# Top-bar brake levers?



## bike981

My wife was out looking at WSD road bikes the other day and many of them seem to have extra brake levers for use when your hands on the top of the bars. None of the men's models seem to have these extra levers, except perhaps some of the cross bikes. What's the rationale for the additional brake levers? My wife finds them annoying. Can they be removed?


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## brianmcg

Yes, they can be removed.


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## il sogno

The ones on cross bikes work a lot better too. And like Brian said, yes they can be removed.


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## Camilo

My wife's Specialized Dolce WSD bike has those levers. When she saw them, she thought she'd like the, but I've never seen her use them once.

My daughter's ~2006 version of the Giant OCR also has them. I think she might use them, but I'm not sure.

I think I might take them off my wife's bike and put them on my commuter just to see if I have any use for them.


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## KoroninK

Yuck, I wouldn't want those on my bike, My husband, on the other hand, would love to have them on his road bike (and he would actually use them).


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## PoorCyclist

that's interesting... I didn't know they are available on some WSD bikes
my wife is afraid to use the bar tops because of "no brakes"
so I added the cross levers.. but she has not used them yet, she isn't confident enough to change her hand position. She thinks once you take 1 hand off the bar the bike will crash.. We have alot of work to do!

But, our last outing she was confident enough to ride close enough behind me to draft for abit (after watching some bike races) so we have made a step forward.


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## Trek2.3

Specialized sells TOP MOUNT BRAKE LEVER EXTENSIONS for* $25* a pair.


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## bghill

bike981 said:


> What's the rationale for the additional brake levers??


They let you brake from the top of the bars. My wife also rides a Dolce WSD and loves them. She probably never uses the brake levers on the hoods.


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## smoothie7

my fiance has been looking at a specialized dolce and commented that it was a nice feature that she thinks she would use. It would make it a little easier switching back from a hybrid bike which has brakes on the top of the bars to a road bike just in case you get in trouble you can still be safe if your so use to using them anyways. IMHO, leave them off the road bikes and drop the price of the bike $20


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## SlowJoeCrow

Part of it is the mental comfort issue of being able to brake from the bar tops. Part of it is that crosstop levers have more leverage, CX magazine just did a brake test article and found that braking from the hoods had the least power, from the crosstops had the most power and from the drops was in between.


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## fireguyq

My girlfriends daughter started riding last spring. Her Specialized has the extra levers and she really likes them. She did comment it is mostly a confidence builder for her. She did the research and bought the bike she liked the best, a good choice. 

For Christmas, I put her grocery store gift card in a card that had pop-up eyes. The note inside said "Nice Butte!". She got a bit red in the face, but laughed about it. She then showed the kids the card and they thought is was funny. (I did get permission from her mother first.) When we left to go home, I hugged her goodby and whispered in her ear, "Nice butte." She laughed again and smiled. Riding has given her new confidence, which has been needed since she threw her cheating husband out.


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## fireguyq

My girlfriends daughter started riding last spring. Her Specialized has the extra levers and she really likes them. She did comment it is mostly a confidence builder for her. She did the research and bought the bike she liked the best, a good choice. 

Warning, male chauvinest comments follow
For Christmas, I put her gift card in a card that had pop-up eyes. The note inside said "Nice Butte!". She got a bit red in the face, but laughed about it. She then showed the kids the card and they thought it was funny. (I did get permission from her mother first.) When we left to go home, I hugged her goodby and whispered in her ear, "Nice butte." She laughed again and smiled. Riding has given her new confidence, which has been needed since she got rid of cheating husband. Maybe playing racquet ball against the guys has helped also. She beats most of hte guys on a regular basis.


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## FluffyWhiteDogs

Firegyq -you said "Nice Butt" to your girlfriend's Daughter?! That's creepy! IMHO

On the brakes issue, I had them put on my road bike when I bought it because I was moving from an upright MTN bike to a road bike and I had a lot to get used to. I do use the top brakes way too much. I would like to get a new road bike and I will have to use the brakes in the hoods as most don't have the top ones but I don't know that I could get used to that I have been spoilt.


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## Newnan3

FluffyWhiteDogs said:


> Firegyq -you said "Nice Butt" to your girlfriend's Daughter?! That's creepy! IMHO


Agreed! That little story came out of left field......:shocked:


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## TomH

Wow, from brake levers to super creepy in 12 posts :lol:


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## Newnan3

fireguyq: Do you sniff her bike seat when she's not around too? 

