Road bike brake lever position

[JeremyA]

I have recently finished building my late 60's Rory Obrien road bike. I am very happy with how it has turned out. It rides really well. I will be using it for the Eroica in Tuscany in October 2026. Cani get advice on brake lever position. Have Cinelli Champione Del Mondo 64 60 bars and am using Campagnolo Nouovo record levers. They work well with my Mafac Racer centre pulls but I am struggling to get the position right. The current set up is good for riding on the hoods but a bit of a stretch when in the drops. The bars are tipped up a bit too far which I feel makes it look ugly. Was thinking of trying Mafac levers if they have a shorter reach or getting some different smaller bars. All advice gratefully received.

 

[Guinessisgoodforyou]

Temple cycles do a shallow drop bar in silver. Try a taller Nitto stem and 20mm shorter. I like the top of the bar level and you should get that with the above.
Put the bars on a flat surface and nip the levers up, I usually end up around 10-15mm above that, it's a start though.
We're all different and what works for me may not work for you, nice bike and good luck.

 

[hamster]

It looks to me like the stem could go up a bit - do that then rotate the bars. They generally look right when the hooks point somewhere near the rear hub. Then you may have to reposition the levers I'm afraid.

 

[pigman]

I think it looks right when the bottom of the bars are horizontal (or near). Then fit the levers to suit. But there's the problem. Older deeper bars don't allow for a good ergonomic lever position. To me, modern bars with a shallower drop have been a revelation

 

[Midlife]

There's a write up on how to set up brake levers properly for that era, the bloke who does all the Raleigh SBDU stuff.

In the very expensive campagnolo toolkit BITD there was a special tool to do brake lever position....looked very much like a long ruler lol

I'll have a look for the link.

https://dentoncycles.co.uk/2020/05/...uches-to-sb5422-with-new-cables-and-bar-tape/

 

[bikeworkshop]

Those bars have massive forward throw and humongous drop.
Realistically, unless you're racing in around 1980, they aren't going to work for you - unless the look is vital.
A short forward throw puts the hoods in a comfortable position.
Brakes are more important these days.

 

[LondonClassic]

Sean Yates always liked his brake hoods somewhere down near the front axle.

 

[Jesper]

@JeremyA I have done a modification for levers that do not work for those with smaller hands (like me; hand 7", longest finger 3"). Notice the difference in reach? You cannot see it easily in the photo (Cinelli Mid '70s Giro d'Italia w/Camp GS levers; should be same bend as yours), but there is about a 3-4mm gap between the blade and the body at the top. Having that gap moved lever end ~8-10mm closer allowing me to easily reach lever w/o trying to extend my hand more or change grip position. At least with my set-up (bar as seen with '70s era Camp. Record calipers) I have not had an issue with levers hitting bar (keep brake/rim gap as small as possible; true up those slightly off rims to help). This was done by drilling across the body and then inserting (pressed-in fit is not necessary, but a tight enough fit to keep pin from rattling is preferred) a roll-pin or brass pin (anything that will work is fine; but needs to be thick/stiff enough not to bend with use/abuse) in a location which prevents lever from closing the gap. I thought about making a small cam mounted on a pin/bolt which would allow me to fine tune the reach from normal too shorter depending on a specifc lever type/system set-up; but I am pretty much using the same brake levers on my bikes so an idle idea at this time (maybe someone should develop and patent one). You cannot see the mod. unless no hoods are installed (pins cut to slightly recess in the body to avoid any bump and hood damage). Cost $0.50 for pins. Nobody has ever come up and said my levers look wrong so it must not be very noticeable unless looking you are looking for it.
If you decide to try this method please make sure you accurately account for where the lever will stop since you will make a mess trying relocate/alter pin location if the lever position still needs to change after drilling holes. Place a small wedge (I just fold up some paper until right gap is obtained) in lever body until you like where lever sits. Tape it in place so nothing can move. Remember a couple mm's of gap can equate to a fair amount of lever movement so be diligent in determining where lever edge is within the body and then drill a TINY hole (only enough for a small paperclip wire to pass through; do not go through to other side!) into just one side of the body. Leave taped up while testing with a stiff wire to see if contact is made with lever in the desired position. Drilling a small hole allows for correction; you must account for pin thickness to ensure lever will still be where you want it to be with the pin in place. If everything seems good with proper pin to be used and lever at desired position with pin installed you can drill through to the other side, and completely install pin. If for some reason your set-up is a bit off (levers still too far out too far in); you can always add a slightly thicker pin (I use a 2mm pin; I could easily fit a 3mm-4mm after reboring to move lever closer or file down existing pin at lever contact spots to increase distance. I have never had to replace/resize/relocate pins; but I experimented on various junk/parts levers to best locate boring points before modifying serviceable units.

There is another method I tried which worked very well and allowed for easy range of adjustment without fabrication of parts, but it was a pain to do requiring drilling, coutersinking, and tapping of threads into body. If a lever was specifically designed for my alternate option I would provide it; but at this time I prefer to be cursed for only introducing the aforementioned method.

Edit: forgot to say "nice bike"; never heard of the bulider.

 

[JeremyA]

Wow thanks to everyone who has replied. There is an amazing resource of knowledge out there. I will get some new bars with more shallow drop and shorter reach. The Stem is 26.0 mm Diameter, Condor cycles in London do a suitable set of bars. Hopefully the original Campagnolo lever clamps will fit. I will report back once I have fettled.

The frame is from a famous builder in Romford in East London. The rest is via Ebay. I have tried to pay homage to what a pro level bike of the late 60's would be. So far I have done about 600 km on it in the UK. It is a joy to ride. Despite weighing 9.5kg it is really responsive and great fun. I will put Continental 4 season 28mm tyres on it for the Strada Bianca, but don't feel the need to change the 23 mm Contis that are on it at present. BTW I have used that saddle on almost every bike that I have owned over the last 40 years !

More Rory Obrien info https://www.classiclightweights.co.uk/classic_builders/rory-obrien-part-2/

 

[Rapparee87]

Can't believe that some haven't heard of Rory O'Brien!