joedab

In the midst of sorting out how to prolong the life of aero brake hoods -- mainly motivated by the depleting supply of these non-integrated levers, and for some reason I tend to burn through them every 5 - 10k miles or so, optimistically. While uncertain what the worst element is, but between rain and sweat, I notice they eventually will acquire an unfortunate sticky texture. My strong sense is that this is the point at which the degradation greatly accelerates, and so I have begin to consider a possible treatment that might refurbish the surface; something that would make them slick but not slippery. Without yet tempting any folly, there are a few things that come to mind: wax, coconut oil, mineral oil or some combination of the three as a treatment toward minimizing the friction involved in their disintegration.

Anyone else have trouble with finite break hoods, or otherwise any techniques for maximizing their life?

Are non-integrated aero levers still being made?

dsbrantjr

The last thing I would put onto rubber to try and prolong its life would be any kind of oil or other petroleum product, which tend to make rubber soften and swell..

GhostRider62

You must be getting cleaning products or sunscreen onto them.

easyupbug 

I have used 303 Aerospace Protectant for years now, it is a water based dressing for vinyl, plastics, rubber, and leather. There are others out there, B.E.S.T. Rubber Roof Cleaner/Protectant is made to help protect RV rubber roofs which are big $ if you have problems.

flangehead

Tektro has several offerings; I have a pair of these on a touring bike. They’re nothing special but I’m able to stop.

TEKTRO BRAKE SYSTEMS - Products

rydabent

One of the big thing is to keep oily sun screen off of them. The oil in sun screens attack the rubber and make it soft and sticky.

rccardr 

Also, store your bike inside your home if possible to avoid temperature extremes, UV exposure, etc.
Clean after using, soap and water is fine.
Shimano still makes BL-R400 levers, I think. But there are plenty of NOS options out there; if you pick up a pair of 6403 (Tricolor, late issue) levers you can buy hoods for under $15 and store them in the dark for future use.

Crankycrank

+1. And remember that if you lube your levers make sure to wipe off any excess and check every so often that it's not migrating to your hoods. I'm not positive but suspect mineral oils are very bad as well which WD-40 has in it. And as mentioned clean them every once in awhile with mild cleaners to get rid of built up sweat and sunscreens and as mentioned finishing with "303 Aerospace Protectant" works well.

dsbrantjr

I forgot to mention that DEET insect repellent EATS rubber.

Iride01 

I've yet to have hoods get soft or cracked or anything bad. I suppose it'll happen eventually... maybe.

I too will have to wonder if it's sunscreen remaining on your hands. If I use sunscreen, I wash my hands. Or perhaps you lube the shifters, I never lube my shifters. Or you use some weird cleaners.

Possibly you leave the bike somewhere that has a high concentration of ozone being produced. Such as near an electric motor or one of those electronic air filters.

JohnDThompson 

Different manufacturers used different materials and thicknesses for their hoods. Traditional gum rubber was popular with many high-end European marques, e.g. Campagnolo, Modolo, Universal, etc. These tend to deteriorate with exposure to UV, oils, etc. Others used butyl rubber or synthetics (e.g. polyurethane). These last longer; I have polyurethane hoods from A'me on Campagnolo levers that have held up for almost 40 years now.

One problem is that there is no real standard in lever body shape, so often you're stuck with sourcing a proprietary hood or living with a poor-fitting third party hood. Campagnolo's vintage lever body shape was widely copied and third parties like A'me made hoods in a number of styles to fit. Others, like Dia-Compe and Weinmann, cross-licensed some of their designs, and hoods from either company would fit those levers. Modern integrated brake/shift levers appear to be largely proprietary.

joedab

.. never wear sunscreen but cleaning the hoods with a bit of soap and water sounds like a minimum. Next it seems worth looking into 303 Aerospace Protectant and B.E.S.T. Rubber Roof Cleaner/Protectant.

The levers that I have been using for a while are the shimano exage levers, which are great but the rubber is very soft, very comfortable but not the most durable.

Ought at least look into NOS levers with other types of rubber since my sense is that decent third-party hoods are not available for these.

Juan el Boricua

The one thing that I do to slow down the degradation on the hoods of my RSX brifters is to apply a dusting of talcum to the hoods before and after every ride; once the hoods begin to feel "tacky", there is no turning back on degradation. I clean them with just water or a wet cloth, dry thoroughly, and dust for storage.
You can get real talcum powder at a billiards, athletic or hiking/alpinism shops; do not use "baby powder" as it now comes made from corn starch.

2cam16

303 gets my vote. Been using it on my cars and brake hoods for years.

joedab

.. talcum power seems fairly inert, but has anyone looked into the toxicity for skin contact of 303 and other rubber protectants?

easyupbug 

Here is the msds: https://www.nrs.com/assets/downloads...protectant.pdf

easyupbug 

You also need to note they say POSSIBLE IRRITATION not an IRRITANT depending on your personal skin sensitivities. It is a a water-based proprietary formula that contains no petroleum distillates, alcohol, mineral oil or harmful silicone oils so to the all but sensitive portion of the population it is safe.