slushA

Hi all,

Much as I love the simplicity of the old Weinmann levers, I want to upgrade to something beefier and more ergonomic on my 80s AD/Puch (also, the clean look of minimal cabling with aero levers is slick). After searching the forums, I found many opinions and preferences, but not much in the way of dimensions. I have somewhat larger hands and found the shimano 105 brifters on my racing bike pretty comfy. The problem is that I would like to keep my downtube shifters, and it seems like all the non-integrated, brake-only levers have a narrower profile (I have a thing about having 4 cables protruding from the bar tape on an old bike..just doesn't look neat to me).

I've been looking at Shimano r400s (and their older equivalents), tektro rl340s, as well as some older campagnolo levers. But again, I seldom find even pictures of these which demonstrate their widths, much less actual measurements. Hoping to find something nice and wide, yet not clunky and ridiculous-looking on my old steel bike. Old bars are probably staying for the long haul as it seems like a lot of research and dollars to upgrade to anything else. Any advice? Thanks in advance.

clubman 

I think it's a challenge to find a wide width in a lever without resorting to a modern Tektro, which may very well be clunky or ridiculous.
I've got large hands and I find older Shimano levers like 105, 600, even Exage to be just fine for me.

Edit. Proof of big hands, tiny brain.

nlerner

I was also thinking that the Tektro RL340 might be what you have in mind. I'd measure the pair I have on a bike, but I'm not home at the moment.

slushA

Thanks for your responses, guys. Saw a set of shimano tricolors on Ebay that caught my eye. Any idea if they are much narrower than the tektros?

EDIT: Also, I am mostly hoping to purchase something that is just meaningfully wider than the Weinmanns. Would not be a great feeling to order and have something shipped in only to find it's functionally the same as the item I'm trying to replace.

clubman 

I just measured some tricolors on a bare bar and they taper from about 28 mm (front) to about 35mm (rear) ,without any bar tape. Don't have Tektros to compare

slushA

Much appreciated, thank you Clubman.

Highmass

Well as you like your Shimano 105 brifters, I would suggest going for something Shimano. In my opinion the obvious choices would be the following. Bl 1050, Bl1051, Bl1055 (All 105 series) or Bl6401, Bl6402, Bl6403 (All Tricolor, or 600/Ultegra which is the correct name). All of these have the SLR geometry, which in my opinion is an advantage, and gives better braking than earlier levers. I would also expect that the slightly earlier Bl6209 (600Ex) levers to be quite good, but I have not tried them.
I also have a pair of Suntour (Made by Dia-Compe) levers which have their version of SLR, called BRS that I am quite fond of. So later Suntour levers, and presumably also other Dia-Compe leves, might also be a good choice.

slushA

Well, I came across some TRP RRLs and decided to give them a go. Planning to take some pics and measurements compared to Weinmanns for posterity/future searchers when they arrive. I hear they feel great. Now lets just hope they don't look too wild..

slushA

Not one to necro bump, but wanted to update this thread for anyone who happens to search in the future. I never took any measurements, but below are some pics for comparison with a) some old weinmann levers, and b) some campagnolo 10s ergopowers. I ended up swapping out my RRLs for the ergopowers. Something about the angle at which the tektro's protrude from the bars didn't work for me. Also, they aren't very flat on the top, more rounded. Some may really dig their shape and feel, but they weren't for me. On a positive note, they offer great leverage in braking, and the odd lever shape--while maybe not aesthetically pleasing--allows you to grab the lever well from various positions.