# Dummy brake lever - how, duh?



## Ohm_S.Ohm (Aug 21, 2004)

What is a good method of immobilizing the rear brake lever so that it doesn't flop around and vibrate when I ride? I've grown kinda fond of my drop bars - but still use my hoods as hand holds most of the time. Aside from permanently altering the rear lever, ie. welding or gluing, what works best? Thanks for sharing yer RBR ingenuity!


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## ukiahb (Jan 26, 2003)

*use a short length of brake cable.....*

connected to the lever, tension it, and clamp the end under the lever's handlebar clamp (read that this works well somewhere, maybe here??)






Ohm_S.Ohm said:


> What is a good method of immobilizing the rear brake lever so that it doesn't flop around and vibrate when I ride? I've grown kinda fond of my drop bars - but still use my hoods as hand holds most of the time. Aside from permanently altering the rear lever, ie. welding or gluing, what works best? Thanks for sharing yer RBR ingenuity!


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## Veni Vidi Vici (Feb 10, 2004)

*If it's campy........*



Ohm_S.Ohm said:


> What is a good method of immobilizing the rear brake lever so that it doesn't flop around and vibrate when I ride? I've grown kinda fond of my drop bars - but still use my hoods as hand holds most of the time. Aside from permanently altering the rear lever, ie. welding or gluing, what works best? Thanks for sharing yer RBR ingenuity!



I too did the brake cable thing the first time around but, when I changed out
the bars I used a derailleur spring from the 80's or so and a small piece
of a allen wrench. Both worked like it was made to do so. Very neat and
clean and you can pull on the brake lever just like if it's hooked up.

If you need, I think I can hook you up w/the spring at a very fair price of N/C.
Just let me know.  

Edit: Here are a couple of pics for you.
One w/the handle in the normal position and one to show you the spring inside.
The spring hooks onto the brake handle in the front and runs through the brake hood
and hooks onto the cut piece of allen wrench in the rear of the hood, as I said before
it works great w/no rattling even on the rough roads. Real sweet I tell ya!


Veni Vidi Vici.


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## jfd141 (Jun 25, 2002)

*not the cleanest or fastest way*

you can just take a hacksaw and cut the lever off where it meets the hood.. I did this and it took forever and i had a sharp edge that i needed to file down. maybe not the best solution but one nonetheless


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## Spinfinity (Feb 3, 2004)

*I did that also.*

I have enough old levers around to be cavalier about trashing one. The primitive look is fine with my old Scott aero bars.


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## Headphones (Feb 15, 2005)

I just folded up some paper and stuffed it inside. no more noise or rattling. and it took about 30 seconds.


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## Kram (Jan 28, 2004)

*What I did;*

I drilled a smal hole through the part of the lever where it hinges on the side. (Sorry-I'm at work-don't have a pic right now!) Then I took a small screw (sheet metal screw). Holds great and if you want to take it out and use the lever, no problem. Keep in mind, though, these were cheap old levers that I'm useing


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## darbo (Dec 9, 2002)

*my overkill solution*

I ride the MUTs here in Wash DC, and really need a bell to ding my way into the conciousness of the iPod hoards. So, sick of taking my hands off the hoods to ring the bell, and really sick of that flaccid brake lever, i bolted an old metal bell to the unused shifter braze-on. I used the headtube cable guide as a cable stop, and connected the end of the cable to the bell thumb ringer thing, and presto, the most kludgy overwrought bicycle bell ever devised. I just couldn't stand that flibbidy-floppy lever, and i really like riding hands-on-the-hoods.


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## jh_on_the_cape (Apr 14, 2004)

darbo said:


> I ride the MUTs here in Wash DC, and really need a bell to ding my way into the conciousness of the iPod hoards. So, sick of taking my hands off the hoods to ring the bell, and really sick of that flaccid brake lever, i bolted an old metal bell to the unused shifter braze-on. I used the headtube cable guide as a cable stop, and connected the end of the cable to the bell thumb ringer thing, and presto, the most kludgy overwrought bicycle bell ever devised. I just couldn't stand that flibbidy-floppy lever, and i really like riding hands-on-the-hoods.


that's awesome! do you have a pic? i have been unable to find a bell with a cable stop or some way to make it work. I really wanted to mount the bell on the bars where the cable exits the bar tape.
thanks!


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## darbo (Dec 9, 2002)

*here's a couple of pics...*



jh_on_the_cape said:


> that's awesome! do you have a pic? i have been unable to find a bell with a cable stop or some way to make it work. I really wanted to mount the bell on the bars where the cable exits the bar tape.
> thanks!


Attached a couple of pics -- first shows how the bell is mounted, the lower handlebar clamp is reversed, with a hole drilled in the center. Cable housing is stopped by the headtube cable guide. Second pic shows how lucky i was that the bell ringer clears the front tire. Missing in action is the old spoke magnet that was anchoring the cable to the hole drilled in the ringer handle.


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## jh_on_the_cape (Apr 14, 2004)

darbo said:


> Attached a couple of pics -- first shows how the bell is mounted, the lower handlebar clamp is reversed, with a hole drilled in the center. Cable housing is stopped by the headtube cable guide. Second pic shows how lucky i was that the bell ringer clears the front tire. Missing in action is the old spoke magnet that was anchoring the cable to the hole drilled in the ringer handle.


i think the really odd thing is to have both headtube cable guides and downtube shifter braze-ons!

thanks for the pics!


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