kbpfister

Couple of questions,

1. What does "guidonnet" mean? I tried translating it on babel fish but got nothing
2. Does or did anyone else make this style of lever besides Mafac?

I like the way they follow the curve of the drop and want some real bad, there is a guy online that has some NOS mafac levers but the price is a little steep for me.

kpug505

CLB makes them too.......

jgedwa

Is the proper brake handle for residents of New Jersey who prefer to ride their road drops flipped upside down?

kbpfister

I don't get it

steppinthefunk 

I have a pair of NOS Mafac Guidonettes in my parts bin waiting for the right bike to be used on. I can;t remember how much I got them for but I'm sure it was under $50.00 (my limit for impulse buy items). They'll probably go onto some kind of weird build involving Pista bars or something.

tuz

Guidon means handlebar, and the -ette suffix is a dimunitive. So guidonette would be handlebarette or handlebary
I think those were common on French city bikes.

kbpfister

thanks for the translation, they are kind of like berries hanging from the handlebar or the fruit of the bar

FlatTop

Just guessing here, but...
If the drop bars were flipped the guidonettes would resemble two fingers rampant, aka two "Jersey Birds".

You'd have to ride here to fully understand the utility of such a modification.

twentyflights

haha, i think he was getting more at "guidos" i.e. the heavily cologned, heavily 'roided/proteined, thickly gelled/spiked/frosted haired, folk of New Jersey:

FlatTop

I'm dyin' ova heah.

rotharpunc

I used to have my hair like that, only it was a lil taller, and it was green and black. I also had a studded leather jacket with patches and crap and torn up skinny jeans. This was in high school. If we had ever seen people who looked like that, we would have beaten their @5535! Hows that for irony? Seriously though, how do those guys not get beat down everyday? It was that "Growing up Gotti" show that made this nonsense cool. I hope John Gotti was too delirious in his illness before he died to realize what kind of people his children had become., no wonder the mob collapsed. OK, rant over, back OT.

YungBurke

wow sweet guys. looks like some of my second cousins though. forget NJ

redcaymatt

Hey, Easy on Jersey or we'll send Delaware over to kick your ass!

jgedwa

Bring it on. But, know this: West Virginia has our back. j

PDXaero

Mass. will sort you all out if you dont quit fighting.

There are two pairs of Guidonettes on eBay somewhere but they have the plastic levers and will break. I got my set attached to a mixte. But keep your eyes open. $30-50 will get you a good pair.
I think they're comfortable.

johnbaldwin207

I have a set of the resin Guidonnet levers from an old Liberia mixte. The levers are very thin aluminum alloy encased in off-white plastic. Mine are severely cracked and no longer move freely. I believe they would indeed snap in two if I used them. Very much a candidate for my misfit parts shelf.
That being said; the shape of the levers are very comfortable in a drop bar setting. I'd like to see how they work with bars like the 3T Roma or Nitto Montmarte. With the levers flipped inversely (to follow the curves of a flat, cruiser style bar) that might afford a forward reaching "aero" feel with the option of relaxed, unencumbered hand positions.

johnbaldwin207

BTW, I think the tandroids pictured above escape beatings by being the offspring (or distant relative) of men who have considerable sway in Jersey... or at least attempt to look the part.

stronglight

Regarding upturned handlebars...

Here is a catalog photo of a 1975 Peugeot PX-50L with guidonnet levers:


And here is my bike - the same year and model - with cheap replacement French alloy handlebars inverted... and then cut off.


It made little sense to have drop bars on a city bike with the guidonnet levers mounted. -- I just slid forward on the bars with no lever body to stop my hands... and there was no way to brake if I were riding with my hands in the drops, anyway. So, Yes, it may look a bit tacky, but seems to work nicely for me

I'm originally from Connecticut, not NJ

ozneddy

Works for me too !