offer you reach adjustable levers as well.

 

[Nigel182]

I found moving the Levers in toward the stem so that when in riding position my index finger was near the end of the lever made one finger breaking easier with also moving inward the shifters at the same time
this was on a Voodoo Bizango Mountain bike and i found better control of the brakes with just one finger.

 

[bonsaibilly]

I found moving the Levers in toward the stem so that when in riding position my index finger was near the end of the lever made one finger breaking easier with also moving inward the shifters at the same time
this was on a Voodoo Bizango Mountain bike and i found better control of the brakes with just one finger.

Agree, just move the levers towards the centre of the handlebar. Allen key and a two minute job. Must be plenty of real estate on a mountain bike bar to do this.

 

[BretonM]

I found moving the Levers in toward the stem so that when in riding position my index finger was near the end of the lever made one finger breaking easier with also moving inward the shifters at the same time
this was on a Voodoo Bizango Mountain bike and i found better control of the brakes with just one finger.

Ah never thought of it that way !
I'll do that now.
Thanks.

 

[BretonM]

Agree, just move the levers towards the centre of the handlebar. Allen key and a two minute job. Must be plenty of real estate on a mountain bike bar to do this.

Yeah I've got a pretty wide renthal fat bar so I have plenty of room !!

 

[Globalti]

Most hydraulic brake levers are shaped for two or three finger operation; most also have a means of adjusting the lever to bring it closer to the bars, if that helps.

 

[Nigeyy]

Everything assuming you aren't using road brakes, but mtb style brakes:

And assuming you don't mean the hybrid Tektro hydraulic cable pull brakes -you have a hydraulic line from your lever to your brake calipre:

1. Yes, usually. Even different Shimano hydraulic brake models don't all share the same brake lever (different designs, mount points, etc)
2. Yes, depending on the design will provide more or less mechanical advantage to compress the cylinder, as well as the ergonomics of the lever can impact how much force you can transmit to the lever.
3. hmmm the same one? Sorry to be unhelpful, but you'd have to find out if Tektro offer different options that fit.

Now assuming you have the hybrid Tektro hydraulic cable pull brakes where you have a cable being pulled from the brake lever to a hydraulic calipre:

1. No, so long as its a long pull brake lever (actually I'm not 100% sure here, but I'd assume Tektro would use the long pull standard for these brakes, but I'd check to be 100% sure)
2. Yes, absolutely. Note you can get Avid Speed Dials (usually a good bet) where you can adjust on the fly the mechanical advantage -e.g. less cable pull but more force, more cable pull, less force etc)
3. Probably Avid Speed Dials -but I've used old Shimano LX brake levers with success, though they only had 3 adjustable positions whereas the Speed Dials are can be fine tuned to an almost infinite number of positions within a range as you can dial them in to any position within the adjustment range.

Finally, as others have noted, most -but not all -brake levers usually offer reach adjustment. And as others have said, just simply moving the levers inwards or outwards can make a difference too. Good luck!

Hello all,
Just a quick query I had about hydraulic brake levers.
I am running tektro hydraulic brakes and would like a shorter lever on each side to work on my one finger braking (always tempted to use two or three).
I am aware that there are many different types of shorter brake levers but I'm not sure whether they are compatible with a hydraulic setup.
1) Does the lever itself on hydraulic brakes have to be sepecific ?
2) Does the brake lever and its design effect the feel of braking ?
3) If I can just replace the lever with minimal hassle, what lever would you recommend ?

Finally, as others have noted, most -but not all -brake levers, whether they be hydraulic or cable usually offer a reach adjustment, which can help. And as others have noticed, simply moving the brake levers farther in or out can change how the brakes feel as well. Good luck!

Thanks !!

 

[BretonM]

Everything assuming you aren't using road brakes, but mtb style brakes:

And assuming you don't mean the hybrid Tektro hydraulic cable pull brakes -you have a hydraulic line from your lever to your brake calipre:

1. Yes, usually. Even different Shimano hydraulic brake models don't all share the same brake lever (different designs, mount points, etc)
2. Yes, depending on the design will provide more or less mechanical advantage to compress the cylinder, as well as the ergonomics of the lever can impact how much force you can transmit to the lever.
3. hmmm the same one? Sorry to be unhelpful, but you'd have to find out if Tektro offer different options that fit.

Now assuming you have the hybrid Tektro hydraulic cable pull brakes where you have a cable being pulled from the brake lever to a hydraulic calipre:

1. No, so long as its a long pull brake lever (actually I'm not 100% sure here, but I'd assume Tektro would use the long pull standard for these brakes, but I'd check to be 100% sure)
2. Yes, absolutely. Note you can get Avid Speed Dials (usually a good bet) where you can adjust on the fly the mechanical advantage -e.g. less cable pull but more force, more cable pull, less force etc)
3. Probably Avid Speed Dials -but I've used old Shimano LX brake levers with success, though they only had 3 adjustable positions whereas the Speed Dials are can be fine tuned to an almost infinite number of positions within a range as you can dial them in to any position within the adjustment range.

Finally, as others have noted, most -but not all -brake levers usually offer reach adjustment. And as others have said, just simply moving the levers inwards or outwards can make a difference too. Good luck!

I adjusted the reach and it worked a charm !!
Thanks