Wildwood 

Universal brake levers with the large barrel adjusters on an early 70s bike.
Replacements from Rustines.fr are newly available, but expensive.

I can place the leather piece around the existing hoods (which will stay in place) and approximate, then trim as needed. This seems primitive.

Should I make a pattern from thin vinyl using the trial and adjust method??? I would prefer a more precise method.

The leather is supple and is from leather upholstery samples. Sound OK? I intend to put the leather over partially dried out hoods, so the leather will not have to provide the 'padding' of a rubber hood.

pastorbobnlnh 

When I've made hoods, there is a bit and trail and error involved. Turning a two dimensional piece of leather into a three dimensional object can be difficult for those of us who don't do this sort of work on a regular basis, but it can be accomplished and with satisfaction.

I made mine for Weinmann/DiaCompe levers. I worked on a paper pattern and then kept experimenting with the leather. The hardest part was the front top which wraps around the "nose" or where the cable emerges.



I over cut in this area. Once I felt good about the main portion of the body, I then trimmed the ends to meet in the center before adding the holes for lacing or stitching the seam.







Best of luck on your project!

Wildwood 

Thanks @pastorbobnlnh - exactly as I plan to do mine. My leather piece may be a bit thicker - hard to tell from pic, but thinner might be better as I hope to leave the rubber hood in place.

edit: It's worth a try to save approx $75. Can always order new replacements, but hoping the product makes US distribution soon, maybe a price reduction too.

www.rustines.fr

zammykoo

If your lever shape is anything like the Suntour Superbe, I can send you the pattern I came up with. I pretty much went through the same steps pastorbobnlnh described, but used 4oz veg tanned leather. Wetting the leather helps keep the shape while you are forming it around the lever body.

fliplap

Kactus

Do you have a link for the Rustines for Universal levers.

gaucho777 

@Kactus, comme çi?

Cocottes Universelles Rustines

Kactus

Gracias. No Francés, ¿Inglés o español?

gaucho777 

De nada. No habla español.

Note that the description indicates they are compatible with Model S1, 68, 77, and 125 Universal brake levers.

--

Btw, this old thread might be of interest. Sadly, many of the original photobucket links are dead. I'm not sure if @rootboy is still active on this forum, but he might be the one to weigh in on a leather brake hood pattern.
https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...d-project.html

Wildwood 

Here's the velobase pic of Universal levers Mod 61. The production start date is 1961 - ???. Mine have a slightly different barrel adjuster on the top with a separate rubber cover, so likely a minor change by the 1971/72 model year.



Here is the Rustines product that works for me. 47euro + shipping. Plus shut down for Aug (mostly).

Kactus

I really need only the barrel adjusters and rubber covers at this time. I have a good pair of Universal lever hoods.

Wildwood 

pastorbobnlnh 

Wildwood, if those are the hoods you plan to cover with your leather, may I ask WHY!?!

I'd think that they'd continue to crumble and fall apart and gradually work their way out from under the leather. You'd end up with loose leather hoods--- eventually. If you want more padding, look for some dense yet thin foam to fit just along the tops between the adjuster and junction with the bars. This is what I'd do to add padding. Just my two cents.

SJX426 

The difference in design of the Universal lever bodies is the small radius of the top of the body. Ignore the examples of typical breakage when over tightened!

P1000600, on Flickr

The hood has a fairly thick section to create the smaller radius found on the hood. The line between the side and the radius is about where the top of the lever is in the following picture. Perhaps a foam piece could be added under the leather allowing the old hood to be removed.

P1030183, on Flickr

rootboy 

Thanks Gaucho. yes, sadly the whole Photo****ket thing is sad, and I haven't got the energy to re-do all the pics.
It is what it is.
On the pattern thing, boy... getting that right was the hardest part of my whole project. I must have made 8 or ten different patterns, and even when I got it as close as I could, the hoods always came out a bit different due to the vagaries and grain direction in the leather I was using. veg tanned. But that was with Campy Record brakes. They have a lot more compound curves than Universal levers. I only made mine because vintage Campy rubber hoods were through the roof. Then folks started repopping them, for reasonable prices.
I know the Universal 61 repops are not as common, but they're out there.

rootboy 

Leather hoods look cool. But if it were me, I just get these. Complete with adjuster booties.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Pair-of-Uni...ake+hoods.TRS0

rhm

Okay, the following link is guaranteed to be useless to @Wildwood, but possibly of some use to those wanting to make thick veg-tanned leather hoods for Campagnolo type levers:


https://www.dropbox.com/s/royv1j2jtjasr06/brake%20lever%20hoods.pdf?dl=0

I gave this pattern to @rootboy when he started making leather hoods, and as I recall he found it to be not quite right. But it really comes down to what leather you use, how thick it is, and how it stretches when wet.

Wildwood's project uses upholstery leather, presumably chromium tanned, and, well, it's a different project entirely.

Wildwood 

Kactus

They are Universal m. 61 (adjusters are female threaded) like the ones in your photos above.

rhm

Wildwood, I have not done this, so I'm treating this strictly as a thought experiment. That said, I think I would do the following....

First, I'd make a conservative guess at what the pattern should be, and I'd cut a couple pieces of the good leather to that shape. Then I'd take one of the leather scraps and experiment with it. Does soaking it in water make it easier to stretch it? Does it discolor it? Does water ruin it? Can i shape it while wet, so it retains that shape when dry?

If I could determine that the leather it can be stretched and shaped while wet, then I'd take a good piece of the same leather and try to shape it the way i want it, and let it dry.

If I was satisfied with the shape, once it's dry, I'd glue it, not stitch it, to the old hood. I'd use contact cement or Barge cement, and overlap the edges so the leather is stuck to itself as well as to the guy rubber. That way if the hood deteriorates (as I expect it will) the leather should hold it together pretty well.

If that doesn't work, I'd cut the old hood off and throw it away; and buy the Rustines hoods.

Wildwood 

Drillium Dude 

Your efforts paid off handsomely in my opinion! I have two pair; one is in use currently on my Mexico and the other is patiently awaiting a special build.



DD

Winkd

Very nice looking! Curious, are these resting on top of regular hoods or just the brake?
If the latter, did you also glue them on in addition to stitching? If no glue, do they slide around when in use?

Drillium Dude 

They are resting against the alloy brake body. Originally I simply tied up the threads tightly and got on with it, but last year I had to drip in a little contact cement on the right hand one as it had loosened up a tad.

DD

Winkd

Thanks for the info! I'm putting some new hoods on but love the look of leather on there too.
I might "borrow" some of your design elements...