suicide levers

[kewb]

why did they get this nickname i remember older road bikes had them almost as standard , kinda handy too ,

were they really deathtraps ?

http://wandel.ca/bikes/0620-170639.jpg




ive heard you can still get them .

 

[adds21]

why did they get this nickname i remember older road bikes had them almost as standard , kinda handy too ,

were they really deathtraps ?

http://wandel.ca/bikes/0620-170639.jpg

ive heard you can still get them .

I had them on my old Raleigh Arena in the early 80s, and yes, they really were as bad as people make out. Even if you pulled the levers all the way, they wouldn't pull the levers on the drops enough to have much effect. Everyone I knew who had them, never used them (other than for scrubbing a little speed off).

The modern ones are totally different. They attach directly to the cables, rather than the drop levers. They're quite common on cross bikes.

 

[kewb]

heard them mentioned alot but never knew they were still used ,

my old claude butler racer had them i remember them working ok , i thought they mightve earned the tag suicide 

because they threw riders over the bars an old trick i used to do on cb slam on brakes and hop over the bars to land on feet (sometimes lol)

 

[Archer]

I remember having these break levers on my bike when I was young - never heard them called suicide leavers though.

I do remember that they had a nasty habit of breaking. I also remember my Dad being somewhat unhappy when he noticed the damage (I'm still sorry Dad, I didn't mean it, it just happened, honest).

 

[Muddyfox]

I had them on my old Raliegh Arena as well i think they were called GT levers back then and yes they were useless for stopping power but ok for knocking a little bit of speed off for a corner ..

my Ridgeback Panorama has the interuptor brakes on the tops

Simon

 

[Sheffield_Tiger]

Interrupters are a sensible incarnation of the suicide levers which WERE aptly named.

I remember having a terrible time convincing my mum who was petrified when I first got a "racer" in the first place, and when I took the "safety levers" off she was convinced I would die horribly in a crash from being head-down on the drops (I tried to explain riding on the hoods but I wasn't really persuasive enough)

Then I saw some retro-fit rubber hood covers for generic brake levers in a LBS so seized my chance to sorth the dispute out once and for all, took an angle grinder to the pivot mounting for the suicides and fitted the hoods.

Then I wrote the bike off by crashing it full-pelt into the back of a car (which was also a write-off!)

 

[g00se]

I had suicide levers on an old Peugeot I had in the early 90s.

They were Okish for stopping when pootling about, but when trying to stop you tearing down a hill... I had given up on pulling them up towards the bars - I was grasping each lever in each hand and levering them up as far as I could with my wrists on the flats.

 

[jimboalee]

You ignorant bunch of......


They were affectionately known as "Safety handles".


I used them for years.

IF... the bike's owner ( or cheif crew mechanic ) was CLEVER enough to keep the rims in true and adjust the brake calipers to their recommended clearances, the Safety handle worked a treat.

I went on the Castleton Classic in 1996 on a Peugeot Carbolite ( steel everything ). Others with Std, 'as you'd expect' brake levers were on the drops tugging at their levers while I was on the tops grasping my Safety handles DOWN Winnatts Pass toward Speedwell Cavern and Castleton Village. No problems.

They could also be used with the fingertips while riding relaxed on the upper bends.

In fact, they were excellent. I could ride on the tops very relaxed and apply the brakes by simply extending my index finger to the Safety handle without the bother of going to the hoods.



There was a bike once ( someone will remember ) that had Safety handles and the index gear shifters on the handlebars right next to the stem clamp to effect 'thumb shifters'.

 

[jimboalee]

Anyway OP.

Spokes Lupin Works, Worcester Road, Kidderminster, Worcestershire DY10 1JR 01562 861 154‎

Try these chaps.
They rebuild bikes for charity and probably have a pallet full of them. They'll want something stupid like a quid each.

For 'retro' bike stuff, these are the guys.


Someone GAVE them an F Frame Moulton in near perfect condition. ???

 

[tyred]

They could also be used with the fingertips while riding relaxed on the upper bends.

In fact, they were excellent. I could ride on the tops very relaxed and apply the brakes by simply extending my index finger to the Safety handle without the bother of going to the hoods.

That's exactly the way I ride my old Pug and very comfortable and relaxing it is too. I would definitely miss them if I took them off. But I would never, never depend on them for an emergency stop as I can't seem to get the leverage necessary from them. But not an issue as the only traffic on my local roads are stray sheep.

 

[jimboalee]

That's exactly the way I ride my old Pug and very comfortable and relaxing it is too. I would definitely miss them if I took them off. But I would never, never depend on them for an emergency stop as I can't seem to get the leverage necessary from them. But not an issue as the only traffic on my local roads are stray sheep.

Train your 'grip' by crushing tennis balls while watching telly.

 

[dnrc]

I had these as a kid and found them pretty useful if i remember.

As people have said, you can press them upwards if using the outside of the top of the bars or if you were in real need of stopping power, you just grabbed them rather than the handlebars and pulled upwards.

That would normally stop you pretty sharpish!!


I had a lot of bike accidents as a young'un but i don't think any of them were ever due to my brake levers.