Maybe she has some "feminine issues" she'd like to discuss with you as well......Lolz.


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## il sogno

fireguyq's comment came out of left field and is....unusual. That said, let's not get into a creep each other out contest mmkay?


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## Waxbytes

On topic, My 2004 Sequoia has the top bar levers and when I ride it a lot I find myself feeling for them on my Roubaix's handlebars which are normal. So I guess I use them enough to miss them when they're not there. On the other hand I get used to the regular setup pretty fast so I don't miss them too much or for too long. 
The Sequoia is a much more "sit-up" type of bike than the Roubaix and I'm sure this has an influence 
on the use of the cross levers as well.


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## MarvinK

I think the main reason for them to be more common on womens bikes (and kids road bikes, for that matter) is because historically there has been very little effort put into ergonomics and reach of brake levers for smaller hands. 

SRAM was the first to allow complete reach adjustability for shifting and breaking--and forced others to start following suit. A lot of Shimano's levers still just use lame inserts that--but their high-end levers are adjustable. Many newer handlebars are also shorter reach.


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## litespeedchick

I was riding in a pack last summer and overheard an elite cyclist/coach ride up to a new junior in the group and advise him to take the bar top brakes off his bike. I had never seen them before. I am straining my brain to remember why he told the kid to get rid of them... it seems like it had to do with safety riding w/ a pack. sorry, this pre-alzheimers is rough.


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## Waxbytes

I wonder what the safety issue could be? The cross levers are not like the old suicide-levers that didn't work very well. Very curious, can't see the risk factor.


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## MarvinK

I really doubt it poses any real safety issue--they work just fine. The only thing I can think is maybe it is a distraction for others in a paceline--since they may not know you have brakes up there and could get nervous. The other reason is likely so the junior doesn't get attached to them. My daughter started riding road & cross at 8... and definitely used them until she was 11... and even then, she complained when her new bike didn't have them. At 8 it was a safety issue, since reach and hand size were both issues with bulbous Shimano levers.


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## slitespd

If any of you that mentioned that you liked the idea of having them, I have a pair that can be had for the cost of shipping. Just send a PM

Jerry


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## wim

Waxbytes said:


> I wonder what the safety issue could be? The cross levers are not like the old suicide-levers that didn't work very well. Very curious, can't see the risk factor.


There could be a safety issue with some riders. When riding fast at near maximum effort, most people either have their hands on the hoods or on the drops. Riders who rely on those top levers for all their braking would instinctively move their hands to the top of the bar to brake. That means a slight delay in braking and some brief loss of control due to the hand move and the change to the more upright position. In a dicey group situation, this could result in a crash.

For casual riding and for riders who never use those levers when riding on the drops or the hoods in a fast-moving group situation, there's nothing wrong with these levers.

/w


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## ecogirl22

could i mount those extra brakes ON my drops (upside down)? I can't reach my STI brakes from the hoods or drops, but don't wan to ride so upright as to use the extra brakes on the top bar...thoughts?


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## PoorCyclist

ecogirl22 said:


> could i mount those extra brakes ON my drops (upside down)? I can't reach my STI brakes from the hoods or drops, but don't wan to ride so upright as to use the extra brakes on the top bar...thoughts?


Hi, go to a bike shop that sells specialized bikes, and ask them for this.

Specialized Bicycle Components : Slim Shim Brake Lever Spacers


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## ecogirl22

Thanks, but i already have those, pretty useless. i think this photo shows well the problem


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## ecogirl22

I can't find any solution involving integrated brifters, hence why I'm looking at more extreme options, like mounting interrupter brakes on the drops. you could put a 90 degree shim in there and it won't help my fingers grow another 3"! haha I've heard campy ergo has a higher pivot point, but it'd have to be an inch or more up. Any experiences appreciated. Not trying to hijack thread but don't have enough posts to post my own, so i have to keep trying to interject in others threads SORRY


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## PoorCyclist

OK, I was just trying to help because I have installed these for small hands. 

It is a function of your bar drop shape and how you mount the hoods. I noticed with a traditional bend you can possibly get your fingers a bit closer than an ergo one depending where you mount the hood in the bend.


