PoorBob

Going through the parts bins and I came across some good working 105 calipers, Will Altus mtn levers be compatible with these?

second question, I see some of the more budget friendly options come with calipers. Are flat mounts pretty much the same?
Putting together a budget flat bar roadie…

Andrew R Stewart 

Which version of brake are design are your Altus levers mead for. They should have a part number which with some homework will tell you is they are for a canti or a linear system.

Canti intended levers pull less cable per stroke, the brake arms are designed to apply "sufficient" braking ability without the levers having to bottom out against the bars. Linear pull levers have less leverage as they pull more cable. For the greater leverage arms that need more cable travel to work these are the way.

Side pull calipers typically like less cable pull so work "better" with canti intended MtB levers.

But this is not a black/white situation. Cables get pulled by levers and cables pull pads against the rims. Regardless of the lever and brake combo. Matching the lever's cable pull (or leverage) with that of the brake caliper will result in a system that has good modulation (brakes are not a black/white switch), sufficient "power" and pad/rim gap to allow a real world rim to pass by w/o rubbing. There's a lot of shade of grey, rider preference and different situations (weight loads, speed, rain) that any one rider might find "better" that what another rider feels is best. So much of what is published about brakes is more about liability than actual use.

My suggestion is to be ready to change out the levers for others if you find the test ride doesn't go well. Andy

Bill Kapaun

This will give you an idea of the different leverage between V Brakes & Canti/Roller Brakes

Duragrouch

Is that lever changeable between V-brakes (long pull) and Caliper/Road (short pull), as appears indicated on the lever? If so, that's a new one on me, but smart design.

PoorBob

I apologize.

This would be for the hydraulic version BL-M315


thanks

Andrew R Stewart 

And this is why we ask for more data than mere model names.

Duragrouch- The adjustable cable end seating to lever pivot dimension has been done on other levers for decades. Likely the best known is the original Avid Speed Dial version with the cable head seat on a threaded rod that when rotated would move that cable seat up or down. Before, and after, that there were levers with two different cable seating holes. Here's a link to a pair of those Avids for sale (not my sale). Andy

Rare Vintage Avid Speed Dial Ultimate CNC Cantilever Brake Levers Black 128g | eBay

grumpus

Wow, you'd have to really want those. ISTR the Speed Dial is more about adjusting brake feel rather than converting between long and short pull.

Andrew R Stewart 

"Speed Dial is more about adjusting brake feel rather than converting between long and short pull." grumpus

yet when these came out it was the ability to accommodate both short and long pull brakes that I remember being talked about. Andy

Duragrouch

Thanks, I did not know. Somebody was thinking.

You want rare? I wanted levers that I could also grab from the bar-ends, did a search, someone made lever extensions but no longer, then I saw the following pic:



And I'm like, PERFECT! Show the pic at the LBS, they don't know what they are called, no longer made (unsurprising, as bar-ends are out of style, I heard banned from racing to prevent impaling or tangling with other racers). I look in their used parts area, *I'll be damned*, one set, like new, looks never used, $20. I install, love them, although mounted inboard of a gripshift, to leave enough grip area between that and the bar ends, the levers just barely reach enough to be used on the bar-ends. Much better leverage when grabbed there. They are heavy, because the end extension requires a lever with torsional stiffness, so they are solid section, not a light U-section. I search for another pair online using the patent number printed on them, find a set on ebay, not same, I look close, they are same but someone amputated the ends to make them conventional. A rare design, plain levers are dirt cheap, and they ruin these.

By the way, I just read recent story, someone trying to sue Shimano and Trek for $2 million for their thigh getting impaled on the end of a v-brake lever in a crash, claiming "metal and thin". Probably will claim that end of lever should have been a ball like motorcycle levers. I hope it gets thrown out, or, if going to trial, loser pays legal fees of opponent.

Andrew R Stewart 

Duragrouch- Delta use to offer those levers, one of the Asian forging companies produced them and house labeled them as their clients wanted. IIRC the levers lost out to shorter 2 or 3 fingered levers and then linear pull brakes took over and all those older spec cable pull levers lost their future market.

We agree on personal responsibility and risk acceptance. I worked the ski business long ago (actually in two different multi year periods) and what the skiers would try to pull on ski hills and shops was just wrong. We (The Ski Loft, Pittsford NY) did a late season full tune up on a pair of skis and a new boot to existing bindings adjustment and release settings. The toe pieces were worn out and the binding had nearly no anti shock range and released far below the industry settings. Our release check guy (like me now, he was an old and very experienced guy who you didn't play with...) made thorough notes on the ticket's back side as was our practice. Dad picked up the skis and boots, kid goes skiing a couple of weeks later and in mid air (he was a hot head from what others on the mountain said) one ski released and kid ends up with a broken and twisted body. Dad's brother, the lawyer, starts a civil suit against us. The next few weeks was really hard for us as we were transitioning to bike and tennis and by the time we knew of the lawsuit all the ski season stuff had been warehoused, including the service tickets. Once the kid's ticket was found, with Dad's signature below the notes of inadequate binding performance that lawsuits went away. Had the kid's uncle not been a lawyer I doubt the lawsuit would have been filed. In an unrelated situation we heard of one of the Vermont ski hills being sued by a skier who had hurt themselves when skiing off trails (which wasn't allowed back then). The ski hill promptly counter sued for the skier endangering the hill's safety crew when they had to sled the hurt skier down to the base. All this years before the me movement that Regan seemed to start. Andy

Duragrouch

Andy, the levers say Tektro Patent 80122. I'll keep my eyes open for other examples for my other bikes. I had thought I would eventually fit bullhorn bars on this folder with levers on the end (my road bike setup decades ago), but then realized that with flat bars and bar-ends, the bar-ends are MUCH futher apart, 55cm, which is more comfortable (I have broad shoulders for my moderate height), my main concern these days. Bullhorns would be 40-42cm apart, way narrower, for speed. It's why I passed on a rare set of Bike Friday H-bars at the LBS, which also come apart in the middle for easier packing, but they were too narrow for me. But I liked that bar-end shifters could be accommodated pointing down, I'd like to convert to those if possible, that would remove the gripshift and free up space to move the L-levers a bit further out which would be optimum. I need some bar-ends that extend a bit behind the flat bar, with a hole. I have some stubby bar ends, I think those became fashionable when long bar-ends were banned in racing, but those are just rubber grip, no holes and not round to allow mounting any shifter or brake.

Skis: Oh yeah, I couldn't have an older set of bindings (like new) remounted 30 years ago, because they didn't have DIN settings. But the new bindings were superior, and my body is worth it, I bought the best bindings available at the time, highly rated.