# cross levers and BB7 disc brakes, good or bad idea ?



## T0mi (Mar 2, 2011)

I don't really use cross levers when racing, but find them handy when commuting. It helps riding safely on the top of the handlebars to get a more upright position when in the middle of traffic. 

As my current stable is no longer driven by the n+1 rules, my cx and road bike serves a double duty as commuters. I have a set of those cross levers from my now sold previous cx bike and would like to put them on my - currently in building process - cx disc bike. I've heard about the importance of using compressionless housing with BB7 and I fear the usage of cross levers may ruin it.

So cross levers with disc setup, good or bad idea ?


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## tednugent (Apr 26, 2010)

for commuting purposes... imo, if can help you modulate the brakes better.... because with cross or mountain bike brake levers, you really need only 1 to 2 finger pressure on the levers.


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## Mircolino (Oct 16, 2012)

The 2013 Trek Crossrip comes with cross levers and BB5 disc brakes.

Guess at Trek they think is a good idea


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## tednugent (Apr 26, 2010)

Mircolino said:


> The 2013 Trek Crossrip comes with cross levers and BB5 disc brakes.
> 
> Guess at Trek they think is a good idea


But... one the Cronus and Ion... no cross levers & no disc brakes....

...so whatever floats your boat


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## 4Crawler (Jul 13, 2011)

I just put a set of Tektro RL720 levers on my cross bike w/ BB7s and they see to work well so far (1 ride now). I added those mainly to help with braking on long, non-technical descents (like coming down fire roads). Those tended to get a bit tiring when braking from the drops so hoping the brakes up top will allow a more comfortable position.

I run the Gore sealed cables and found no change in brake lever feel after installing the levers.


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## AndreyT (Dec 1, 2011)

T0mi said:


> I've heard about the importance of using compressionless housing with BB7 and I fear the usage of cross levers may ruin it.


I use BB7 on Specialized TriCross Elite Disc with secondary levers and have no problems with them. I recently re-cabled the bike to Jagwire Racer cables.

How can secondary levers "ruin" anything in therms of braking is completely unclear to me. What exactly was meant by that? Just use good solid ferrules at each end of the brake cable and there will no negative effects whatsoever on brake performance from secondary levers.


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## ecub (Sep 2, 2011)

My Specialized Tricross Disc comp come with cross levers and it also has BB7. No issues with them.


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## Ride-Fly (Mar 27, 2002)

OK, so I'm a newb with discs, but I really am thinking I am going to get a CX disc bike in the near future. When hydraulic discs come out for CX bikes, can those cross brake levers work with them? I would think it only works for cable-actuated brakes but, as I stated above, I'm a newb with discs.


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## cocomo (Apr 13, 2011)

Some people have modified normal hydraulic brakes to act like cross top levers that are pulled by the cable in the shifters


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## T0mi (Mar 2, 2011)

AndreyT said:


> I use BB7 on Specialized TriCross Elite Disc with secondary levers and have no problems with them. I recently re-cabled the bike to Jagwire Racer cables.
> 
> How can secondary levers "ruin" anything in therms of braking is completely unclear to me. What exactly was meant by that? Just use good solid ferrules at each end of the brake cable and there will no negative effects whatsoever on brake performance from secondary levers.


From what I've seen when operating my salsa inline cross levers, the cable is not pulled as much in a somewhat straight line like it is on normal levers. English is not my native language so I fail to explain it correctly. That picture from the Park tool repair help may help you understand what I meant :


My brain say there shouldn't be any problem but I wanted to be sure there was no added brake drag before using an expensive housing set.

Thanks for the report guys !


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## khaizlip (Aug 21, 2008)

just make sure you get the 'road' version of the BB7s and it will be fine. 
I just built a bike (New Old Stock 2006 Cannondale frame) with BB7s. The shop intially put on the MTB version - the brakes were better than my cantilevers, but not awesome. 
I had them swap the brakes out for the road version and now they're awesome (levers are 105 5600, cables are Gore Ride-on)


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## Mountain Cycle Shawn (Apr 16, 2013)

khaizlip said:


> just make sure you get the 'road' version of the BB7s and it will be fine.
> I just built a bike (New Old Stock 2006 Cannondale frame) with BB7s. The shop intially put on the MTB version - the brakes were better than my cantilevers, but not awesome.
> I had them swap the brakes out for the road version and now they're awesome (levers are 105 5600, cables are Gore Ride-on)


What is the difference between the road and MTB version?


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## Randy99CL (Mar 27, 2013)

Mountain Cycle Shawn said:


> What is the difference between the road and MTB version?


The road are silver and the mountain are black!

And there is the fact that the road calipers are designed for road levers that pull less cable than long-pull mountain brake levers do. 
Mountain calipers don't work _as well_ with road levers even though some will probably chime in here to say that they do. They will work if you adjust the cable to bring the pads closer to the rotor.
If you're buying new ones just get the road models.


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## Randy99CL (Mar 27, 2013)

Mircolino said:


> The 2013 Trek Crossrip comes with cross levers and BB5 disc brakes. Guess at Trek they think is a good idea


I think they're a great idea! They really work; two fingers gives really powerful braking and you are never far from a brake lever. They only add about 100g.


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## Mountain Cycle Shawn (Apr 16, 2013)

Randy99CL said:


> The road are silver and the mountain are black!
> 
> And there is the fact that the road calipers are designed for road levers that pull less cable than long-pull mountain brake levers do.
> Mountain calipers don't work _as well_ with road levers even though some will probably chime in here to say that they do. They will work if you adjust the cable to bring the pads closer to the rotor.
> If you're buying new ones just get the road models.


I'm looking for a Bianchi Roger from 2007. They came with BB7s, but, I don't know which type. My plan is to use Paul Cross levers on bullhorns, so I think that should work.


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