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Best Campy aero levers for Nuovo Record brakes?

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Best Campy aero levers for Nuovo Record brakes?

Old 06-26-16, 01:42 PM
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Olympianrider
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Best Campy aero levers for Nuovo Record brakes?

Hello all,

I'm looking for another piece of advice about a bike project -- this one is a bit different than the last one I posed (about bar-end shifters) and I thought it was worth a different thread.

Basically, I've just picked up a vintage English touring-bike from 1981 on an auction site (a Dawes Atlantis). The components are mostly unspectacular, and I'm replacing them with period-correct Campagnolo parts.

On brake levers, I come to a problem. What sort of brake levers to use?

I prefer the aero-type of lever. It may not be strictly period-correct, but it's only a few years off. I prefer the look, and, more important, if my experience on another bike holds true, it's possible to get much-improved stopping power from a more modern brake lever. What I'm wondering is this -- is there a vintage Campagnolo aero brake lever that will do the job?

Here's why I'm asking the question. About a year ago, I had a local bike shop go through the 1980 Centurion Super LeMans that I have been riding since, yes, 1980. The original brake levers were a Dia-Compe non-aero type -- they suggested I replace them with something more modern. "These levers were notorious for not giving you much stopping power," they said. They replaced them with more modern Tektro aero levers -- we kept the original brakes -- and OMG, what a difference. The old brakes slowed me down but could never stop me on a hill -- I used to have to drag my feet like Fred Flintstone to come to a stop. These actually worked.

I'm no bike mechanic, and I can't tell you exactly what's going on here, but I've been reading the postings on this forum about brake levers, and I gather that the reason these new levers work so much better is that they somehow pull more cable with each squeeze. The postings suggest that you need to get a lever that pulls the right amount of cable for your particular brake. Sure, I could go to my local bike shop and tell them to find me some new Tektro levers just like the ones they installed last year -- but it gets a little trickier if I'm trying to stick with vintage Campagnolo parts. Some postings suggest that some Campagnolo aero brake levers, designed for more modern brakes, don't pull as much cable as others.

I figure I can't be the first who has confronted this problem. The Nuovo Record brakes are certainly well known. Has anyone out there already figured out which vintage Campagnolo aero brake levers work best with the Nuovo Record brakes?

Erik Smith
Olympia, WA

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Old 06-26-16, 02:06 PM
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I have some Triomphe levers that are switchable between aero/non aero routing. I would think you get more pull with aero routing compared to non aero. It's more of a straight shot from the cable hole in the brake lever body to the barrel in the lever. Just my thoughts but what do I know?

I have modern Tektro levers on two of my bikes and like them and more comfortable then vintage levers but they're also very bulky looking. So if your not going for matching style points and just want something that feels good and works go with Tektros. Plus they're cheap also.
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Old 06-26-16, 02:37 PM
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IMHO either use regular Campy record non aero levers, are get some modern Tektro, etc. The drillium TRP levers look kind of nice. Early aero levers were pretty lousy, frankly, and they won't be any more vintage correct than a modern one. It's mixing Tullio with Valentino...
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Old 06-26-16, 05:15 PM
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i did the same thing as you with your centurion when i first started rebuilding vintage bikes -- i replaced the non-aero levers with modern cane creek scr-5 aeros. at the time, i thought they would be 'better' and more, well, 'aero' and sleek. i did that on two keeper bikes as well as two flips. these were my first four builds.

then i rebuilt about 25 more bikes, and learned which non-aeros work for me and the real differeces between really good non-aero levers and modern ones.

what works for me: campy, dura ace, modolo.

these stop just as well as modern aero levers, but they require more hand force. to me, they look soooo much better than modern levers (on most pre-1985 bikes) that it's a most acceptable trade-off.

since my great conversion, i've replaced the modern levers on my keepers with campy non-aeros. record levers went on my moto and drilled victory levers went on my falcon.
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Old 06-26-16, 05:19 PM
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one of the best braking bikes i ever had was an '80 pkn10 with mafac center pulls, non-aero levers and kool-stops. i used to love attacking hills on that bike. it gave me all the confidence i needed.

i gotta have kool-stops, regardless of the brakeset ... and perfect rims.
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Old 06-26-16, 06:59 PM
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I like the Chorus aero levers. I just put a set on a recent build.
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Old 06-26-16, 07:05 PM
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These are the Aero levers that would match Nuovo Record or Super Record. You can see there is no Quick Release Button On the Brake handle.









