MTB levers VS BMX levers... which ones?
07-14-19, 12:37 PM
#1
Junior Member
Thread Starter
MTB levers VS BMX levers... which ones?
Hey guys, I am replacing both brake levers on a friends bike. I found some inexpensive levers on ebay. The BMX levers are much cheaper, which is preferred. I have read that BMX levers differ from mountain levers. Some one called it "cable head". What is "cable head" and how can I tell the difference (BMX vs. Mountain)? Can I measure the existing cable end? What dimension is important? Does it even matter?
Thanks in advance.
Thanks in advance.
07-14-19, 03:52 PM
#2
Senior Member
It matters not that the levers are BMX or mountain levers. What does matter is that the brake lever have the same cable pull ratio as the brake. What kind of brakes are on the bike? That will determine what kind of lever will work properly.
07-14-19, 04:24 PM
#3
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Cool, I was hoping someone would say that. The front brake is a "U" shaped caliper and the rear are V brakes. Short pull fronts, long pull rears. Tektro 316AG's have both cable end locations in them. Short pull hole for the fronts and a long pull spot for the rears. Probably gonna go with them. Thanks for the info.
07-17-19, 03:46 PM
#5
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Thread Starter
So I went to a LBS and the Tech showed me how BMX cables differ from Mountian cables. The cable head is indeed different. Glad I went, almost bought the wrong levers.
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07-17-19, 06:59 PM
#7
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Correct me if I am wrong, but aren't most levers used for BMX short-pull and MTB long-pull for V-Brakes?
07-18-19, 12:08 AM
#8
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I don't know the difference between cable heads myself, but there are "universal" brake cables.
07-18-19, 08:52 AM
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This does not agree with my experience. There are two main types of brake cables - MTB/BMX and road. MTB and BMX both have the head as a barrel mounted transversely on the end of the cable. Road brake cables have a differently shaped head mounted parallel to the cable. There are other minor differences between some road cables - I think Campy and Shimano use slightly different shapes. There used to be two types of MTB cables - the regular type we use now and an oversized one sold by Shimano for a few years in the early '90s, but since the mid 90s, every MTB and BMX brake lever uses the same transverse mounted head on the brake cable.
07-18-19, 08:58 AM
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'Universal' brake cables have a different type of cable end on each end of the cable... the one you don't want is cut off before installation. One end is for road bike 'drop bar' levers, and the other end has the transverse mounted barrel used for both MTB and BMX. I suspect OP has gotten some bad information or misunderstood what the LBS guy said.