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## ecogirl22

thanks for responding! I was finally able to start a thread since i have 5 posts I bought a bar specifically because they said it would help but it didn't help enough. And that of course only helps braking in the drops and 90% ride time is on the hoods, I thinks it's a necessity to be able to brake from that position, so hopefully i'll get some ideas from my thread. I take it no one thought my interrupter brakes on the drops was a good idea! oh well, another one bites the dust.


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## Trek2.3

I have small hands. I use the Trek WSD compact handlebars in size 38. I can brake well but I did have to do some index & middle finger strengthening exercises at the first. I wind up braking with 2 fingers and steering with the other 2. When I'm not breaking (need to keep your mind ahead of the bike) my hands are nearby but not "on" the brakes. There is only so much you can do with smaller hands.


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## Nicole Hamilton

litespeedchick said:


> I was riding in a pack last summer and overheard an elite cyclist/coach ride up to a new junior in the group and advise him to take the bar top brakes off his bike.


Maybe he just thought they made him look like a Fred. Btw, those top levers are called interrupters.


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## ecogirl22

Yeah, I've been doing thumb steering so i can reach my hands over to reach the brake (barely). Thanks for sharing your experiences (I also have 38 cm bars- i was measured at 30cm but they told me they don't make that size and even if they did steering would be too difficult). It's been SO frustrating. All these MALE cyclists keep telling me I'm SOL, or I'm riding wrong or, to quote a cyclist on this forum (who's also been helping me come up with ideas) "your hands are not normal sized, they're tiny, for a 6 week old". Slightly insulting, but i'll take it to get some helpful advice. Another male cyclist on this forum had really helpful advice "squeeze those lever things on your handle bars or drag your feet". I can't stop for cars that nearly daily cut me off in traffic an was in another accident because i couldn't stop yesterday. I am bruised and injured, It's incredibly demeaning for these male cyclists to be brushing this off like i'm a funny freak show, when i could have died. I know several women with hands my size, i figured i couldn't be the only one.

Thanks for letting me vent. Even if i can't find a solution, its nice to know I'm not alone.


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## PoorCyclist

I saw something like this, would it help if you were to get your hands on to a set of these?

shimano r700 10 speed ladies kids sti road shifters 105 | eBay


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## ecogirl22

i tried those. they were only marginally better, not even enough to make any difference. Still couldn't reach, the pivot point is in the same place. 

Impulse purchase- I bought a TT/ tri bike with independent bar end shifters and brakes-- bar end brakes are fully adjustable (more like mtn bike brakes) so I'm hoping this is a solution for me!

anyone here have a quintana roo chicqilo? like it?


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## Trek2.3

Post the picture and a description of the problem on the forum: "Components, Wrenching". 

Let the engineers and pseudo-engineers loose on the problem. I'll bet they will come up with something that works (but from far, far left field). The problem, IMHO is that you need a custom bent lever or a lever for the lever. Surely someone can design it and some shop can fabricate it. It may cost $500 but it will last longer than you will.


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## Nicole Hamilton

ecogirl22 said:


> It's been SO frustrating. All these MALE cyclists keep telling me I'm SOL, or I'm riding wrong or, to quote a cyclist on this forum (who's also been helping me come up with ideas) "your hands are not normal sized, they're tiny, for a 6 week old". Slightly insulting, but i'll take it to get some helpful advice.


I can see this really must be frustrating.

It is possible that a flat bar would give you levers that fit you better? (My hands are too big for me to recollect if there's much difference.) You'd give up all the positions you get with drops but if it fits, perhaps that would be a good trade.


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## ecogirl22

I posted in three forums, but that wasn't one! The one idea i got was basically switch to a separate brake/ shift setup. So i just bought a tri bike Should be arriving next week. I realized it would cost a min $300-500 for a custom solution and figured it would be cheaper to just sell my bike and hopefully get another that is built for that purpose instead of cobbled together. Got a slight component upgrade too (105/ultegra w/ dura ace bar ends). I have no idea how i'll like commuting on bullhorns-- but b/c i have short legs but a long torso (and therefore have to get very small bikes ( XS 46cm Quintana roo chicqilo is the new one) but always feel like i'm sitting too upright) I'm hopeful it will work out, if not, back to the drawing board!


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