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Old 06-26-16, 07:16 PM
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@Olympianrider, the reason the newer design stops better is not that it pulls more cable but that it pulls less. This gives you more leverage in your hands. The aero design pulls the cable a little farther from the fulcrum than the older designs.

So use any lever you think you will like. You will like it. All the aero designs have the higher leverage.
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Old 06-26-16, 08:36 PM
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I have seen photos of regular NR and SR levers converted to aero routing so that is doable if you want to go that way. Also looking at the photos of the C-Record levers Michael Angelo posted, it looks like you could fit NR or SR blades to the C-Record bases and internals.
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Old 06-27-16, 02:01 AM
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Wow, thanks for the advice! I feel a little funny, at this age, learning about all the developments that have taken place in the biking field since the last time I paid close attention -- back in high school, in the late '70s. It's good to know that all aero levers have this sort of performance advantage. I know the argument for "staying original" -- I have an all-original 1963 Catalina convertible in my driveway -- but knowing how awful most late-'70s bike brakes were by comparison with the more modern type, I've gotta say I'd rather err on the side of safety.

If all aero brake levers are equal, then I guess I'd rather go Campy, as close to correct vintage as I can get. (I mean, going all-Campy was part of my idea when I got into this project -- I know it will sound silly to some -- but all through high school, in a world where everyone rode a Schwinn Varsity, Campagnolo was as legendary and exotic as Ferrari.)

@Michael Angelo, I'd been wondering if the C-Record levers would be appropriate! I have a follow-up question -- why is it important that the levers not have a quick-release button? (And honestly, this will show what a time warp I have just stepped out of -- sorry for my ignorance here -- what is a bike-brake quick-release button?)

Erik
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Old 06-27-16, 03:33 AM
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Originally Posted by olympianrider
I have an all-original 1963 Catalina convertible in my driveway -- but knowing how awful most late-'70s bike brakes were by comparison with the more modern type, I've gotta say I'd rather err on the side of safety.
"awful"?

has absolutely nothing to do with safety unless you have really bad arthritis or something similar.

i can lock up non-aeros just like i can lock up aeros. because they take more force to lock up, maybe they're actually safer. i'm sure some feel that way. i think it's a wash.
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Old 06-27-16, 04:17 AM
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Originally Posted by Olympianrider
Wow, thanks for the advice! I feel a little funny, at this age, learning about all the developments that have taken place in the biking field since the last time I paid close attention -- back in high school, in the late '70s. It's good to know that all aero levers have this sort of performance advantage. I know the argument for "staying original" -- I have an all-original 1963 Catalina convertible in my driveway -- but knowing how awful most late-'70s bike brakes were by comparison with the more modern type, I've gotta say I'd rather err on the side of safety.

If all aero brake levers are equal, then I guess I'd rather go Campy, as close to correct vintage as I can get. (I mean, going all-Campy was part of my idea when I got into this project -- I know it will sound silly to some -- but all through high school, in a world where everyone rode a Schwinn Varsity, Campagnolo was as legendary and exotic as Ferrari.)

@Michael Angelo, I'd been wondering if the C-Record levers would be appropriate! I have a follow-up question -- why is it important that the levers not have a quick-release button? (And honestly, this will show what a time warp I have just stepped out of -- sorry for my ignorance here -- what is a bike-brake quick-release button?)

Erik

The Levers in the Picture do not have a Quick Release button, because it's not needed, the Record Calipers have the small quick release levers on one arm. The standard C-Record era aero lever needs it. If you look at any C-Record era Brake caliper all of them need some type of Opening system.
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Old 06-27-16, 07:53 AM
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As mentioned already SR aero levers, think Cobalto, do not have QR's. Cable pivot locations varied over the run of Campy aero lever production depending on application.
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Old 06-27-16, 12:11 PM
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Originally Posted by miamijim
Cable pivot locations varied over the run of Campy aero lever production depending on application.
Oh Great! Now we need another spreadsheet with dimensions and lever ID!
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