andyto2

Does anyone know how to tighten them? They are very loose horizontally (looking at the brake levers from above). This seemed to happen when I used them for too high of a speed in the city and it kind of "broke" this way.
Theres a little black spinny plastic thing attached to the lever but it doesn't seem to tighten it to my brake lever's hood. They are Weinmann brake levers on an old Peugeot bike.

Thanks for any help

Sapperc

As you have discovered, they don’t work particularly well, especially under heavy use or hard braking. That’s just one of several reasons they have not been in use or produced for decades. If you really must have them, you might find vintage parts on eBay or a local vintage bike shop or co-op. All of those safety lever designs were similar, normally using a bolt with an exposed head, some kind of shim/guide, a locking star washer and a nut inside the brake lever housing. A better idea would be to remove them or just not use them. If your city braking is sketchy, you might try replacing the brake levers with more modern levers that offer better braking action. Modern style brake pads will also help.

JanMM

Long ago, I fixed suicide levers by removing them.
I don't remember any little black plastic parts but, again, it was long ago in the '70s.

Random Tandem

Most secondary brake levers used in the 1970s and 1980s we attached with a large-head bolt that screwed into the inside end of the axle on which the primary brake lever pivots - those kind tighten in an obvious way (you screw the bolt into the axle). Moreover, they are easy to remove by unscrewing the bolt and disposing of them with aluminum recycling (so say we all). There are also secondary brake levers that are integrated into the brake pivot axle itself, making them difficult to remove without changing the entire brake lever assembly. I expect the OP must have this less common sort of secondary brake levers, which (as far as I know) are not able to be tightened or removed from the primary brake lever. I have a few of these in my old parts bin.

-Will

fietsbob

A much better system , currently used, is 1) an aero , cable under the tape brake lever, and

as the housing exits the tape . a top mounted brake lever, where the cable runs through, them,
the brakes are applied by spreading the housing apart , wider,

making the cable relatively shorter .. Making the brakes grip the rim ..