Return of the suicide lever!

[jefmcg]

@swee'pea99 , if you kept up with my postings, you would have known about these four years ago:

(boy, that bike was shiny 4 years ago. it's been a tough time for both of us)

 

[biggs682]

only used them once and they worked fine

where as the old fashioned type were best avoided

 

[raleighnut]

These are suicide levers. They were on an old Galaxy that I bought secondhand. Some people obviously want them, because I sold them quite easily to recoup some of the cost of the bike .

View attachment 119443

They're the posh ones.

 

[tyred]

These are suicide levers. They were on an old Galaxy that I bought secondhand. Some people obviously want them, because I sold them quite easily to recoup some of the cost of the bike .

View attachment 119443

I quite like them actually. They're excellent for controlling speed when just cruising around. I have no idea why people have such hatred of them.

 

[vernon]

I quite like them actually. They're excellent for controlling speed when just cruising around. I have no idea why people have such hatred of them.

You can also hang your freshly washed smalls on them to dry when on a cycle tour.

 

[Lonestar]

Oh,I get what this thread is about now.Reason I started using bullhorn handlebars instead of drops was because I hadn't discovered these.

These are not the old skool ones which were basically crap.

http://bicycles.stackexchange.com/questions/5267/why-dont-brakes-come-with-safety-levers-any-more

 

[shouldbeinbed]

I've had those for 5 years now. They are not the suicide levers at all - they work on a totally different principle. They're actually attached onto the brake cable itself and form an integral part of the mechanism. Far from being suicidal, they're a very useful safety aid.

This^^^^

They are a very very long way from the old style suicide levers and they work directly on the cables, applying braking pressure in the same manner as the conventional levers. I could ride all day on the tops of my cross and only ever use the brifters to change gear.

 

[Milkfloat]

This^^^^

They are a very very long way from the old style suicide levers and they work directly on the cables, applying braking pressure in the same manner as the conventional levers. I could ride all day on the tops of my cross and only ever use the brifters to change gear.

Maybe a strange question, but why bother with drops if you never use them?

 

[shouldbeinbed]

Maybe a strange question, but why bother with drops if you never use them?

I didn't say I never used drops, just that with frog legs there is the opportunity not to that was never really possible with the old style suicide levers.

 

[Seevio]

I had the ones where they connect mechanically to the main levers on a bike when I was a teenager. I never had a problem with them. Why are they called suicide levers?

 

[wheresthetorch]

I had the ones where they connect mechanically to the main levers on a bike when I was a teenager. I never had a problem with them. Why are they called suicide levers?

Me too. I used to find them useful, and wondered why they weren't on road bikes now.

 

[Fnaar]

I had them on an old touring bike many years ago... never had a problem with them (suicide levers, I mean). Perhaps I wasn;t going down big enough hills

 

[Jimmy Doug]

Maybe a strange question, but why bother with drops if you never use them?

The point about drops is that you can change your position, which helps to prevent pain. Most people who use drops do not spend all their time crouched down in sprinting position. This new generation of "suicide" levers enables you to always have the brakes within easy reach, no matter where you hold the handlebars. Personally, I use them a lot - to the point that when I switch to my racer, which doesn't have them, I really, really miss them.

 

[SpokeyDokey]

I have cross-tops fitted to my bike and they are brilliant esp' when descending steep and slippery tracks (CX bike) plus handy in town too.

 

[Milkfloat]

The point about drops is that you can change your position, which helps to prevent pain. Most people who use drops do not spend all their time crouched down in sprinting position. This new generation of "suicide" levers enables you to always have the brakes within easy reach, no matter where you hold the handlebars. Personally, I use them a lot - to the point that when I switch to my racer, which doesn't have them, I really, really miss them.

But if the drops are never used is seems crazy to have them. You are limited to a very narrow bar if you exclusively use cross levers. I see why some people use cross levers, but it only makes sense if they at some point also use the drops.